The Chamber of Agribusiness (CAG) has declared a national agricultural emergency, warning that over 1.2 million metric tonnes of rice, maize, and soya beans are stranded across the country’s main farming regions due to what it calls “severe market distortions and policy inconsistencies.”
The group said the glut threatens to collapse Ghana’s grains sector despite continued import dependence and rising food insecurity.
“This paradoxical crisis of surplus amidst production deficits demands immediate, decisive government intervention,” CAG Chief Executive Officer Farmer Anthony Kofi Morrison said in a statement.
Unsold grains
According to the chamber, nearly two years’ worth of locally produced rice remains unsold even as Ghana continues to import to cover an annual deficit of roughly one million tonnes. It also cited reports of expired or smuggled rice entering the market, which undermines local millers and deprives the state of tax revenue.
In the maize and soy sectors, production continues to lag behind domestic demand, with farmers facing declining prices and limited access to buyers. CAG said the Export and Import (Restriction on Exportation of Soya Beans) Regulations, 2020 (L.I. 2432), introduced to secure local supply, had instead depressed prices, created warehouse backlogs, and discouraged cultivation.
Demands
The chamber is calling for an immediate three-month moratorium on rice imports and the repeal of the soya export restriction law. It also urged authorities to launch a nationwide audit of all rice stocks to detect smuggled or substandard products.
CAG further proposed the establishment of a Strategic Grain Reserve Procurement Program, enabling the state to purchase surplus grains through the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) to stabilize prices and fulfill Ghana’s commitments under the ECOWAS food security frameworks.
“The government must act now to safeguard farmers’ investments and stabilize rural incomes,” Morrison said. “Without swift intervention, Ghana risks a full-blown collapse of its domestic grains economy.”
GHC100m intervention
Meanwhile, the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) has begun purchasing key staple foods such as rice, maize, and gari from farmers in response to their appeals for market access amid high yields and limited storage capacity.
So far, 60,000 bags of rice, 120,000 bags of maize, and 10,000 bags of gari have been purchased as key staple foods targeted for emergency reserves.
This follows the Cabinet’s approval of an initial GH¢100 million for that exercise.
The Deputy CEO of NAFCO, Osmend Amuah, at a press conference to confirm this, said the funding forms part of the government’s plan to mop up excess produce, prevent post-harvest losses, and build a national food reserve to enhance food security.
“Farmers in the Afram Plains and the northern belt are complaining there is no market space for them, there’s no price, and because there’s limited storage, some of them cannot store their produce, a situation that potentially can lead to huge post-harvest losses.
“So, this plea was channelled through the Minister for Agriculture and through his instrumentality, he engaged the Cabinet, and the Cabinet approved an initial funding of GH¢100 million for NAFCO to go to the market and start the mop-up process,” he said.
Additional funding
Mr Amuah mentioned that the Agric Minister, Eric Opoku, is also seeking the Cabinet’s approval for an additional GH¢100 million to expand the mop-up exercise.
“I’m happy to announce this afternoon that the Minister of Agriculture has agreed that he would be discussing with Cabinet an urgent need for an additional release of funding of about GH¢100 million again on an incremental basis, so that we’ll be able to mop up the additional surpluses that are on the market.
“You will recall that the complaints have come from various parts of the country — the coastal and Volta belts, the Ashanti and middle belts, as well as the northern enclave.
“All these zones have active farming communities, so the government’s intervention is designed to specifically target smallholder and household farmers, ensuring they directly benefit from the opportunity to sell their produce,” he said.
