23/09/2025
News From Tain District - Badu in Bono Region
AGI Calls for Urgent Action to Save Ghana's Rice and Maize Industry.
The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has expressed deep concern about an alarming crisis in the maize and rice sector and is calling for the government's urgent action.
According to AGI, the country's maize and rice subsector is facing an impending crisis due to delayed payments to food suppliers, particularly women in Badu, Tain district in Bono Region, and rampant smuggling of substandard grains.
Alhaji Iddrisu Zakari, Head of Post-Harvest Unit of AGI and Public Relations Officer for Food Suppliers Association in the Middle Belt of Ghana, stated that farmers are being forced to sell below production cost due to delayed payments by the government.
In an exclusive interview with Apiah-Kubi on Tain Radio Online, Zakari emphasized that food suppliers are struggling due to delayed payments, which could further exacerbate the situation.
"Some Ghanaian farmers are being pushed out of business by unfair competition, triggered by smuggled maize and rice that evade duties and quality checks, flooding our markets at artificially low prices," Zakari said.
"If the government does not intervene swiftly, we risk collapsing the entire subsector," he added.
The AGI has outlined several major concerns, including the undercutting of local produce and the impact on food sovereignty.
To address the crisis, the AGI recommends that the government tighten border controls and provide support to food suppliers.
"The government needs to introduce minimum price guarantees and provide support to absorb local grains at harvest and invest in rural infrastructure, storage, and marketing for Ghanaian maize and rice and expand irrigation facilities and strengthen farmer cooperatives to boost productivity and competitiveness," Alhaji Zakari stressed.
"We are pleading with the government to make at least some payments to the suppliers, because it's almost a year of no payment," Alhaji Zakari bemoaned.
Alhaji Zakari concluded that the time to act is now, emphasizing the need for urgent high-level dialogue between the government, private sector stakeholders, and farmer associations to address the industry's challenges and promote Ghana's economic independence, jobs, and food sovereignty.
Writer: Apiah-Kubi
