Some of the unsold rice at Tamanaa rice factory at Nasia
Rice farmers and processors in the northern sector are lamenting over unsold rice produce which they say is threatening their livelihoods.
The Tamanaa Rice Factory in Nasia in the North East region has more than 10,000 metric tonnes of rice sitting idle, prompting serious concern among farmers.
Chief Executive Officer of Tamanaa Company Limited, Alhaji Saibu Braimah, in an interview with journalists expressed frustration at the scale of the glut and its effects on farmers and factory workers.
According to him, the company has sold virtually no rice over the past ten months, a situation he described as unprecedented in the industry’s history.
“Rice and other products are package here nobody is buying them. Previously we use to supply not less than 20,000 tonnes within a month but currently even within the year we haven’t been able to sell up to 5 tonnes of rice,” he said
He revealed that the situation has compelled the Tamanaa Company to reduce its workforce by more than half, laying off over 50 employees from an initial staff of more than 100 as the factory struggles to sustain operations amid weak demand for locally produced rice.
“I had 105 employees but I have laid off some leaving 45 workers and if nothing changes I will be forced to let the rest go home,” he noted
Meanwhile, Rice Farmers Association has threatened to boycott this year’s Farmers’ Day celebrations due to their predicament.
“The call that our association made to our members is that we are boycotting this year’s farmers day and I fully support it because what are we going to celebrate because farmers are not happy in this country,” Mr. Braimah said.
The farmers attributed the situation to the continued smuggling and the persistent presence of foreign rice into the country as key drivers of unfair competition and falling sales for Ghanaian rice.
The farmers are therefore urging the government to impose a ban on rice imports and to adopt policies requiring government institutions to prioritise procurement of locally produced rice as part of longer-term solutions to the crisis.
FROM Eric Kombat, Nasia