Unsold bags of rice
Many will say a bumper harvest will put a smile on the faces of farmers but the reality is different as the bumper harvest has turned into a livelihood crisis, leaving thousands of farmers with unsold sacks of rice and debt.
Farmers who depended on this season’s crop for school fees, livelihood and loan repayments are now scrambling for survival.
Rice farmers and processors in the northern sector are lamenting over unsold rice produce which they say is threatening their livelihoods.
Many farmers have over thousands of metric tonnes of rice sitting idle, prompting serious concern among farmers.
Some farms have been compelled to reduce their workforce by more than half as they struggle to sustain operations amid weak demand for locally-produced rice.
Alhassan Iddrisu with his family harvesting rice in Tugu
A visit by Daily Guide to the farm of Alhassan Iddrisu, a young passionate rice farmer at Tugu near Yendi in the Northern Region, revealed that the rice he harvested last year was still packed in the store.
“I still have last year’s rice packed in the store room not because I do not want to sell but there are no buyers. I have contacted all the people who buy from me and all they tell me is that, they haven’t been able to sell the bags of rice they bought so they cannot buy for now,” he lamented.
He indicated that lack of access to combine harvesters is greatly affecting rice farmers. “Harvesting my rice farm has been a challenge due to the lack of combine harvester, because it’s limited in the system and it’s more expensive even if you decide to use laborers to harvest. As you can see, I’m harvesting my rice farm the traditional way with a sickle tool simply because I can’t afford a combine harvester which operator charges GH₵600 per acre, meanwhile, for an acre you will barely get up to 15 bags and even after the harvesting you are likely not to get buyers and so farming is becoming more expensive to farmers,” he lamented.
Mr. Iddrisu said he does not feel motivated to continue farming due to the current situation of farmers. “I don’t feel motivated to continue farming and this situation affects almost all farmers except cocoa farmers, because they have a fix price for their produce unlike us the rice, maize and other crops farmers. So, it’s very demoralising to invest as a young farmer and at the end of the day nobody is coming to buy your produce,” he narrated.
“As a youth I feel like I’m just investing in something that will not give me returns and I doubt if anybody would want to invest into such a venture, so, after this season, I will analyse the situation and decide whether to redirect my investment or continue with the farming,” he noted.
He appealed to the government and the Ministry of Agriculture to put the necessary measures in place to make agriculture attractive for farmers especially the youth.
“Agriculture can be used to reduce the unemployment rate in the country, so, I will urge the government to support farmers with the necessary resources like machinery, financial support and put limitation to the importation of foreign rice to give the local farmers the opportunity to sell their produce,” Alhassan Iddrisu appealed.
Association of Rice Producers and Processors
Chairman of the Association of Rice Producers and Processors, Alhaji Saibu Braimah, told journalists that the association has petitioned the government to intervene decisively by suspending all foreign rice imports for a six-month period and enhancing border control mechanisms to stop smuggling of foreign rice and maize.
The association also called for the formulation of a comprehensive, long-term importation policy that is aligned with the nation’s production capacity; the issuance of a directive requiring all public institutions including educational establishments, health facilities, correctional institutions, and security agencies to procure exclusively Ghana grown rice and maize.
The Association of Rice Producers and Processors threatened a nationwide boycott of the 2025 Farmers’ Day celebration should government fault to address the issue raised by the association.
FROM Eric Kombat, Tugu