Editorial: Rice sector’s immense potential underutilised

A new study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warns of  underinvestment and fragmented policies leaving the country chronically dependent on imported rice.

According to IFS, Ghana spent an estimated GH¢3.05billion on rice imports in 2024. It further cautioned that failure to act quickly and decisively will make it increasingly harder to reverse this trend.

Senior Research Fellow and Acting Executive Director-IFS Dr. Said Boakye presented the findings and revealed that while Ghana possesses abundant land and favourable growing conditions, only a fraction is used for rice.

In contrast, Thailand dedicates between 43.1 and 51.5 percent of its farmland to rice while Vietnam allocates 58.8 to 92 percent – a commitment that has allowed both nations to attain self-sufficiency and become major exporters.

“Ghana has devoted a paltry range of 0.3 percent to 2.6 percent of its agricultural land for rice cultivation.”

Thus, these tiny average ratios of Ghana’s agricultural land used for rice cultivation explain why areas with harvests of rice in Ghana are so small… which has contributed significantly to the country’s inability to produce enough rice and meet domestic consumption, leading to increasing importation of rice,” Dr. Boakye said in part.

Demonstrably, the country’s agricultural priorities have failed to keep pace with its shifting dietary preferences.

Data from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture indicate that per capita rice consumption has risen sharply from 12.4 kilogrammes in 1980 to more than 61 kilogrammes in 2022, outpacing domestic production by a wide margin.

Extant data show that rice imports for the 2024/2025 marketing year could reach 950,000 tonnes as the supply gap continues to widen.

The Institute warned that this import dependence carries far-reaching economic consequences; including foreign exchange losses, exchange rate depreciation and increased food insecurity.

IFS attributes the sector’s low productivity to four main factors: namely low fertiliser application, ineffective seed systems, limited mechanisation and inadequate irrigation infrastructure, compounded by restrictive land tenure arrangements.

Average yields in Ghana range from 1.1 to 3.3 metric tonnes per hectare, compared to about 6 tonnes in Vietnam. Without reforming land allocation and ownership, Ghana cannot scale production to meet national needs, Dr. Boakye noted.

IFS proposes the creation of a Rice Development Board (RDB), a statutory institution to coordinate all rice-related policies, programmes and investments across the value chain.