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Ghana may require at least 500 million cedis to fully address the current surplus of locally produced rice in the market, the government has disclosed, as a bumper harvest across the northern regions creates unprecedented challenges for farmers and market systems.

Minister for Food and Agriculture Eric Opoku explained that the glut results from a bountiful harvest across the five northern regions, with harvesting still ongoing. He emphasized that figures circulating in media are estimates and not actual harvest totals. Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday November 8, Opoku revealed that the government’s technical team estimated at least 500 million cedis would be needed to completely clear the glut.

Early efforts to manage the surplus saw the release of 100 million cedis to the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), allocated as part of the 2025 budget. However, the funds were exhausted within 10 to 12 days. The Minister noted that this was the first time NAFCO has been given the capacity to go into the market and mop up excess produce, but within days the entire allocation was depleted while more rice remained unsold.

Regional harvest figures illustrate the magnitude of the surplus. The Upper East Region harvested 300,000 metric tonnes of rice this year, North East Region produced 400,000 metric tonnes, Northern Region contributed another 300,000 metric tonnes, while Savannah, Upper West, and Volta regions added 50,000, 20,000, and 100,000 metric tonnes respectively. Nearly all this produce sits in warehouses or by roadsides with limited buyers as the 2025 harvest season begins adding fresh crops onto unsold inventory from 2024.

According to the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), more than 200,000 metric tonnes of unsold paddy rice and maize harvested from the last season remain stuck in warehouses and on farms, with some rice still unharvested. A statement signed by PFAG’s National President Wepia Addo Awal Adugwala, National Secretary Isaac Pabia, and Acting Executive Director Bismark Owusu Nortey warned that the situation has left many farmers vulnerable to bird invasions, bushfires, and post harvest losses.

National Rice Development programme data projects Ghana’s 2025 rice harvest will reach 1.5 million metric tonnes, increasing from 1.3 million metric tonnes in 2024. At the end of 2024, Ghana’s rice demand was estimated at 1.5 million metric tonnes while local production hovered around 650,000 metric tonnes, creating a substantial supply gap that made imports necessary. The dramatic production increase in 2025 represents success for agricultural interventions but compounds the glut crisis as market systems struggle to absorb expanded output.

Opoku said discussions are ongoing with partners such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and the private sector to secure additional support. The government has made available an additional 100 million cedis facility to help contain the situation, though due process must be followed before the money can be deployed. The Minister explained that when funds are received, buyers cannot simply go to the market and start purchasing, as procurement processes must be followed to select buyers to purchase on behalf of the state.

He reassured the public that the government is acting to prevent discouragement among farmers. Opoku stated that if the glut is not cleared, farmers will be discouraged and lose interest in investing again in agriculture. He wanted the public to know that the government has not failed the people of Ghana, emphasizing that the country has succeeded in producing in excess of what the market requires and is working to contain the excess.

The Minister addressed concerns about overpricing, clarifying that his ministry did not impose prices on farmers. He stated that a committee made up of the Peasant Farmers Association and other stakeholders determined the prices collectively, not through imposition from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Touching on calls for a ban on rice importation, Opoku cautioned that such a move would be premature given the persistent gap between domestic production and national consumption demand. However, rice producers, rice millers, and maize farmers have demanded suspension of all foreign rice imports for six months effective November 2025, with tightened border controls preventing smuggling that undermines domestic production. The farmer coalition also wants public institutions including schools, hospitals, prisons, and security services mandated to procure exclusively Ghana grown rice and maize from local producers and millers.

Charles Nyaba, speaking for the Rice Producers, Rice Millers, and Maize Farmers Association, described the situation as life and death for farmers who borrowed capital for production inputs. He emphasized that producers are not requesting fertilizer subsidies or handouts but simply asking government to release promised funds enabling NAFCO to purchase directly from farmers before financial collapse becomes inevitable.

The Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana warned in September that the grain sector was edging toward crisis as farmers faced debt and many were forced to sell below production cost. Parliament member Nurudeen Mohammed Mumuni of Nalerigu Gambaga called in October for urgent briefing from the Minister on steps being taken to prevent market glut and mitigate widespread post harvest losses.

Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga confirmed in October that Cabinet has approved the release of funds to the National Food Buffer Stock Company to purchase excess produce and stabilize the market. NAFCO’s mandate includes guaranteeing minimum prices and ready markets for farmers, mopping up excess produce to reduce post harvest losses from poor storage, and maintaining buffer stocks to ensure stability in supply and demand. The company purchases, stores and distributes grains to state institutions including the military, schools, hospitals and prisons.

Food and Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku inaugurated NAFCO’s reconstituted nine member board in June with Board Chairman Dr Eric Osei Owusu, a former NAFCO chief executive officer, pledging to align operations with the government’s Feed Ghana Initiative. The 2025 budget allocated funds supporting NAFCO operations, yet the gap between budgetary allocation and operational execution leaves farmers watching their livelihoods deteriorate while bureaucratic processes prevent promised interventions from materializing.

Policy think tank IMANI Africa released a brief titled Food Glut in Ghana: When Production Outpaces Market Planning, arguing the crisis stems not from overfarming but inadequate foresight in agricultural planning. The analysis maintains Ghana’s agricultural policies focus almost entirely on boosting production while neglecting what happens after harvest, creating wasteful gluts that drain farmer capital and undermine sector sustainability. IMANI emphasized the glut should serve as a wake up call to build value chains turning productivity into prosperity.

The Eat Ghana Rice Campaign, comprising partners including the John A. Kufuor Foundation, Competitive African Rice Platform of the ECOWAS Rice Observatory, Ghana Rice Interprofessional Body, Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, Hopeline Institute, Farm Wallet, and AGRA, has urged the public to support local farmers amid the rice glut. The campaign stated that consuming Ghana rice is a patriotic investment in the future of food systems and the most direct way for every Ghanaian citizen, household, restaurant, hotel, and company to keep billions of cedis circulating within the Ghanaian economy.

Minister Opoku addressed the Ghana Association of Agricultural Economists annual conference at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology on Thursday November 6, underscoring the need for Ghana to transition from subsistence farming to a dynamic and sustainable agri food economy. He outlined two key government policies aimed at driving transformation: the Feed Ghana Policy, which seeks to strengthen domestic food production through improved seed access, irrigation expansion, mechanization, post harvest infrastructure and agro processing, and the 24 Hour Economy Policy, designed to boost productivity by supporting continuous operations in food logistics, processing and storage.

The paradox of agricultural abundance creating farmer poverty illustrates fundamental disconnects between production policy and market reality. Ghana celebrates increased yields and expanded acreage as development victories, yet those achievements risk becoming disasters when producers cannot convert harvests into income because markets lack capacity to absorb supply at prices covering production costs.

Source : newsghana