Presenting findings from the IFS Occasional Paper No. 28, titled “Increasing Importation of Rice in Ghana: Can the Country Transform Its Fortunes in the Rice Sector?”, Dr. Said Boakye, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute, emphasized that Ghana’s overreliance on the private sector has resulted in persistent market failures, stalling domestic rice production.

“Unlike Vietnam and Thailand, where governments play active roles in their rice sectors, Ghana has relegated itself to merely creating an enabling environment while expecting the private sector to fix systemic issues. This approach has failed,” Dr. Boakye stated.

He explained that the proposed Rice Development Board would coordinate all government activities in the rice value chain, from seed production to processing and marketing. According to the IFS, the Board should be adequately funded and legally established to ensure policy continuity beyond changes in government.

Dr. Boakye noted that the new Board would be responsible for promoting local fertilizer production to meet farmers’ needs at affordable prices, providing certified high-yielding rice seeds, expanding irrigation infrastructure across Ghana’s 1.9 million hectares of land suitable for irrigated rice cultivation, and driving the mechanization of rice farming operations. He added that the Board could also support private-sector participation in rice marketing, particularly for export.

The IFS further recommended that the Rice Development Board lead initiatives to acquire and redistribute land for rice farming to address long-standing challenges posed by the country’s traditional land tenure system. Dr. Boakye also proposed that the Board take the lead in mobilizing the youth into rice farming through credit-based support schemes.

He stressed that with strong institutional backing and targeted investment, Ghana could become a major net exporter of rice, leveraging rising global demand projected to grow from US$387.84 billion in 2025 to US$449.61 billion by 2030. “If Ghana had produced just 7.4 million metric tons of rice in 2022, the country could have exported over six million tons — the same volume that earned Vietnam US$3.2 billion that year,” he said.

The IFS believes that establishing the Rice Development Board would not only curb the rising rice import bill but also create jobs, enhance food security, and strengthen the cedi through reduced foreign exchange outflows.