Safe Local Rice Producers From Loosing Their Jobs – Rice Distributor To Government.
By James Donkor, Kumasi.
An Authorized Rice distributor in Kumasi, Alhaji Abubakari Musa has made a passionate appeal to the government to come out with measures that could help the local rice producers to sustain in business.
Alhaji Abubakari who is the Managing Director of Basfam Enterprise in Kumasi is the main authorized distributor of Tamanaa Rice Company, producers of Nasia quality rice in the country.
The company produces among others, quality parboiled rice, white perfumed rice, brown rice, Tombrown and broken rice respectively.
Speaking to the correspondent, the distributor expressed grave concern about the rising trend in which sales of local rice continue to decline , and as a result discouraging both farmers and companies in the local rice production from carrying out with their businesses.
According to Alhaji Abubakari who also doubles as the chairman of the Muslim Executives Foundation (MEF) a pro Muslim Non governmental organization based in Kumasi, tons of rice that are ready for market are locked up in farms and warehouses in the country especially at the Tamanaa Rice Company near Walewale in the North East region of the country of which he represents them in the Southern sector as a distributor.
He linked the situation to lack of buyers who prefer the imported rice to the local ones, insisting that buyers claim the prices of the foreign imported rice are cheaper than the prices of the locally produced rice.
The businessman asserted that the high trend of the importation of foreign rice into the country is steadily dumping the spirits of the local rice producers and it is predictable that if nothing is done about it by the government to encourage the rice farmers the possibility of loosing their jobs cannot be ruled out.
Citing instances on how he is running his distributorship at a loss, Alhaji Abubakari reiterated that his employees at his Kumasi warehouse hardly sells three bags of rice per week a situation he said has forced him to dismiss some of the workers due to his inability to meet their monthly salaries.
He said the same challenge is confronting his company’s headquarters in the up north where Tamanaa Rice Company has reduced its workforce of nearly 500 workers to 50.
I am so much touched by this unfortunate challenges confronting the local rice producers and their sales representatives across the country hence my humble appeal for government intervention before the farmers finally loses their jobs, Alhaji Abubakari told the correspondent.
Attached picture: Alhaji Abubakari and some of the locked up local rice.
