By King Amoah
Alhaji Musa Abubakari a prominent Kumasi businessman and Ashanti regional representative of Tamanaa Company Ltd, has issued a passionate call to the government to implement urgent measures that could safeguard local rice producers from collapsing under the weight of economic pressures.
While commending the government’s broader agricultural initiatives Alhaji Abubakari highlighted a critical flaw threatening the very existence of local rice farming.
Alhaji Abubakari who also serves as the Managing Director of Basfam Company in Kumasi and Chairman of a Kumasi based Non Governmental Organization (NGO) Muslim Executive Foundation initially praised the government’s commitment to strengthening the agriculture sector.
He acknowledged efforts aimed at ensuring abundant food production and generating income through the export of surplus produce.
However this commendation was quickly followed by a stark expression of disappointment regarding the severe challenges confronting local rice producers.
According to Alhaji Abubakari, these obstacles have already compelled many to close down their companies, painting a grim picture for the future of the industry.
The root cause of these problems he explained, lies primarily in the appreciation of the Ghana Cedi against the US Dollar exchange rate.
This economic shift has made it significantly cheaper for foreign entities to import massive quantities of rice into the country, which are then sold to the public at lower prices.
This influx of cheaper foreign rice has created an uneven playing field making it nearly impossible for local producers to compete.
Chairman Muss as he is affectionately known, indicated that this challenge has led to many farmers losing interest in continuing their businesses.
After investing their time and resources into harvesting, they are left with no ready market to sell their farm produce leading to significant losses and disillusionment.
He cited a critical example from Tamanaa Company Ltd’s facility at Nasia in the North East region where their production stock in last year is still packed at the factory’s warehouse due to lack of marketing.
This dire situation has had immediate and painful consequences, forcing the company’s management to lay down their workers due to the inability to move their products.
To ensure that the local rice producers can remain in business amidst the prevailing dollar exchange rate and the advantage enjoyed by foreign importers, Alhaji Abubakari proposed a crucial intervention.
He strongly suggested that “government must make it compulsory for the state institutions to patronize in the local rice to help sustain farmers businesses.
He stressed that while the government is undoubtedly playing her role to ensure food production and security in the country, these commendable plans would be stalled when farmers find it difficult to market their farm yields.
Without this simple but impactful strategy to encourage rice farmers the nation risks undermining its food sovereignty and losing a vital agricultural sector.
The call from the Kumasi businessman underscores the urgent need for strategic government intervention to create a protected market for local rice, ensuring that the hard work of Ghanaian farmers translates into economic stability and food security for the nation.
