President Mahama must do this for his late father - Manasseh Azure writes amid rice glut

Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to take swift action to address the plight of Ghanaian rice and maize farmers who are struggling to sell their produce due to market constraints and an influx of cheap imported rice.

In an open letter titled “President Mahama Must Do This for His Late Father” on Thursday, November 6, 2025, Manasseh said farmers across the country have taken loans at high interest rates to cultivate crops but now face losses because imported rice nearing expiry continues to flood the market.

He noted that although the government had directed the National Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) to purchase surplus foodstuffs, the intervention had not provided the expected relief.

He wrote:

The amount allocated to NAFCO is too meagre, and it’s not for the purchase of only rice. And the prices NAFCO is proposing to buy their maize and rice will cripple them.

Manasseh also cited complaints from the Rice Growers and Millers Association, which claimed that none of its members had received supply contracts from NAFCO, questioning who exactly the agency was buying from.

He proposed that the government direct state institutions such as the Prisons Service, Armed Forces, boarding schools, and the School Feeding Programme to prioritise the purchase of locally produced rice. He added:

The government can direct all these institutions to buy local rice, instead of rebagging expired imported rice to feed our students, as we witnessed in the dying days of the Akufo-Addo regime.

According to him, encouraging local rice consumption would not only enable farmers to earn fair value for their produce but also “reduce pressure on the local currency and boost employment in the agricultural sector.”

Manasseh concluded by urging President Mahama to honour the memory of his late father, E.A. Mahama, by making farming more profitable and sustainable in Ghana.