The Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo has bemoaned the amount of money Ghana spent on the importation of rice.
Ghana spent US$1.35 billion last year on rice importation alone.
Speaking at the Ghana Beyond Aid (GBA) committee’s stakeholder consultation Mr Osafo-Maafo said the money used for the importation of rice could be used on machinery to modernise the economy.
The stakeholder consultation with the leadership of faith-based organisations (FBOs)
Presenting the GBA charter document, he explained that some parts of the Northern Region could produce more than enough rice to feed West Africa with little irrigation.
He, however, added that the private sector must take charge of the rice production since the government cannot do it alone.
“It will depend on private farmers to develop rice like we depend on cocoa farmers to develop cocoa,” he noted.
He added that human development was key to this, hence the focus on technical and vocational education which would enhance the economic growth of the country.
“The countries that have made it such as South Korea, Japan, and Germany, that is where the emphasis is on their education system,” he said.
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