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The shortage could even stretch into 2021, the Executive Director of local rice company, Western Deedew Group Limited, has said.
Kwabena Amofa Akuoko explained that the countries where Ghana imports about 60% of its rice for local consumption would soon hoard the product to feed their own citizens.
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Kwabena Amofa Akuoko
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“Where we import our food from especially that of rice is basically from Asia and America. Now we know how devastating this pandemic has been and they have already signalled us that they are no longer going to export their rice and other commodities to us,” Mr. Akuoko told Citi Business News.
“This means that we should expect some deficit in terms of the amount we need in the country. Already, we are just producing around 40 percent while we import 60 percent from other countries.”
He, therefore, called on the government to build capacity for local rice production to avoid shortage amid the pandemic.
This, he said, can be done by massively investing in the agriculture sector to boost local production of rice and other produce.
He added that there could be a shortage of rice and by extension a food crisis if government fails to do that.
“What I’m calling for is that, there should be a percentage of the 600 million Ghana cedis that has been earmarked for industries that should go strictly into agric,” Mr. Akuoko suggested.
“I suggest about 50 percent of it should be earmarked for agricultural activities so that we can plant more to make room for the deficit we are envisaging.
“If that is not taken into consideration, then what will happen is that getting to the tail end of the year and into 2021, there is going to be a major food crisis in this country,” he added.