The Vice President, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has urged immediate funding for rice cultivation, labelling it a vital economic resource for West Africa as the region looks to curb its massive reliance on foreign food imports and fortify food security.
Addressing attendees at the West Africa Rice Investment Roundtable in Accra on Tuesday, June 2, she emphasised that expanding rice farming and turning it into a commercially viable industry is essential to tackling the area’s rising consumption and import pressures.
She noted that enhancing domestic rice yields would bolster food security, generate employment, and lower the continent’s reliance on external suppliers.
“Despite our economic potential, Africa still spends more than $50 billion annually on food imports, with rice accounting for a significant share of that import bill. Rice has become one of the most consumed staple foods across West Africa. With demand rising rapidly, West Africa alone imports millions of tonnes of rice every year.
“The challenge before us is not just about growing more rice, but also about mobilising the scale of capital required to transform agriculture from a subsistence sector into commercial production, and from fragmented production into integrated value chains. West Africa must therefore see rice as a strategic economic asset,” she stated.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana