The government has earmarked GH¢500 million to build food storage silos nationwide following the launch of a US$18.8 million rice production project.
The Regional West Africa Resilient Rice Value Chain Development project (REWARD-Ghana) was launched in Tamale on Monday, November 9.
Addressing the launch, Food and Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku said the silos would store surplus maize and rice during bumper harvests to curb post-harvest losses, protect farmers from market gluts and secure emergency reserves.
Opoku said the government had bought about 30,000 tonnes of maize for emergency reserves, following an earlier intervention to buy excess maize. The aim is to cover two to three months of food needs before requesting foreign assistance.
He pointed to the 2024 farming season, when armyworm infestations in parts of northern Ghana disrupted harvests and forced the government to import grain, adding that the ministry is monitoring potential El Niño weather effects and could mobilise extra funds to buy local rice and maize.
Funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the five-year REWARD-Ghana initiative (2026–2030) operates under the Feed Ghana Programme. That programme aims to make Ghana self-sufficient in rice by 2028, targeting annual paddy output of 3.31 million metric tonnes.
Opoku put domestic output of milled rice at roughly 960,000 metric tonnes for 2025, compared with 685,000 metric tonnes in 2022. Local production meets about 56 per cent of consumption.
Imports supply the remaining 44 per cent of Ghana’s rice needs, costing the country an estimated US$500 million each year, according to the minister.
That import bill is also the target of a Finance Ministry plan requiring rice importers to source a share of their stock locally to qualify for import permits.
REWARD-Ghana covers seven districts spread across four northern regions:
- Northern Region: Tamale, Mion and Savelugu.
- Upper West Region: Nandom and Wa Municipal.
- North East Region: Mamprugu-Moagduri.
- Savannah Region: West Gonja.
The project will prepare 3,200 hectares for rice cultivation and provide improved seeds. Equipment will include combine harvesters, boom sprayers, rice transplanters, seed drills and rotary tillers.
Processing hubs will also receive equipment to improve locally processed rice, including destoners, colour sorters and parboiling vessels as part of the project’s support.
More than 20,000 smallholder farmers will benefit directly, particularly women and young people, according to Ebenezer Kwesi Botchey, who heads the Ministry of Finance’s AfDB Unit.
AfDB Division Manager Dr Damian Ihedioha urged managers to follow the farming calendar. Northern Regional Minister Ali Adolf John called for cooperation among local authorities, farmers and businesses.
Opoku urged farmers to form Community Commodity-Based Cooperatives so the National Food Buffer Stock Company and development partners can supply inputs and connect them directly to buyers.
