The development had been compounded by imported rice, which had flooded the market and was selling at relatively lower prices.

As a result, the farmers have made a passionate call for state intervention in marketing their produce to save them from their current difficulties.

Volta Region

Currently, more than 50, 000 bags of paddy rice are locked up in various homes in the Ho municipality because farmers are unable to get buyers for the produce, reports Tim Dzamboe.

The marketing challenge had put over 1,000 rice farmers in Akrofu, Wegbe, Takla, Hodzo and Kpenoe, all in the municipality in serious financial stress as they were unable to pay back their bank loans and to plough back into cultivation.

According to the farmers, paddy rice produced in the area was usually purchased by rice mills and other buyers in the region but this was not forthcoming, putting farmers in dire straits.

The chairman of the Rice Farmers Association at Akrofu Xeviwofe, Mr Richard Ahimgble, told the Daily Graphic at Akrofu that there had been a massive diversification by the people from okro, cassava and maize cultivation to rice cultivation.

Planting for food and jobs

He said the people were ready to embrace the campaign for “Planting for Food and Jobs” but stated that the lack of market was demoralising.

At Kpenoe, two executives of the local farming group, Messrs Frederick Erastus and Bright Dodoto, said the predicament was at variance with the promises made by rice mills in the region to buy their produce.

They said they were beneficiaries of a loan package from the Evangelical Presbyterian Development and Relief Agency (EDRA) under the auspices of the Ohio State University/Agricultural Technical Institute in the United States and that default in payment could be a setback to the loan scheme.

From Bolgatanga, Vincent Amenuveve reports that some rice farmers in the Upper East Region were contemplating stopping the cultivation of rice on a large scale, as they found it difficult to get 'ready market' for their produce.

Mr William Anaba, a resident of Zaare, a suburb of Bolgatanga, who cultivates rice on a large scale, said he was not happy with the low patronage of his produce.

Mr Naba, who spoke to the Daily Graphic in Bolgatanga said: "We, the farmers who cultivate rice during the rainy season are distressed and shocked over our inability to get good market for our produce. Something must be done about it."

Also in Navrongo, some rice farmers expressed concern over the lack of market and low prices being paid them for their produce.

Mr Castro Senyalah, a rice farmer, told the Daily Graphic that for two years now, he had not sold a bag of rice above GH¢170, though under normal circumstances, he was supposed to sell a bag for at least GH¢300.

When contacted, the Upper East Regional Director of Agriculture, Rev. John Manu, blamed rice farmers for the non-patronage of their produce.

He said most of them hoarded their produce for unnecessarily long periods of time before they brought them to the market.

Samuel Duodu writes from Tamale that the lack of rice mills, tractors, combine harvesters, fertilisers and a ready market for the produce are some of the major challenges rice farmers faced in the Northern Region.

Some farmers who spoke to the Daily Graphic were convinced that the region had the potential to produce rice to meet local consumption, as well as for export but inadequate support for the sector by the government continued to be a challenge to local rice farmers. Mr Mahama Wahab, a rice farmer from Kpalsogu in the Tolon District, said last year he produced about 100 bags of rice but could not sell them as most Ghanaians preferred the imported rice.

Data

Data sourced from the Statistics, Research and Information Directorate (SRID) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture ( MoFA) titled, “Northern Regional Production Data for rice production 2016” indicate that a total of 142,027 metric tonnes (MT) of rice was produced in the region from the 78,188 hectares of land cultivated by rice farmers across the region in 2016.

Officials at the Regional MOFA office said the government, with the support of its development partners, such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), was supporting rice farmers in the region with improved seeds, agricultural equipment such as tractors, planters and combine harvesters to increase their production to help the country cut down on rice importation and ensure food security.