The initiative is a component of the authority's ongoing efforts to ensure the safety and quality of food products available in a hygienic market environment

Over 22 individuals, including farmers, dryers, millers, aggregators, and processors, took part in the educational and training initiative as part of an environmental health programme, which emphasises the importance of food safety and medical examinations.

Addressing the participants, Ms Anita Owusu Kuffour, Eastern Regional Manager of FDA, highlighted the importance of honing the knowledge and skills of rice farmers to ensure the production of safe and high-quality food.

She said the training would foster a comprehensive understanding of the regulations and procedures governing food production, including the rigorous vetting process, and noted that it was very significant in deepening the knowledge and experience of rice growers.

She also expressed the FDA's commitment to environmental health and food safety and stressed that the training would provide rice farmers with the necessary information for improved hygiene practises, correct product handling, planting methods, packaging. branding, and processing, among other things.

"We will be inspecting their facilities next week to ensure that they have met all of the requirements and can move forward with the registration,she told the GNA in on the sidelines of the event

The move, she noted it was a good initiative because many had agreed to put FDA's suggestions into practise as well as shown interest in registering their product with it."

She urged producers to take advantage of the registration procedure because if they didn't, the FDA monitoring and inspection teams would be forced to pull their product off the market.

Mr Godsow Komla Glante, Director of Agriculture, Lower Manya Krobo District, said the training in food production safety would help rice farmers meet both local and international market standards.

He advised farmers to comply with all the FDA's safety regulations and procedures for their products to be approved on a global scale.

Mr Gideon Noi, Chief Executive of Holy Rice, said that the training has broadened their perspectives on a variety of topics.

He added that it had made the process of registering his business easier since, explaining that "At the time when I wanted to register my product, had no clue how to go about doing itbut the FDA training has helped me tremendously in that aspect."

Rice dealer Ms Catherine Sogbadzi called for the provision of resources such as tarpaulins and dryers, which would go a long way towards preventing their rice from being spoiled because of its exposure to unpredictability of the weather.

"I have raised concerns about dryers, which sell for 300,000 cedis, at several meetings that I attend, but neither the Agricultural Ministry nor the president is listening to us," she said.