Ghana Bans Export Of Rice, Maize, Soya Beans To Tackle Grain Shortage; Extra Security To Be Placed At Borders

The Ghanaian government has banned the exportation of rice, maise and soya beans to sustain the Ghanaian food supply market.

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, announced the ban on Monday during a press briefing. The minister said the ban was necessary due to the shortage of the grains produced locally, caused by dry spells in regions known for cultivating maise, rice, and soya beans.

“This measure (the ban) is essential to ensure the availability of these critical crops on the domestic market,” said Archeampong. “Any farmer interested in selling stock should contact our domestic directorates across the country, our district aggregators, or the directorate of crops at the Ministry of Agriculture.

“This is to ensure that farmers do not suffer adversely from this ban.”

The minister said the regions affected by the dry spells include the Oti Region, Upper West Region, Bono East Region, and the Northern Region, among others. According to Archeampong, these regions contribute to more than 62 per cent of Ghana’s grain supply.

Furthermore, the minister announced that the government will tap into ECOWAS grain reserve and partner with the private sector to reduce the gap in grain supply. He said the government will also provide 300,000 metric tonnes of maise and 150,000 metric tonnes of rice to support vulnerable farmers who lost their crops and the food market.

Following the grain exportation ban, Ghana’s defence minister, Dominic Nitiwal, disclosed that security personnel would be deployed to all border towns in the country to prevent the smuggling out of grains to neighbouring countries.

Apart from Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria restricted the export of grains this year to improve food security.

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