Ghana is preparing to deploy $18.8 million into expanding domestic rice production and processing under a new intervention aimed at reducing the country’s dependence on imported rice.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture will formally launch the Regional West African Resilient Rice Value Chains Project (REWARD) in the first week of November 2026, ahead of the 2027 production season.
Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku said the African Development Bank-funded project would target major constraints along Ghana’s rice value chain, with a particular focus on production, mechanisation, processing and market access.
The project will develop 3,200 hectares of land for rice cultivation in the northern savannah ecological zone and provide farmers with improved seeds, mechanisation and other production inputs.
More than 20,000 smallholder farmers are expected to benefit from the intervention, alongside rice processors, aggregators and other actors within the value chain.
Closing Ghana’s rice supply gap
The intervention comes as Ghana continues to rely heavily on imports to meet domestic demand.
According to Mr Opoku, local production currently satisfies about 56 per cent of national rice demand, leaving a 44 per cent shortfall that is met through imports.
He said milled rice production increased from about 650,000 tonnes in 2024 to 960,000 tonnes in 2025, but further expansion was needed to achieve the government’s target of rice self-sufficiency by 2028.
The government has set a national target of 3.31 million metric tonnes of paddy rice production as part of the drive to close the supply gap.
Ghana currently spends approximately $500 million annually on rice imports, according to the Minister, representing a significant outflow of foreign exchange.
Mr Opoku said reducing the import bill would allow more of the economic value generated by rice consumption to remain within the domestic economy.
“That is money that could be earned by Ghanaian farmers, millers, and traders,” he said.
Import policy tied to local production
Alongside the REWARD project, government is preparing a policy that would link rice import quotas to investment in domestic production.
Under the proposed arrangement, importers would be expected to establish verifiable partnerships with local rice producers before being granted import permits.
Mr Opoku said the policy was not aimed at imposing a ban on rice imports but at using the existing import market to stimulate domestic production.
“We are not banning imports, which will only hurt consumers. Instead, we are channeling the value of imports into local production and empowering our farmers,” he said.
Processing infrastructure
The REWARD project will also support the establishment and upgrading of 10 strategically located rice processing centres, while improving storage facilities and strengthening connections between farmers and markets.
The government is receiving additional support from Japan, which has provided a $2.5 million grant for equipment to support the rice value chain.
The Japanese assistance includes eight combined harvesters and 11 seed-cleaning machines, with the equipment expected to arrive in November.
The interventions are expected to strengthen Ghana’s rice production and processing capacity as government works towards narrowing the gap between domestic supply and demand and achieving its 2028 rice self-sufficiency target.
