The Former President, John Agyekum Kuffour has called on authorities to draw a defined policy that would be implemented to help improve and boost rice production in the country.
The Former president made this profound statement yesterday at a programme organized by the Competitive African Rice Initiative, CARI, to educate, inform and implement policies geared at improving rice farming in the country.
Ex-president said West African countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, as well as Tanzania in East Africa committed billions of dollars into the import of rice from other countries. He said this was against the fact that African countries are potentially blessed and endowed with lands, water for irrigation and good farmers.
He said farmers were inefficient as they do not think along business lines to enable them expand the capacities of their farmland in order to increase production. The president further confirmed that competitive African Rice Initiative has come to educate and inform the general public that farming or agriculture is a business which must involve efficient productivity, improved technology and seedlings, access to money and technical advice.
The former leader further added that, there should be an improved value chain and marketing policies in order to improve the profit margin of rice farmers and others involved in the value chain. He said this must be done to show an improvement in the income, revenue, farming practices and improved technology of the farmers
Source: ritefmonline.org
