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The United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, and head of UNOWAS, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, has expressed optimism about efforts being made by government to significantly cut down on importation of rice and other food commodities into the country.

According to him, with the roll out of the flagship Planting for Food and Jobs policy and the remarkable success achieved over the past two years,  it is highly possible for Ghana to overcome the challenge in the production of rice and soyabean, which constitute the biggest import food commodities in the country. 

Dr. Ibn Chambas, who made the remarks when he paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Food and Jobs, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, at his office yesterday, commended the Minister for spearheading a number of policy initiatives which he said had completely changed the face of Agriculture in the country. 

He noted that the commitment of the Ministry and the Sector Minister towards achieving the ambitious objective of complete ban on the importation of the commodity was very laudable, adding "with the successful implementation of the PFJ initiative, Ghana is likely to achieve the objective".

The purpose of his visit, according to him, was to discuss ways his office can contribute to towards realizing the objective being espoused by the government and the Minister. 

The United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, and head of UNOWAS, said his office, was collaborating with the Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Body(GRIPD) as well as other experts in the use of modern scientific methods of rice production which ensures optimum yields compared to the traditional methods. 

"We hope with the adoption of modern technology coupled with the commitment of your Ministry,  Ghana can easily overcome the rice and soyabean production challenge," he emphasized. 

The Minister, Hon. Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto,  who expressed his gratitude to the venerated Diplomat,  said government would never renege on its effort to tackle the issue of rice production once and for all.

"We are anticipating that in the next four years, Ghana will become a net exporter of rice. We believe that the policy initiatives we have put in place are solid enough to ensure the realization of this objective," he noted.

The Minister said since the rollout of the PFJ initiative, there had been steady increases in local production of both rice and soybean, stressing however that the country was nowhere near its target. 

Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto pointed out that in the interim, the country was looking at cutting down on the importation of rice by 50% by the end of 2020 and also ensure its total ban within the next four years. 

The Minister further said farmers were being empowered with the provision of quality improved seeds, fertilizers, as well as extension services under the programme. 

He also indicated that other challenges such as processing, quality and post harvest losses were being addressed through the mechanization being implemented by the Ministry.