This was disclosed by the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie-Akoto during an interview with Joy News.
According to him, the government intends to halt the importation of rice and poultry within the next three years.
Dr. Afriyie-Akoto explained that steps are being taken to “establish the local capacity” to meet demand, so that merchants would be able to trade with local farmers.
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Currently, almost two per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) goes into rice importation.
In 2018, more than $1billion was spent by the government to import rice, the Trade Ministry revealed.
Dr. Afriyie Akoto said government intends to increase the yield of farmers with the help of its flagship Planting for Food and Jobs programme.
This, the Agric Minister said, has already started, with the government selling fertilisers to farmers at subsidised rates.