‎Ghana to ban commercial rice imports by 2030 under $3bn agriculture plan

Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has announced plans to prohibit commercial rice imports by 2030 as part of an ambitious US$3 billion investment in commercial agriculture aimed at achieving food security and reducing the country’s dependence on imported food.
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‎Dr Cassiel Ato Forson announced the policy when he presented the 2027 Budget Statement to Parliament on Thursday, November 12, 2026.
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‎The initiative forms part of the government’s New Economy programme, which seeks to expand domestic production, strengthen agro-processing and create employment opportunities across the country.
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‎According to the Minister, Ghana will establish rice development hubs in the Afram Plains, Volta Basin, Western Ghana and Northern Ghana to increase local production.
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‎The hubs are expected to bring an additional 100,000 hectares of land under rice cultivation, with targeted yields of five to six metric tonnes per hectare.
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‎The initiative is expected to support approximately 125,000 jobs.
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‎Dr Forson said the government would also introduce changes to public procurement laws to ensure that public institutions purchase locally produced food.
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‎”We are amending the public procurement laws to require that public funds spent on rice and other staples for our schools, hospitals and other public institutions purchase only foodstuff grown in Ghana,” he stated.
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‎He explained that the policy would provide a reliable market for local farmers while ensuring that public expenditure supports domestic production.
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‎”The principle is simple: the money of the Ghanaian people must create opportunity for the Ghanaian people,” he said.
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‎”If you spend their money to put rice on the table, that rice must come from their farms,” he said.
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‎The government will also introduce a new arrangement from 2027 under which rice import licences will be tied to purchases from verified Ghanaian farmers and millers.
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‎Under the arrangement, the proportion of locally purchased rice will increase as domestic production expands, while import quotas will gradually decline.
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‎Dr Forson said commercial rice imports would be prohibited by 2030, supported by increased domestic production, milling, storage, quality assurance and distribution systems.
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‎”Mr. Speaker, Commercial rice imports will be prohibited by 2030,” he announced.
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‎Beyond rice production, the US$3 billion agricultural investment will target eight integrated industries: rice, sugar, poultry, maize and soya feed, aquaculture, oil palm, vegetables and cocoa value addition.
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‎Government is also targeting self-sufficiency in sugar by 2030 through locally grown sugarcane, irrigation infrastructure, nucleus estates, organised outgrowers and commercially viable mills.
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‎In the poultry sector, the government plans to develop the entire production chain, including breeder farms, hatcheries, feed production, veterinary laboratories, processing plants and cold storage facilities.
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‎The budget also identifies a fish supply gap of approximately 500,000 metric tonnes annually, which government intends to address through commercial and smallholder aquaculture.
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‎For oil palm, government plans to develop 100,000 hectares across the Western, Central, Eastern, Volta and Ashanti regions.
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‎The Pwalugu Multi-purpose Dam will also receive US$1 billion in investment to support irrigation and vegetable production.
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‎The project is expected to irrigate more than 25,000 hectares of land, support aquaculture and generate 70 megawatts of hydropower.
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‎The first phase is expected to be ready by early 2029, with full completion scheduled for December 2030.
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‎On cocoa, Ghana is targeting local processing of at least 50 per cent of its cocoa by 2028 and 100 per cent by 2030, as part of a transition towards ending raw cocoa exports.
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‎Dr Forson said the broader agricultural programme would help reduce food imports, strengthen rural economies, support local industries and create jobs.
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‎”When Ghana grows more of what it eats, processes more of what it grows and exports more of what it makes, rural prosperity will rise, inflation will become easier to control, and the cedi will face less pressure,” he said.