“It is heartening to mention that everywhere stakeholders in Ghana and Thailand have shown great support and enthusiasm for this project,” he said.
Mrs. Siaw Agyepong spoke at the Thailand-Ghana Business Conference at the Grand Fortune Hotel, Bangkok on Sunday, March 19, 2023.
The business conference, which brought together captains of the Thai rice industry and the Ghanaian delegation to Thailand, was chaired by the Executive Chairman of the JGC, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, with the theme: “Ghana-Thailand Business Forum; Partnership for Sustainable Rice Production in Ghana.
Members of the Ghanaian delegation included experts and researchers in various fields drawn from the University of Ghana, Legon, University of Cape Coast, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Center for Scientific and Industrial Research-Crop Research Institute (CSIR- CRI), Association Ghana Rice Farmers, Competitive African Rice Platform, traditional rulers, metropolitan, municipal and district executives (MMDCEs) and private entrepreneurs with a focus on rice, fertilizers, maize, cassava and poultry as well as executives from the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC).
Mrs. Siaw Agyepong said that since the beginning of this project (last year-2022) until now, many efforts have been made by her outfit to activate it.
“Key among the activities carried out include the following: the establishment of the Asia Africa Consortium, as a company that promotes the rice project; the involvement of high government officials including the President of the Republic of Ghana; key sector ministerial meetings; the main players of the rice sector and many others,” he pointed out.
Against this background, Mrs. Siaw Agyepong said that establishing strategic partnerships is fundamental to the success of the project.
He also used the opportunity to announce that a fully fledged National Rice Office for the project has been set up in Accra.
“Three zonal offices in Koforidua, Kumasi and Tamale for the southern, central and northern belts will also be ready for the project. Sufficient and suitable land has been purchased across the country and is ready for cultivation,” he said.
He is confident that the visit to Thailand will help to finalize and implement the plan for implementation “as soon as we return to Ghana.”
Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr. Yaw Addo Frimpong, encouraged investors in the Thai rice value chain to come and invest in Ghana.
He said the investment would benefit both Thailand and Ghana, adding that the former has the experience and technology to support Ghana to become self-sufficient in rice production.
According to him, as a leader in rice production, Thailand can support Ghana in its efforts to close the gap in rice consumption, and also produce more for export to countries in the West African sub-region.
“We [Ghana’s] the need for rice consumption is between 1.2 million to 1.4 million metric tons of rice annually and with this huge gap, the government of Ghana together with small scale rice farmers can only do 600,000 metric tons,” he said.
He explained that this business forum is a continuation of the rice project that started about five months ago.
The process, he said, started through the instrumentality of the JGC Executive Chairman, Dr. Siaw Agyepong.
After a huge gap in demand for rice consumption in Ghana, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo tasked Ghanaians to go to any lengths to ensure rice self-sufficiency in the country, he said.
Mr. Addo Frimpong, therefore, commended the initiative by the private sector led by the JGC to enter into large-scale rice production in Ghana, adding that the Ghanaian government has given it its full support.
He then emphasized that this project will help fill the gap in rice consumption in Ghana.
He was also very pleased at the level of enthusiasm shown in the Ghana-Thailand rice project by the stakeholders in Thailand.
“In addition to that, the interest that has been shown by all stakeholders in the rice industry in Thailand is quite extraordinary,” Mr. Addo Frimpong said.
In a brief comment, JGC Executive Chairman, Dr. Siaw Agyepong, added his voice to the call by the deputy minister to captains in the Thai rice sector to come and invest in Ghana.
He emphasized that Ghana is a peaceful and safe place to do business, assuring that the investment will be protected.
“I invite you to a prosperous country; a peaceful country; leaders in the West African Sub-region, and; leaders across Africa, especially in the area of peace and stability,” Dr. Siaw Agyepong assured.