Ghana has followed Nigeria and other African nations in banning the export of certain grains, including rice, corn, and soy, in an effort to prevent a drought-induced food shortage in the country.
The country’s agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong disclosed this to reporters in Accra on Monday that six regions, primarily in the north, are affected, with up to 1.8 million hectares of land at risk.
Farmers cultivating food on nearly half of that area have already been impacted.
Drought and near-drought conditions over the past two months have heightened the risk of crop failure in a region responsible for about 62% of Ghana’s grain production. The country’s agricultural sector is now on the brink of a crisis, as severe drought conditions threaten the livelihoods of over 928,000 farmers and endanger the nation’s food security.
According to the country’s Agriculture Minister, “We are forecasting a significant shortfall in grain availability, without any interventions, this could lead to a nationwide food shortage.”
Ghana intends to raise $500 million to alleviate the impact of the grain shortage, including approximately $155 million from the World Bank and other development partners, Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam announced on Monday.
According to the Minister, the government plans to use the funds to provide compensation to affected farmers, offering payments of 1,000 cedis per hectare.
In response, the government is launching a program to purchase existing grain stocks from farmers to offset the potential negative effects of the export ban. To stabilize the food supply, the government plans to access the ECOWAS Grain Reserve and partner with the private sector to import up to 300,000 metric tons of maize and 150,000 metric tons of rice.
Additionally, the government is introducing a replanting initiative, providing fast-maturing seeds and fertilizers to farmers whose crops were lost due to the drought.
What you should know
Ghana is joining countries like Nigeria and Ivory Coast in restricting grain exports this year to bolster food security. This decision follows severe drought conditions in southern Africa, countries where February was the driest in at least four decades, devastating crops.
In Nigeria, President Tinubu in February directed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to halt food exports to other countries in a bid to increase domestic supply in the country and moderate food prices. The policy is an implementation of the Export Prohibition Act which was issued almost 35years ago.
The Sub-Sahara region in the past few years have been plagued by severe food inflation and shortages occasioned by disruption of global supply chains in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war and climate change inspired droughts and uneven weather conditions.
