• New mill in Northeast Ghana to process 30,000 tons of paddy rice annually
• Project supported by World Food Program to strengthen local rice supply
• Ghana’s rice output covers only 43% of national consumption needs

In Ghana, where rice is the second most consumed cereal after maize, the government is working to expand domestic rice processing capacity. A new state-of-the-art rice mill will be built in Jadima, in the Northeastern region, according to an announcement by President John Dramani Mahama on Friday, June 13.

The project will be carried out in collaboration with the World Food Program (WFP) and will have the capacity to process 30,000 tons of paddy rice per year into milled rice. While the investment cost and construction timeline have not been disclosed, the initiative is expected to improve Ghana’s underdeveloped processing infrastructure.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, Ghana is projected to produce 762,000 tons of milled rice in the 2024/2025 season, covering only 43% of an estimated national demand of nearly 1.8 million tons. This gap has led the country to rely on rice imports exceeding one million tons this year.

The government sees the new plant as a tool to stimulate local paddy production, reduce post-harvest losses, and strengthen the domestic rice value chain. The rice mill will reduce post-harvest losses and structure a local rice value chain, which will help reduce Ghana’s dependence on imports, President Mahama said according to info relayed by the Information Services Department (ISD).

Currently, about 260,000 hectares of farmland are dedicated to rice cultivation, mostly in the Northern, Volta, Northeast, Oti, and Ashanti regions, according to the USDA. The new mill is expected to support these efforts and contribute to greater food security.