AfDB grants Ghana $18.8 million to boost rice production
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has provided Ghana with an $18.8 million grant to strengthen its rice value chain and support the government’s target of achieving self-sufficiency by 2028. The post AfDB grants Ghana $18.8 million to boost rice production appeared first on Nairametrics .
The African Development Bank has granted Ghana $18.8 million to bolster the rice production sector and aid in achieving self-sufficiency by 2028, as reported by the Ghana News Agency on October 8, 2026. The funding, part of the Regional West Africa Resilient Rice Value Chains (REWARD) project, will target various aspects of rice cultivation, including seed production, processing, and market access.
By supporting rice cultivation on 3,200 hectares, increasing yields from 3.5 to 4.5 tonnes per hectare, and creating 20,000 jobs for smallholder farmers in designated districts, the project aims to improve productivity and competitiveness of locally produced rice. Ghana's Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, emphasized the initiative's potential to reduce the country's reliance on rice imports, which currently amount to $500 million annually.
Currently, Ghana's milled rice production stands at 960,000 tonnes, accounting for only 56% of domestic demand. The government plans to raise paddy rice production to 3.31 million tonnes annually by 2028. Additionally, Japan has pledged $2.5 million for rice seed-production equipment, expected to arrive in November, further bolstering the country's agricultural efforts.
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