The Deputy Minister for Finance in Ghana,Thomas Nyarko Ampem, has stated that Ghana’s problem when it comes to domestic rice production and importation is due to a lack of sufficient transformational capital .
Speaking during the first day of the West African Rice Investment Roundtable here in Accra, the Deputy Minister explained that abundance in resources in the region is proof that the region’s inability to be self-sufficient in rice production has nothing to do with a shortage of natural resources.
“We know that West Africa is not short of potential in rice production. We have the land, we have the water resources, and we have the farmers. What we have lacked for far too long is sufficient transformational capital capable of unlocking this potential at scale.” He stated
The Transformational capital, Thomas Nyarko Ampem argued, must be patient enough to fund irrigation rather than just seasonal inputs, risk-tolerant enough to invest in storage, milling, logistics and processing rather than just commodity trading, and strategic enough to see a unified West African rice economy rather than fragmented national markets separated by borders.
“Clearly, transformational capital means more than money. It means patient capital that funds irrigation, not just seasonal inputs.It means risk-tolerant capital that invests in storage, milling, logistics, and processing, not just commodity trading.It means strategic regional capital that sees a West African rice economy, not fragmented national markets separated by borders. That is the scale of ambition this movement demands.” He added
Touching on the longstanding West African Jollof debate, the Deputy Minister advocated for the the conversation to shift from which country’s Jollof tastes better to which country produces enough rice to feed its people.
“Therefore, the real jollof competition before us is not whose rice tastes better, even though we know Ghana’s is the best. It is whether West Africa can finally produce enough rice to feed itself competitively.” He stated
The West Africa Rice Investment Roundtable is a high-level event organized by the ECOWAS Commission in collaboration with the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank (AfDB) with the primary objective of tackling the region’s $3.5 billion to $4 billion annual rice import bill.
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