While small farmers play a vital role in the rice value chain, they still lack support to upgrade the quality of their products. A recent report by the Ghana Trade and Livelihood Coalition (GTLC) has found that small scale rice farmers need government support in land acquisition, training in using latest agricultural farming equipment as well as financial support from banks. The study covered 600 rice farmers from 10 small scale rice areas in 9 regions. The study called for the government to boost the farmers knowledge through proper trainings in order to have a bumper harvest at a required quality in order to meet consumer demand. Earlier, the Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Body (GRIB) also urged the government to adopt new strategies, including providing access to quality seeds, fertilizers, irrigation facilities, modern rice farming technologies, milling units as well as drying and storage units, to boost rice production in the country.
http://oryza.com/research-group-urges-ghana-government-develop-support-strategy-small-scale-rice-farmers