The Rice Millers Association of Ghana, has blamed inadequate financing for their inability to purchase the huge volumes of rice produced by farmers across the country.
The Millers allege that most financial institutions expressed interest in funding imported rather than local producers.
Citi TV and Citi FM CEO, Samuel Attah-Mensah has been leading a campaign to boost the consumption of locally produced rice.
Speaking on Citi TV’s current affairs program, The Point of View on Monday, the Convener of the Rice Millers Association of Ghana, Yaw Adu Poku, said the collateral demands by the banks discourages them.
“We are not buying because way back in February most of the millers started going to our bankers and telling them about what we are anticipating to help them; but unfortunately the financial houses are not ready to come in especially if we are talking about agro projects, financial houses across board are not interested in it and the requirements they are asking from is way over our heads”.
Speaking on the same program, the Managing Director of Citi FM and Citi TV Samuel Attah-Mensah, who’s the lead campaigner for the consumption of Ghana Rice, says the looming unemployment that will arise from the sector is a national security threat; hence the intervention.
“If you have over one hundred and fifty thousand people in that chain in the five northern regions put together, that’s a clear national security issue. You are not hoping that these people will go home hungry. The next you see is that an army of people will come down south and look for work, so by not attending to them, we create a bigger problem” he warned.
Meanwhile, as part of Citi FM and Citi TV’s ‘Eat Ghana Rice’ campaign, the John Agyekum Kufour Foundation in partnership with lead campaigner, Samuel Attah-Mensah, is set to meet some local rice millers today, Tuesday, 26th November, 2019.
Over fifteen major rice millers across the country are expected to attend the meeting.
Nana Ama Oppong Dua, the Policy Adviser at the John Agyekum Kufour Foundation, spoke about the essence of the meeting.
“We are going to discuss issues like financing, the mill capacities , storage and varieties; we are expecting that after this meeting we will be able to collate all the capacities of the various mills at least the major ones and continue the engagement with importers”.