The Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has voiced his support for the production and consumption of local rice – an initiative which is being championed by Citi FM/Citi TV CEO, Samuel Attah-Mensah.
The Information Minister in a social media post explained that the campaign is a well-intended initiative with the potential to fuel Ghana’s agriculture growth agenda.
“Citi 97.3fm @citi973fm and Citi TV @cititvgh have just launched a Buy Ghana Rice Campaign.”
“It is a well intended initiative that has the potential to fuel our agric growth agenda. Myself and the Ministry of Information team support this campaign and encourage you to support it too.”
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah also said his Ministry is well behind the campaign to ensure that Ghanaians patronize local rice produce.
He also called on Ghanaians and other media houses to join in supporting the campaign adding that the media has the power to focus the national conversation on promoting locally made rice to achieve positive results.
“In particular I want to encourage other media houses to support this campaign across board. The media has power to concentrate the national attention on a single positive subject to achieve results.”
Former Presidential candidate of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) earlier on Tuesday also declared his support for the production and consumption of local rice.
In a post on Facebook, the politician also endorsed Samuel Attah-Mensah’s local rice consumption ambassadorship.
Mr. Greenstreet who has been consuming local rice for years was convinced that the campaign will help Ghana achieve self-sufficiency in rice production and consumption.
CEO of Citi FM/TV, Samuel Attah-Mensah declared himself a campaigner for the consumption of locally-produced rice in the country following the station’s Operation Feed Yourself campaign.
Ghana’s appetite for imported rice according to some analysts has had an apparent negative effect on the national economy.
Though it is one of the four main cereals produced and consumed in Ghana along side maize, millet and sorghum, many believe that efforts made in the past to resolve the rice importation puzzle virtually failed to produce the desired results rendering it a seemingly intractable enterprise.
While rice farmers are asking government to get them ready market for their produce, some others are making a difference in food production despite the many challenges they face in their work.
Source: CNR
