W/R: Youth Encouraged To Adopt Double-Track Rice Farming To Boost Yield

Roland J. Prah (CEO, Roland Rice)

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Roland Rice, Roland Jesse Prah has called on rice producers in the Western Region to adopt the 'double-track' farming to increase yield and reduce cost of production.

Double-track rice cultivation, which enables farmers to grow and harvest two times in a year has proven to be a more profitable method among rice producers in the Shama District of the Western Region.

Speaking to journalists during a trade exhibition organised by the National Youth Authority (NYA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Mr. Prah urged local rice producers to add value to their products through improved milling, destoning as well as packaging in order to gain competitive advantage in the local and international markets.

He called for government support to young farmers through training pragrammes and grants to enable them acquire machinery for milling and packaging.

The Member of Parliament for Takoradi constituency and Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, urged young entrepreneurs to take advantage of government's One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative to expand their businesses.

He promised to lobby for the acquisition of a new combine harvester to augment the work of medium-scale rice farmers in the region.

According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ghana imported foreign rice worth 1.1 billion dollars in 2017 alone.

Rice Farm in Shama District