A bill that will require that only locally produced rice is bought for state institutions is being prepared for the Cabinet by the Ministry of Agriculture. The bill seeks to make the President, ministers of state, other government officials and public institutions to patronise locally produced rice as a way of reviving the local rice industry. It would also enable the Government to cut down on the importation of polished rice and provide a lifeline for the local rice sector to expand and meet local demand. The Minister of Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, who announced this in Tamale, said the ministry had to resort to legislation because past and ongoing efforts to promote the consumption of local rice had yielded little results, thus the need to take a radical action that would make the desired impact. The minister spoke to the Daily Graphic in Tamale after he had chaired the inaugural meeting of the National Programme Steering Committee of the Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP). "We would have to institute a national call that would ensure that, from the presidency to the district level, everybody is made to consume local rice," he stated. "This would force the rice industry to grow due to the increased demand and consequently, more resources would be invested in that sector," the minister added. Mr Ahwoi pointed out that the rice sector had a lot of potential for the development of the northern sector and also for improving food security in the country. "If we help the rice sector to grow, we would be providing incomes to rice farmers, creating more job avenues and also expanding our traditional industries," he explained. The minister also said since local rice was more nutritious, it would be beneficial to encourage its consumption as a means of improving the nutrition of Ghanaians. On the reduction of the quantity of imported rice, Mr Ahwoi noted that efforts would have to be strengthened to boost local production, such as the provision of tractors, fertilisers, extension service and combine harvesters. He said already a large number of tractors had been sent to various districts in the regions where mechanisation centres had been established. "At least five tractors each have been sent to each of these centres to make them available to farmers who cannot purchase or own tractors," he mentioned. For the combine harvesters, the minister noted that the ones available had lost steam and were, therefore, being rehabilitated. He said about 20 new combine harvesters would be imported to support the existing ones. Source: Daily Graphic