The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has announced that the government intends to lift the ban on grain export by the end of November 2024.
Minister in charge of the sector, Dr Bryan Acheampong, addressing some journalists in Accra expressed confidence that the current challenges would be mitigated by November, allowing the government to lift the restrictions on grain exports.
Dr Bryan Acheampong emphasized that the government is closely monitoring the weather patterns and agricultural outputs in the affected regions.
“We will monitor the situation, but we believe that we will come out of this situation by November. We should be very clear when the northern harvest comes in, and the southern sector comes in, and then the imports come in. By November we should be very clear and so we will monitor and we will apprise the nation,” he noted.
This latest announcement is a relief to stakeholders in the agricultural sector who have been appealing to the government to lift the ban.
It will be recalled that the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, during a press briefing in Accra on Monday, August 26, announced the ban due to the dry spells affecting the northern parts of Ghana.
He explained that the ban aims to ensure food availability for the domestic market amid challenging weather conditions.
To mitigate the impact on farmers, Mr. Acheampong urged those with grain stock to contact district directors, aggregators, and the crops directorate across the country if they are interested in selling.
This measure is intended to support farmers and prevent them from suffering losses due to the export ban.
“With immediate effect, the government is placing a ban on the export of grains, including maize, rice, and soya beans, until the situation normalizes. This measure is essential to ensure the availability of these critical crops on the domestic market.”
“Any farmer with stock and interested in selling should contact our district directors across the country, our district aggregators, or the directorate of crops, Ministry of Agriculture. This is to ensure that farmers do not suffer adversely as a result of this ban,” he noted.
