Editorial

NAFCO’s decision to supply SHSs with Ghana rice timely

In many respects, the decision by the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) compelling suppliers to serve Senior High Schools, (SHSs) with only Ghana rice is not only timely but also appropriate.

The company announced at a press conference in Accra on Monday that, all public senior High Schools under the free SHS programme would from next semester be supplied with only Ghana rice.

According to the Chief Executive Officer, Hanan Abdul-Wahab, the decision is mandatory and suppliers who flout the directive may suffer sanctions including non-payment for services provided and revocation of licences.

Currently under the free SHS programme, he said, NAFCO had been providing 100 per cent supply of Ghana rice in Ashanti and five regions in the Northern part of the country.

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“We are going to cover the remaining 10 regions with 100 per Ghana rice” he emphasised.

Clearly, this is a timely move by NAFCO even though the decision could have come much earlier.

The Ghanaian Times is pleased that NAFCO’s decision is coming at the heel of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s appeal to Ghanaians to consume local rice.

In fact, local rice consumption is gaining ground and we believe the decision, such as the one taken by NAFCO would go a long way to boost local rice consumption in the country.

It is our firm conviction that had all public institutions including security agencies been compelled to buy and eat local rice in the past, the narrative around consumption of local rice would have been different long ago.

But sadly, we all looked the other way while the country became the dumping ground for imported rice.

We support the current efforts by the president, as well as individuals and institutions in promoting eating of local rice.

This is the time for all Ghanaians to join the crusade to make local rice consumption a national agenda in order to reverse the craze for imported rice by the public.

Indeed, apart from the Ghana rice being highly nutritious and healthy, we are more than convinced that its consumption can save the country millions of dollars that are used to import rice into the country.

Besides, increase in production of the local rice would create jobs within the agricultural and agribusiness value chain and in the long term help grow the economy.

We must all support the crusade to consume Ghana rice at all times.

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