Government Launches $18.8m REWARD-Ghana Rice Project in Tamale, Earmarks GH¢500m for Silos

Tamale was the launchpad on Monday, November 9, for a five-year, US$18.8 million project aimed at cutting Ghana’s dependence on imported rice, with all of its work set to take place in the North, according to the Ghana News Agency (GNA).

The Regional West Africa Resilient Rice Value Chain Development project, known as REWARD-Ghana, is funded by the African Development Bank and runs from 2026 to 2030. It will be implemented in seven assemblies across four regions of the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone: Tamale, Mion and Savelugu in the Northern Region; Wa Municipal and Nandom in the Upper West; Mamprugu-Moagduri in the North East; and West Gonja in the Savannah Region.

What the project offers

Food and Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku, who launched the project, said it would develop 3,200 hectares for rice cultivation and supply improved seed, inputs and machinery, including rotary tillers, seed drills, transplanters and small combine harvesters. Existing mills are to receive colour sorters, destoners and improved parboiling vessels to raise the quality of locally processed rice. Smallholders, anchor farmers, mechanisation providers, aggregators and processors are among the expected beneficiaries, with a focus on jobs for women and young people.

The minister said domestic milled rice output rose from about 685,000 tonnes in 2022 to 960,000 tonnes in 2025, but still meets only about 56 per cent of national demand. Ghana spends an estimated US$500 million a year on rice imports, he said. The project falls under the government’s Feed Ghana Programme, which targets rice self-sufficiency by 2028.

GH¢500m for food silos

At the same event, Mr Opoku announced that the government had earmarked GH¢500 million to build silos at strategic locations across the country, so that surplus maize and rice can be stored after bumper harvests instead of being lost or sold cheaply in a glut. He said about 30,000 tonnes of maize had already been bought towards a national food buffer stock intended to feed the country for two to three months in an emergency.

He recalled the 2024 season, when armyworm attacks in parts of the North forced the country to import food, and said the government was monitoring the possible effects of El Niño on production. He urged farmers to form commodity-based cooperatives so that seed, inputs and buyers can reach them more easily. The GNA report did not say where the silos will be built.

Northern Regional Minister Ali Adolf John said the region had strong potential for rice but needed the right support services and reliable markets to realise it.

Source: Ghana News Agency — https://gna.org.gh/2026/11/government-launches-reward-ghana-to-strengthen-rice-production/ ; Ghana News Agency — https://gna.org.gh/2026/11/government-earmarks-gh%c2%a2500-million-to-construct-silos-for-food-storage/