Senyo Hosi, a financial and economic policy analyst, has advised the government to enact a "Rice Development Levy" in an effort to boost the nation's rice production.

After the Bank of Ghana decided to stop providing foreign exchange assistance to importers of certain goods, including rice, he made the comment.

Trade unions and stakeholders, meanwhile, have criticized the Central Bank's action.

They claim that if the BoG discontinues the support, importers may find other ways to import these necessary goods, which would raise the price of the impacted products.

But Senyo Hosi is of the view that if Ghana moves to support local production, dependence on rice importation will be curtailed.

“Rather than withdrawing FX support from importers, the Government could have created the Rice Development Levy or Tax, and monies gotten from this levy will come with a clear structured framework from seed production to land tenure management, irrigation to paddy production and milling and all the banks will follow with capital to support it,” he is quoted by norvanreports.com

The Central Bank earlier this month, announced the withdrawal of FX support for importers of rice, chicken, cooking oil, ceramic, bottled water, fruit juice, and other goods.

A message from the Central Bank to Commercial Banks said “In accordance with the President [Akufo-Addo] directive issued at his recent address to the nation on the Ghanaian economy, on Sunday 30th October 2022, the Bank of Ghana will no longer provide FX support for the imports of rice, poultry, vegetable oils, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water, ceramic tiles and other non-critical goods”.

“The government will, in May 2023, that is six (6) months from now, review the situation. We must, as a matter of urgent national security, reduce our dependence on imported goods, and enhance our self-reliance, as demanded by our overarching goal of creating a Ghana Beyond Aid.

“Much as we believe in free trade, we must work to ensure that the majority of goods in our shops and marketplaces are those we produce and grow here in Ghana.

“That is why we have to support our farmers and domestic industries, including those created under the 1-District-1-Factory initiative, to help reduce our dependence on imports, and allow us the opportunity to export more and more of our products and guarantee a stable currency that will present a high level of predictability for citizens and the business community,” the notice read.