On Saturday, August 27, Bola Akinsanya, the Executive Director of Trade and Investment Forum Africa (TRIFA) along with a few other members of the nonprofit networking group, traveled to Juapong to conduct research and get acquainted with the local farming community.

The visit in line with the network's mission to broaden people's access to economic opportunity, guarantee food security for Africa, and promote investment in the sector.

The teams first stop was at a thriving rice plantation. One major element ensuring its success is the proximity to a water body that guarantees all year flow of water to the farmland through mechanical water pumps.

Statistics from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) show that urbanization, population expansion, and shifting consumer preferences have all contributed to an increase in rice consumption.

The statistics shows that between 2008 and 2020, paddy rice production was in the range of 302,000 metric tones and 987,000 metric tones (181,000 to 622,000 metric tones of milled rice) with large annual fluctuations.

The total rice consumption in 2020 amounted to about 1,450,000 metric tones which is equivalent to per capita consumption of about 45.0kg per annum.

Ghana depends largely on imported rice to make up for the deficit in domestic rice production, an area investors could take advantage of.

Bola further urged Africans to venture into agriculture as it is an economically thriving investment while stressing that agribusiness is one of the easiest ways to alleviate poverty, providing employment and ultimately strengthening the cedis through exports of farm produces.