International seminar on maize and rice market information held at UESD in Ghana

Ghanaian

A two-day international seminar on maize and rice market information was conducted at the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) in Somanya, Yilo Krobo Municipality.

Organized by the International Grains Council (IGC) and the Institute for the Development of Agriculture Co-operation in Asia (IDACA), the seminar was part of the IGC-IDACA Survey in Asia, Oceania, and Africa, funded

Read full articleby the Government of Japan during its 2023 G7 Presidency.

Participants from Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Congo attended the event, which featured keynote presentations and detailed panel discussions on global grains and rice situations.

During his opening remarks, IDACA's Executive Director, Hirofumi Kobayashi, highlighted the organizations' efforts to improve transparency in the grains market since signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2022.

He emphasized the importance of the research project launched to assess the accessibility of food market information, especially for those in remote areas affected by price hikes and market disruptions since 2022.

Kobayashi noted the joint efforts of IGC and IDACA to enhance market transparency and preparedness for food and nutrition crises, as recognized in the G7 Hiroshima Action Statement for Resilient Global Food Security on May 20, 2023.

In a virtual presentation, IGC's Executive Director, Arnaud Petit, discussed the global grains situation, highlighting a 42-month low in maize prices in February. He mentioned the dependence of rice consumption and stocks in 2024/2025 on prevailing crop outcomes.

Yosuka Ota, the Special Adviser at ICADA, presented a summary report on Grains (maize and rice), outlining the major objective of the IGC—IDACA Survey on Grains Market Information in Asia, Oceania, and Africa.

This included identifying challenges and opportunities related to food security in grains, oilseeds, and pulses, and recognizing the necessity of capacity building to strengthen stakeholders in the value chain and vitalize rural communities.

Prof. Eric Nyarko-Sampson, the Vice-Chancellor of UESD, commended IGC and ICADA for the programme, noting its potential to protect food security not only in Ghana and West Africa but globally. He emphasized the importance of adherence to guidelines in grains production by rice and maize farmers.

As part of the seminar, participants visited the Asutsuare Irrigation Rice Farms in the Shai-Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region, where they interacted with rice farmers and shared new methods of rice farming to enhance yield and profit.