The site of a rice farm plagued by drought in the Volta Region.
The Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Body (GRIB) has revealed that rice production in the Volta Region of Ghana faces bleak consequences this year due to ongoing drought conditions which are disrupting production in some parts of the Region.
According to the body, farmers in the Akatsi North and South districts in the Volta Region have been gravely affected by poor rainfall patterns and are likely to lose their entire output for the 2021/2022 season.
“In Ketu South alone, over 700 hectares of rice have been lost to the drought. “The problem covers several areas including Kpoglu, Avalavi, Klenomadi and Avie in Ketu North, Akatsi in Akatsi South, Tongu Districts, Afadzato South District and Hohoe Municipal areas,” the President said.
This comes as a blow to the sector, which is an attempt to wean the country off rice importation by achieving self-sufficiency in production by 2025.
As if that is not enough, the affected farmers will have to wait till next year before they can earn some income.
Speaking to the reporter, President of GRIB Nana Agyei Ayeh II said some members of the farmers reached out to him to ascertain the situation and find a solution to the looming danger.
The President, together with some of the officials of the John A. Kufuor Foundation paid a working visit to the farms, and on their observation, several hectares of rice under cultivation are lost due to climate change and low levels of rainfall in these communities.
The woes of the farmers are further exacerbated by the huge investments they have already made in land preparation, seeds, and fertilizer.
However, the provisional production figures by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) indicate that about 973, 000 metric tonnes of rice were produced in Ghana in 2020. But, this figure could be hard to match in 2021 if the current situation persists.
Nana Agyei Ayeh II revealed that the existing dam structure which was built to harvest water to irrigate the farmlands is in a dire state of disrepair, leaving farmers at the mercy of the harsh weather conditions.
“We cannot continue with rain-fed agriculture. As you can see, this year, farmers have lost their investments simply because the rains failed them.
We would like to appeal to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to provide dugouts for these areas. These will aid in water conservations for the purposes of irrigation in such times like what we facing now” he added.
Livestock traders at the Techiman Cattle Market are reporting a positive turn in fortunes as the Muslim community prepares for the climax of the holy month of Ramadan.
Adom News Bono East Correspondent Wiafe Akenten, who visited the market, reports that despite a deceptively quiet atmosphere at the market grounds on Thursday, March 19, dealers insist that the current stability of the Ghana Cedi has provided a much-needed boost to their business operations ahead of the 2026 Eid-Al-Fitr celebrations.
The market, a major hub for livestock in the region, has become a focal point for activity as families and religious organisations look to secure cattle for the upcoming festivities.
For many years, the cattle trade in Ghana has been heavily influenced by the fluctuating value of the local currency, particularly because a significant portion of the livestock is sourced from neighbouring Sahelian countries. Cattle dealers noted that the relative calmness of the Cedi in recent weeks has stabilised the cost of importing and transporting animals.
While a three-hour observation at the market saw few immediate transactions, the traders were adamant that the underlying business climate is far superior to previous years. They attributed this to more predictable pricing, which has encouraged buyers to commit to purchases earlier than usual.
A survey of the Techiman Cattle Market reveals that prices for a single bull now range from GH₵ 7,000 to a staggering GH₵ 25,000, depending on the animal’s size and breed.
While the figures may appear daunting to the average consumer, traders in the Bono East Region maintain that the prices are a fair reflection of the current economic climate. They maintain that the relative stability of the Cedi has actually prevented even higher price points, which were feared earlier in the year.
The Bono East Regional Chief of Fulanis, Sariki Fulani Amadu Halidu, shared his perspective on the market dynamics, noting that the economic environment has finally aligned in favour of the traders
“The market is good as compared to previous years ahead of the Salla festivities,” Sariki Halidu noted during an interaction, highlighting that the currency stability has trickled down to benefit both the sellers and the final consumers.
Other traders echoed the Chief’s sentiments, explaining that while the physical “rush” at the market may appear lower than in peak years, the volume of pre-arranged sales and bulk orders has increased.
However, some dealers cautioned that while the Cedi remains stable, the high cost of animal feed and fuel for transportation still poses a challenge to their overall profit margins.
They expressed hope that the government would continue to maintain the current economic trajectory to ensure that the livestock sector remains viable throughout the year.
As the region gears up for the Friday celebrations, the Techiman market remains a barometer for the local economy, reflecting a cautious but firm sense of recovery within the agricultural trade sector.
The Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, John Dumelo, has raised concerns over Burkina Faso’s decision to ban tomato exports, saying the government must “further interrogate” the policy and seek clarity on its implications for Ghana.
Speaking on JoyNews Pulse on March 19, Mr Dumelo said he had only recently come across a memo on the development and was yet to verify the full details behind the decision.
“With a ban on the tomato export, it’s something that we need to further interrogate. I read a memo yesterday and [it’s] something that I need to find out whether it’s true and why they’ve banned it,” he said, adding that authorities will engage further to determine the way forward.
His comments come at a critical time, as Burkina Faso has officially banned the export of fresh tomatoes effective March 16, 2026, in a move aimed at boosting local industrialisation and ensuring a steady supply for domestic processing factories.
The policy, which includes the suspension of all Special Export Authorisations, is expected to significantly affect Ghana, which relies on Burkina Faso for about 90% of its tomato supply an annual trade valued at over $400 million. The development has already begun triggering price increases in local markets.
Mr Dumelo linked the situation to government’s ongoing efforts to reduce import dependence through local production, particularly in northern Ghana.
He revealed that he had, over the past year, been engaging farmers across several communities to scale up tomato cultivation, especially during the dry season.
“I went to some communities in the north to encourage them to produce tomatoes in the dry season and when I went back, most of them had listened to the advice and were doing quite well,” he noted.
According to him, areas such as Garu, Zare, Tempane and Talensi recorded encouraging yields, with many farmers already harvesting tomatoes. He added that farmers have expressed interest in expanding production, pending government support.
“I encouraged them to let me know the support that they need to scale up for the next dry season and most of them were extremely excited,” he said.
The Deputy Minister further stressed that while Ghana’s reliance on imports particularly from Burkina Faso may not end immediately, sustained investment in local production could change the outlook within a few years.
“Government is committed to helping them scale up production it might not end almost immediately, but I think that within three or four years, we should be self-sufficient when it comes to tomato production,” he stated.
Mr Dumelo also highlighted ongoing interventions under the West African Food Systems Resilience Programme (FSRP), including pilot projects at the Vea Irrigation Dam in Navrongo and trials in Akumadan, which are expected to boost output.
He expressed optimism that increased production could begin to reflect in the markets by the end of the year, with significant improvements anticipated in 2027.
Cassava is a starchy, tuberous root, introduced to sub-Saharan Africa by Portuguese traders centuries ago. It is a nutrition lifeboat for over 800 million people worldwide.
Sub-saharan Africa contributes over 63% of the world’s total cassava production. Nigeria alone grows over 20% of the world’s cassava, which is also the continent’s second most important staple food crop. It can produce a reasonable harvest even when soil quality is poor, rainfall is low, or when it has not been fertilised much.
In Africa, cassava is now grown in humid and sub-humid tropical regions, including Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique.
A warming climate is both the strength and the weakness of this crop. Cassava will be able to thrive in more places, but so will a deadly virus that kills the plant.
I was part of a team that aimed to predict and map where cassava and cassava brown streak disease might spread between now and 2080. We used computer models and climate data to do this.
Over half of Africa is currently suitable for cassava farming. This could grow to nearly two thirds of the continent’s land area in future.
The disease already affects 33.7% of cassava production, but about 56.6% of the continent is at risk of the disease spreading.
This is because as the weather heats up, populations of whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) expand. These spread the disease from plant to plant. This will be a threat to African food security.
Mapping the trends shows where people could plant disease-tolerant or resistant plant varieties as soon as possible.
Areas at the highest risk of disease outbreaks can be prioritised, along with the areas where it will be warm enough in future for cassava to grow. We suggest that national and international controls on the movement of cassava planting material must be tightly controlled to prevent the disease spreading.
Mapping where cassava can grow now and in a warmer future
Using scientific studies and data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, we set up a computer modelling approach that looked at where cassava and the disease have been found already, where the plant might expand under warmer conditions, and where the hotter climate would cause the disease to spread.
Our model identified that the environment in about 54.6% of Africa’s land area – about 16.2 million square kilometres – is currently suitable for cassava to grow, survive and extend. This includes countries such as South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, where there isn’t yet data on cassava.
Our model also showed that as the climate warms, a further 2.1 million square kilometres will become highly suitable. This area is concentrated in coastal west African nations including Guinea, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon, as well as parts of central and east Africa.
Under future climate scenarios, both the suitable and highly suitable areas are projected to expand. Our research forecasts a 56%-60% increase in cassava-suitable habitats by 2050. Cassava will be able to flourish for the first time from the east coast of South Africa through Mozambique and into northern Madagascar.
This might seem positive for food security. Cassava’s resilience to global warming could help buffer African agriculture against climate shocks that threaten other staples like maize and beans.
However, this encouraging picture darkens considerably when considered alongside projections of future outbreaks of cassava brown streak disease.
We estimated the risk of the disease by identifying places where the disease already occurs and looking at places that have similar temperature, rainfall and environmental conditions. We then ranked these new places on their suitability for the disease.
We found that about 33.7% of Africa’s land area (10.2 million square kilometres) is currently at risk of cassava brown streak disease invasion. East Africa is the hotspot, particularly Tanzania, Uganda and south-east Democratic Republic of Congo.
Our model also shows that if the climate continues to warm as it is doing, 55%-57% of Africa’s land area will be vulnerable to the cassava disease by 2050.
The models even predict that the disease will spread west into regions currently free of it. This includes Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon – zones that are current cassava production powerhouses.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest cassava producer, producing over 60 million tons annually. It faces potential disease introduction through two entry points: the borders of DR Congo with Congo and the Central African Republic.
How the cassava brown streak disease spreads
Cassava grows best in areas where temperatures are fairly stable and warm (about 25°C-35°C). Very high or very low temperatures can stop its growth.
The disease spread depends on two factors. The first is cultivation practices. Farmers frequently reuse planting materials from previous seasons. If these are infected, the disease will spread to newly planted fields.
The second factor is the way in which the whitefly, which spreads the disease, adapts to climate change. Warm conditions make it easier for the insect to survive, reproduce and spread into new areas.
Cassava’s resilience has underpinned African food security for centuries. Matching that natural resilience with human ingenuity and evidence-based policy will decide the crop’s future on the continent.
The Cocoa Farmers Alliance Association of Africa has raised serious concerns that existing cocoa pricing models are failing to protect farmers across Africa.
In a statement released on Thursday, COFAAA Global President, Adeola Adegoke, said, “these systems were designed to stabilise prices in cocoa-producing countries, but in practice, prices have been quickly adjusted to match international market fluctuations.“
Instead of providing stability and protection, the current models are leaving farmers vulnerable to the volatility of the global cocoa market.
”The organisation noted that despite the historic cocoa price boom in 2024, when international prices reached about $12,000 per metric tonne, many farmers, particularly in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, did not fully benefit due to semi-regulated and fully regulated market systems.
COFAAA highlighted that the downturn in cocoa prices over the past year has affected all origin countries in Africa and has dampened the enthusiasm generated during the 2024 price surge.
Adegoke emphasized that while global chocolate consumption continues to rise, African cocoa farmers still face low incomes, child labor risks, limited access to education, poor infrastructure, inadequate healthcare, and security threats such as illegal mining—challenges that threaten the long-term sustainability of the sector.
To address these issues, COFAAA has established the Global Members Assembly and Empowerment Forum.
The forum aims to evaluate the current situation, develop a continental position on cocoa pricing, and explore ways to support farmers through inputs and safety nets.
Adegoke stressed that Africa produces 70% of the world’s cocoa, with Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana alone accounting for 60%, yet the continent captures less than 6% of the $147 billion global chocolate market.
Adegoke also mentioned that cocoa farmers across Africa have raised fresh concerns over the effectiveness of the Living Income Differential (LID), questioning its ability to cushion the impact of falling global cocoa prices and improve farmer livelihoods.
“It is concerned that despite the sharp downturn in cocoa prices over the past year, the impact of the Living Income Differential has not been as strong as many had hoped,” the statement read.
COFAAA further questioned the long-term sustainability of the LID, asking whether it can serve as a reliable tool across varying economic cycles or if its impact depends on specific market dynamics.
While reaffirming support for the initiative, the group called on key institutions, including the Conseil du Café-Cacao, Ghana COCOBOD, and the Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana Cocoa Initiative—to provide clarity on the current status and future direction of the LID.
According to him, such guidance, would be critical for other cocoa-producing countries in Africa considering similar income-support frameworks.
The concerns come amid a broader downturn in global cocoa prices over the past year, which has affected farmers across major producing countries, including Nigeria, Cameroon, Uganda, and Sierra Leone.
According to the statement, public engagement for the initiative will begin on March 21, 2026, through a virtual session designed to encourage broader participation, strengthen collaboration, and advance a more sustainable future for Africa’s cocoa industry.
A 21-year-old final-year student at the A.M.E Zion Senior High School in the Central Region has died after being attacked by bees on the school premises.
The deceased, Emmanuella Quainoo, had enrolled at the private school for remedial classes to improve her science scores following an earlier WASSCE attempt. Around 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, she was reportedly swarmed by bees while on campus.
Despite being rushed to a nearby hospital, Emmanuella could not survive the attack. Medical staff reportedly recommended urgent treatment, including a blood transfusion, but her condition rapidly deteriorated.
Speaking to Citi News on Thursday, March 19, her grandmother, Vida Ayi Mensah, expressed deep sorrow over the incident.
She recounted, “We heard she had been attacked by bees at school, so we rushed there and took her to the hospital. She passed away the next day.
“We saw the doctors attending to her. She asked us to buy medications, which we had already done, and they also said she’d need a blood transfusion. While at the pharmacy, I was called that she had died, so I didn’t proceed with the drugs.”
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has urged farmers to intensify dry-season farming to boost local production of tomatoes and stabilise food supply, following Burkina Faso’s ban on tomato exports.
The directive by the Burkinabè government announced in a joint statement issued in Ouagadougou imposed an immediate nationwide halt on tomato exports “until further notice” to prioritise domestic supply for local processing industries.
The measure also suspends the issuance of Special Export Authorisations (ASE), effectively shutting down formal export channels. Traders with existing permits have been given a two-week window to complete ongoing transactions before all authorisations are revoked.
Authorities in Burkina Faso have warned that violations will attract sanctions under existing laws, adding that seized consignments will be redirected to local processing factories.
Reacting to the development, Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, John Dumelo, said Ghana must take steps to reduce its reliance on imported tomatoes by strengthening local production.
Speaking in an interview on Joy News on Thursday, March 19, 2026, he expressed optimism that sustained efforts could significantly reduce reliance on imports within a few years.
He acknowledged that Ghana may not immediately stop sourcing tomatoes from Burkina Faso but expressed optimism that sustained investment in local farming could change the situation in the medium term.
“For us, going to Burkina Faso for tomatoes might not end immediately, but once they get encouraged, within three or four years, we should be self-sufficient when it comes to tomato production,” he said.
Additionally, the deputy Agriculture Minister noted that the farmers must scale up dry-season production of tomatoes, promising that the ministry is committed to assisting farmers with whatever it takes to produce tomatoes, especially during this ban.
“I am yet to get the reason why the Burkina Faso government announced the ban and the details that come with it. But last year, I was in the Northern Region, and I urged them to produce tomatoes in the dry season. This dry season, I went back, and most of them are doing just that,” he said.
“I told them to let me know what they need to help them scale up production, especially in the next dry season… The government is committed to helping them to scale up production,” he added.
Burkina Faso has suspended all fresh tomato exports across its territory with immediate effect, as the military-led government moves to protect domestic processing units from supply shortages.
The ban, announced in a joint communiqué dated March 16, 2026, was signed by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Artisanat, Serge Gnaniodem Poda, and the Minister of State for Agriculture, Water, Animal and Fisheries Resources, Commandant Ismaël Sombie.
The directive applies to the entire national territory “until further notice,” the communiqué states, and covers all economic operators involved in fresh tomato exportation.
“The exportation of fresh tomatoes is suspended across the entire national territory until further notice,” the joint communiqué reads, citing the need to ensure adequate supply to national processing units.
The issuance of Special Export Authorisations, known by their French acronym ASE, has also been suspended with immediate effect.
Operators who already hold valid tomato export authorisations have been given a two-week window from the date of the communiqué to complete any pending export procedures.
After that deadline, all existing authorisations will be considered null and void.
The government warned that any violation of the directive will attract sanctions in accordance with existing regulations. Any goods seized for breaching the ban will be handed over, free of charge, to industrial tomato processing units established under the country’s popular shareholding framework.
Burkina Faso has in recent years been pushing to develop its agro-processing sector as part of broader efforts to reduce dependence on raw commodity exports a policy direction that has become more pronounced under the transitional military administration led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré.
The ban is likely to have ripple effects on cross-border tomato trade in the sub-region, including in Ghana, which shares economic and agricultural trade links with Burkina Faso.
Northern Ghana, in particular, relies on cross-border produce flows, and any tightening of supply from Burkina Faso could affect local market prices.
The government said it is counting on the cooperation of all actors in the tomato value chain, as well as border control services and security forces, to ensure full compliance with the directive.
The Dormaahene, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu |i, made a passionate appeal to President John Dramani Mahama when the president called on him during his (Mahama’s) ‘Resetting Ghana Tour’ on Tuesday, March 18, 2026.
The Dormaahene, who is also a Justice of the Court of Appeal of Ghana, complained to Mahama about how his subjects, who go to Burkina Faso to sell their egg products, are attacked.
He indicated that the Burkinabes recently seized and destroyed several hundred crates of eggs belonging to Ghanaian traders, which reports indicated are valued at over GH¢10 million.
The paramount chief, therefore, asked President Mahama to intervene in the matter because the majority of his subjects depend on the trade of eggs.
“His Excellency, eggs are our main trading commodity in Dormaa. If we are unable to take our eggs to market or don’t sell them, we won’t have food. Eggs take care of a majority of us.
“Something has happened in our egg trade. His Excellency, we trade with the people of Burkina; we sell some of our eggs to them. Recently, we took some of our eggs to Burkina via Paga. They took all our eggs without any provocation and destroyed them,” he said.
He added, “His Excellency, we have made huge losses. We raised this issue when you were out of the country, but now that you’re here, kindly look into it for us.”
The president, in his remarks, said that he was going to send a delegation to meet the President of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traore, to find out exactly what happened.
“Regarding the issue of the eggs, | heard about it after | arrived from my travel. God willing, tomorrow | will be going to Accra, and when | get there, | will send people to my friend, President Traore, to ask him what is going on. So that if there is an issue, we investigate and resolve it,” he added.
Cocoa prices settled sharply lower on Tuesday due to an improving supply outlook, amid reports from West African farmers that said consistent rains have boosted pod development in cocoa trees in the Ivory Coast and Ghana.
Ample supplies are also weighing on cocoa prices as ICE cocoa inventories rose to a 7.25-month high of 2,273,550 bags on Monday.
NY cocoa rallied to a 1-month high last Wednesday after a Reuters report last Tuesday said that local grinders bought more than 400,000 metric tons of Ivory Coast cocoa export contracts in the 10 days since purchases resumed for the mid-year crop. That suggested that new demand is emerging in the wake of recent cocoa price cuts.
Last month, Ghana cut the official price it pays its cocoa farmers by nearly 30% for supplies for the 2025/26 growing season, and the Ivory Coast last Wednesday said it would cut cocoa farmer pay by 57% that would kick in for the mid-crop harvest that started in March. The Ivory Coast and Ghana produce more than half of the world’s cocoa.
Cocoa prices have also seen some support since last week as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has boosted global shipping rates, insurance costs, and fuel prices, thereby raising cocoa importers’ costs.
In addition, slowing cocoa deliveries to ports in the Ivory Coast is supportive of prices. Tuesday’s cumulative data from the Ivory Coast showed that Ivory Coast farmers shipped 1.37 MMT of cocoa to ports in the current marketing year (October 1, 2025, through March 15, 2026), down -2.8% from 1.41 MMT in the same period a year ago.
Demand concerns have hammered cocoa prices as consumers continue to balk at the high price of chocolate. On January 28, Barry Callebaut AG, the world’s largest bulk chocolate maker, reported a -22% decline in sales volume in its cocoa division for the quarter ending November 30, citing “negative market demand and a prioritization of volume toward higher-return segments within cocoa.”
Grinding reports also showed weak demand. On January 15, the European Cocoa Association reported that Q4 European cocoa grindings fell -8.3% y/y to 304,470 MT, a bigger decline than expectations of -2.9% y/y and the lowest for a Q4 in 12 years.
On December 16, the Cocoa Association of Asia reported that Q4 Asian cocoa grindings fell -4.8% y/y to 197,022 MT. Also, the National Confectioners Association reported Q4 North American cocoa grindings rose only +0.3% y/y to 103,117 MT.
Also undercutting cocoa prices are higher exports from Nigeria, the world’s fifth-largest cocoa producer. On February 17, Bloomberg reported that Nigerian Dec cocoa exports rose +17% y/y to 54,799 MT. Nigeria’s Cocoa Association projects that Nigerian cocoa production in 2025/26 will fall by -11% y/y to 305,000 MT, from a projected 344,000 MT for the 2024/25 crop year.
On the bullish side, the Ivory Coast said its cocoa production in 2025/26 would fall -10.8% y/y to 1.65 MMT from 1.85 MMT in 2024/25. On February 10, Rabobank cut its 2025/26 global cocoa surplus estimate to 250,000 MT from a November forecast of 328,000 MT.
As a bearish factor, the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) on March 2 raised its global 2024/25 cocoa surplus estimate to 75,000 MT from 49,000 MT in November, which was the first surplus in four years.
ICCO estimated that global cocoa production in 2024/25 climbed by +8.4% y/y to 4.7 MMT. Looking ahead, StoneX on January 29 forecasted a global cocoa surplus of 287,000 MT in the 2025/26 season and a 267,000 MT surplus for 2026/27.
A special audit has peeled back the curtain on a web of financial malfeasance at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), exposing how thousands of tonnes of rice and maize have vanished, contracts were handed to unregistered “phantom” companies, and a transport firm was bizarrely paid with bags of rice instead of cash.
The sourcing, payments and distribution of grains were done in 2024 to mitigate the impact of an unusually longer than expected dry spell on vulnerable populations in some farming communities across the country.
Checks conducted by the Daily Graphic at the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) have revealed that two companies contracted by the MoFA to supply grains to it are not registered companies, to wit, they do not exist.
Danaasi Farms was contracted by MoFA to supply over 34,000 tonnes of rice, while Rans Company Ltd, which claims to be a transport and logistics company, was contracted to distribute grains nationwide to support people who had suffered the impact of the 2024 prolonged dry spell.
The special audit, conducted by the Ghana Audit Service in collaboration with the accounting firms EY and PwC, found that while only 24,000 tonnes of the rice were said to be distributed to eight regions, a staggering 10,000 tonnes could not be accounted for.
Again, Rans Company Ltd was paid over GH¢50 million for a job the Auditor-General determined should have cost GH¢30.9 million, a massive overpayment of GH¢19.1 million for transport and distribution.
Sources at the RGD confirmed that no business under those names had been registered under the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992), nor were they listed as sole proprietorships or partnerships.
This means both companies do not legally exist as entities capable of entering into binding contracts with the government.
The scandal, detailed in a report by the Auditor-General, was triggered by a standoff at a Tema warehouse.
Investigation
The investigation began on September 2, 2025, when officials from the Audit Service, acting on a directive from the Ministry of Finance, arrived at a warehouse, belonging to Sikakrobea Company Limited in Tema, to verify rice stocks but were denied entry.
The warehouse manager explained that MoFA had no contract with them, the audit report said.
The manager said a company named Danaasi Farms had stored the rice, but had abandoned it four months ago, failing to pay rent and ceasing all communication.
Sikakrobea management stated they would only grant access to Danaasi, not to MoFA or the auditors.
In a bizarre twist, after locking out the auditors on September 2, MoFA officials returned to the warehouse on September 9.
This time, the doors were opened, but only for the ministry to retrieve 7,000 bags of rice for the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).
Sikakrobea management reiterated that it did not recognise MoFA’s authority to grant access and would only deal with Danaasi Farms.
When investigators eventually gained access to documents, the situation became dire.
The audit report stated that there was a complete breakdown of internal controls.
“There were no Store Receipt Advices (SRAs) to confirm what was actually received, and no delivery notes to verify what was transported,” it said.
The chief procurement officer could not explain the fate of the missing 10,000 tonnes, the special audit report added.
Paid with rice
In one of the most startling revelations, the audit team uncovered that Rans Company Ltd, a transport firm, was not paid in Ghana Cedis for its services.
Instead, it was given 7,311 tonnes of rice.
The chief procurement officer admitted there was an instruction to issue the rice to the company, but the officer could not produce any authorising memo.
The auditors determined that that quantity of rice, valued at over GH¢11.6 million at market price, was used to settle a debt of GH¢6.28 million for haulage services, effectively granting the company a 41 per cent discount at the taxpayer’s expense.
The Auditor-General is now demanding that the officers involved be surcharged with the market price of the rice.
Maize
MoFA submitted stores receipt advice as evidence of delivery of the 100,000 tonnes of maize worth GH¢771.2 million to Ministry of Finance for payment, but only 11,900 tonnes was supplied and distributed.
Interestingly, the audit pointed out that the stores receipt advice was supported by a checklist that was certified by the internal auditor of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
The female MoFA officer admitted to the auditors that she had not visited the maize warehouse since February last year and could not even identify its location.
The Auditor-General’s team was consequently unable to verify the existence of any of the maize stocks.
Background
The country experienced a dry spell in 2024, primarily driven by climate change, causing devastating impacts on agricultural production, particularly in the northern parts of the country.
The prolonged lack of rainfall, especially between July and August 2024, resulted in widespread crop failure and significant losses to smallholder farmers.
Key impacts
According to MoFA, over 460,784 hectares of farmland were affected, with major crops such as maize, rice, groundnut, soybean, sorghum, millet, and yam severely damaged.
The ministry estimated the impact to be severe in eight regions, namely Northern, Upper East, North East, Savannah, Upper West, Bono, Bono East and Oti.
The government said approximately 435,872 farmers were said to be directly affected, with massive investment losses estimated at around GH¢3.5 billion.
The dry spell triggered fears of severe food shortages, leading to a dramatic surge in food prices, particularly in cities including Tamale.
In response to the crisis, the government announced a GH¢8 billion ($500 million) support plan to mitigate the damage, including incentives of GH¢1,000 per hectare for affected farmers.
The United States also provided $3 million in aid to support affected smallholder farmers.
