Farmers threaten boycott of 2025 Farmers’ Day celebrations over unfulfilled promises
A coalition of farmer groups across Ghana has announced plans to boycott this year’s National Farmers’ Day celebrations, citing deep frustration over government inaction and worsening conditions in the country’s food production sector.
The decision, described as unprecedented, was announced by the leadership of rice producers, maize farmers, mechanization service providers, input dealers, and major agribusiness associations. They say the move is a protest against “policies that undermine local production while rewarding importers.”
Despite repeated assurances from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture that the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) would buy all locally produced rice and maize, the groups claim no purchases have been made. As a result, hundreds of thousands of tons of harvested crops remain unsold in warehouses across northern Ghana.
According to the farmers, the situation has been made worse by the influx of cheap and sometimes expired imported rice smuggled into the country with the backing of politically connected traders. These imports, they say, have collapsed local prices and pushed many farmers into debt.
The coalition is demanding that government suspend rice imports for six months, fund NAFCO to purchase the unsold stock, and enforce a guaranteed minimum price for maize and rice. They also want public institutions such as schools and hospitals to buy only Ghanaian grains.
Farmer unions, including the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen, and the Chamber of Agribusiness, have endorsed the boycott, insisting they will not participate in the 2025 Farmers’ Day celebrations unless their demands are met.
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