By Prince Ahenkorah
Ghana’s major farmer associations and agribusiness groups, have announced plans to boycott the 2025 Farmers’ Day celebrations, citing deep frustration over government inaction and worsening conditions in the country’s food production sector.
The joint decision, described as unprecedented in the nation’s agricultural history, was taken by rice producers and millers, maize farmers, mechanization service providers, input dealers, and apex farmer associations, alongside agribusiness stakeholders across all regions of Ghana.
According to the group, the boycott will affect district, regional, and national Farmers’ Day events, which are traditionally held in December to celebrate Ghanaian farmers and fishers.
In a strongly worded statement, the farmers said their decision reflects growing discontent with the government’s failure to address the crisis facing local producers, particularly those in the rice, maize, and soya value chains.
They cited the government’s unfulfilled promise, made in a September 23, 2025 statement by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, that the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) would purchase all locally produced rice and maize.
“Despite repeated assurances, not a single grain has been bought. Farmers are sitting on massive harvests they cannot sell,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, cheap, expired, and smuggled imported rice continues to flood Ghanaian markets, allegedly aided by politically connected import cartels.
These groups, the farmers claim, repackage expired foreign rice and smuggle products through unapproved routes, avoiding taxes and undermining local producers.
As of last week, more than 200,000 metric tons of paddy rice from the 2024 season remained unsold in warehouses across the Upper East, Northern, and North East regions.
According to data from the National Rice Development unit, Ghana’s 2025 rice harvest is projected to reach 1.5 million metric tons, up from 1.3 million in 2024.
Already, hundreds of thousands of tons have been harvested across the Upper East, North East, Northern, Savannah, Upper West, and Volta regions, yet much of the produce remains locked away in storage without buyers.
The coalition of farmer groups has called on government to suspend all foreign rice imports for six months, beginning in November 2025, while tightening border controls to prevent smuggling.
They are also demanding the development of a medium to long-term importation policy tied to Ghana’s national production capacity, allowing only limited imports to cover shortfalls and gradually phasing out imports altogether.
In addition, the farmers want all public institutions, including schools, hospitals, prisons, and security services, to procure Ghana rice and maize exclusively from local farmers and millers.
They are further urging the Ministry of Finance to release emergency funds to NAFCO to purchase surplus maize and rice to reduce the glut, and to introduce a guaranteed minimum price for rice and maize to protect farmers from exploitation and market volatility.
The boycott is being supported by a broad coalition of stakeholders, including the Association of Rice Producers and Millers, the Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana, the Association of Soya Value Chain Actors, the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen (GNAFF), the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), CropLife Ghana, the Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Body (GRIB), the National Seed Trade Association of Ghana (NASTAG), the Millers and Processors Associations, Traders and Market Women Associations, and the Association of Parboiled Rice Millers.
The farmer groups emphasized that their decision is not an attack on the idea of celebrating farmers, but rather a symbolic protest against policies and practices that continue to undermine their livelihoods.
“We refuse to be decorated with medals while our produce rots and our families suffer. This boycott is a call for accountability, not a rejection of recognition,” the statement said.
Until their demands are met, the coalition insists that no member will participate in the 2025 Farmers’ Day celebrations, marking a rare moment of unity, and defiance, among Ghana’s agricultural frontliners.