President Nana Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that all government institutions will  start patronizing Ghanaian rice from next year.

Addressing a Media Engagement at the Jubilee House on Friday,  the President said "importation of foreign rice will soon be banned in the country".

“I am giving directions that from the January 1, 2020, all the state institutions would have to buy made of Ghanaian produce and Ghanaian rice”. he stated.

Leading by example, Mr Akufo-Addo said his household consumes local rice and every Ghanaian should follow suit.

“We should all eat Ghanaian rice…Each one of us in our homes should make a conscious effort to tell our wives and cousins and whoever it is who is responsible to buy Ghana rice.” He said to an applause from the audience.

There has been a wave of a campaign across the country to promote patronage of local rice to boost the local industry and curtail the over $1 billion worth of rice imported annually.

Currently, local production stands at 460,000 metric tonnes with 640,000 metric tonnes imported yearly.

The National Food Buffer Stock has also been instructed to intensify the issuance of license and purchasing of both paddy and milled rice from local producers to boost the sector and encourage more production to meet demand.