During a B2B Session with an Austrian delegation led by the Federal Chancellor, Karl Nehammer, in Accra under the auspices of the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia expressed his delight at a partnership between Jospong Group and Komptech, as they signed a 30 million Euro agreement to support rice, maize, and soya production in Ghana. Markus Maierhofer signed on behalf of Komptech, while the Executive Chairman of Jospong Group, Dr. Joseph Siaw-Adjepong, represented his company. The agreement will see Komptech provide machinery and technological support to the Jospong Group rice project, which is being championed by the Asian African Consortium (AAC).
Komptech is a leading international technology provider of machinery and systems for the mechanical and biological processing of solid waste. The Jospong Group rice project, an integrated rice project, aims to make Ghana self-sufficient in rice production, which will result in significant economic benefits for the country.
In his brief remarks, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong invited other stakeholders to join the initiative to improve Ghana’s food security by producing locally the food that it imports. He further invited the business mogul Ibrahim Mahama and other like-minded businessmen to support the consortium.
Karl Nehammer, the first leader of Austria to visit Ghana, noted in his remarks that Ghana has been a reliable partner to Austria, and Austria will continue to deepen its engagement with Ghana. He added that trade between the two countries has increased in recent years. The B2B session between the Austrian delegation, led by the Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer, and Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Ministry and Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, provided an excellent opportunity for the Vice President to reiterate Ghana’s commitment to strategic partnerships with the private sector and enhanced efforts for industrialization and productive transformation to achieve sustainable economic growth.
The Jospong Group’s decision to invest in rice production is a response to the Ghanaian government’s goal of strengthening the economy through import substitution. In March 2023, a delegation from Ghana, including researchers from various universities and key players in the rice industry, attended the Ghana-Thailand Business Conference. The purpose of this visit was to explore opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing in the rice industry.
Ghana imported over 800,000 metric tonnes of rice, worth US$560 million, out of a total consumption of 1.4 million metric tonnes in 2022. According to IDH Sustainable Trade, a foundation based in the Netherlands, this has led to a total expenditure of GH¢6.8 billion (equivalent to US$560 million at current market rates) on rice imports.
Between 2010 and 2020, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture reported that Ghana had spent an astonishing US$8 billion on rice imports, as well as other food items that could be locally produced. This trend has been a cause of concern for stakeholders, prompting a push for increased local production to boost Ghana’s food security and reduce the nation’s reliance on imports.
