The Competitive African Rice Platform (CARP) Ghana has launched a three-year project to strengthen the country’s rice sector through improved market coordination, private sector engagement and inclusive business development, with funding from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The project, titled “Anchoring CARP Ghana as the National Platform for Rice Sector Competitiveness,” aims to position the organisation as the central coordinating body for stakeholders across the rice value chain while deepening market systems and expanding access to structured finance and markets.
Victor Nantari, Market Systems Specialist at CARP Ghana, presenting the project’s scope at an inception workshop in Tamale, said the initiative would adopt a market systems development approach focused on long-term transformation rather than direct service delivery. He said the project would facilitate the development of a private sector-driven platform, operationalise a market intelligence system to guide investment decisions, and strengthen business-to-business linkages across the value chain.
The project is expected to directly benefit approximately 25,300 stakeholders, including 150 CARP Ghana member organisations made up of processors, traders, millers and service providers, 150 small and medium-sized enterprises in the rice value chain, 20,000 smallholder farmers linked to structured markets, and 5,000 women and youth entrepreneurs supported through inclusive business models. About one million rice consumers are expected to benefit indirectly through improved product quality, branding and affordability.
Habibu Mohammed Abdulai, National Coordinator of CARP Ghana, said the project would strengthen the platform’s capacity to coordinate stakeholders across the rice value chain and position the organisation as a key advocate for policy alignment with regional frameworks, including the ECOWAS rice development strategy.
Dr Charles Kwowe Nyaaba, a key stakeholder in the rice industry, underscored the importance of collective action in addressing the sector’s persistent challenges. He said the platform continued to play a vital role in representing Ghana’s rice value chain at the regional level and facilitating capacity building, market linkages and advocacy for infrastructure investment.
Ms Sepenica Darko, Team Lead at FarmerTribe and representative of the North East Regional Rice Value Chain Platform, commended the initiative, saying it would help address long-standing challenges for rice farmers in underserved regions and improve their productivity and market access.
CARP Ghana also used the inception workshop to elect new executives and board members to guide the platform’s operations going forward.
