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Congestion at Ghana’s main seaports is a problem that has received much attention recently. This is as a result of continuous increase in containerized cargo. To increase the capacity of Ghana’ seaport, the Ministry of Transport through the Ghana Shippers Council initiated the Boankra Inland Port Project. The aim of this paper is to assess the feasibility and economic effects of implementing the Boankra Inland Port as a solution to reduce congestion at the main seaports, as well as reduce transportation cost.

The location of the inland port was assessed using the gravitational model. Data for the gravitational model are distances from the main seaports in Ghana and Boankra Inland Port to major hinterland destinations and population of the destinations. Also, 210 respondents were selected and interviewed on contribution of the dry port concept to the economy and transportation management in Ghana.

The results of the gravitational model support the location of Boankra as an inland port. A further comparison between Tema and Takoradi shows that Tema has a better location as a distribution center than Takoradi.

Although Tema and Takoradi are the main seaports in Ghana, the implementation of the Boankra inland port will reduce the transportation cost for cargo with hinterland destinations, therefore making it a rational and cost-efficient location for transit transportation.

This paper is among the first significant attempts to evaluate the suitability of inland port implementation in Ghana.

Weaknesses in the grades and standards system in low-income countries across Sub-Saharan Africa undermine the transparency of agricultural markets. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana and Mozambique rice is predominately sold in open bags and if rice price does not reflect its quality, then inefficiencies may lead to consumer welfare losses. Importantly, it is possible that impoverished communities are priced out of the market due to inflated and inefficient prices. The objective of this study is to examine determinates of rice price by estimating the impact of selected rice quality attributes on rice prices in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana and Mozambique.

We collected 363 rice samples from open air markets in Bukavu (DRC), Nampula (Mozambique) and across Ghana in 2019. Each rice sample was analyzed in a food science lab for the quality attributes: percentage of chalk and brokens, chalk impact, length and length-to-width ratio. We used multiple regression analysis to estimate if and to what extent quality attributes were the drivers of price.

Findings suggest that there are irregularities in the Ghanaian market for broken rice and that regardless of quality, imported rice is priced higher than domestic rice. In the DRC and Mozambique, our results indicate price is driven by length and length-to-width ratio in the former and length-to-width ratio in the latter.

Rice samples were purchased from market vendors and thus consumer preferences for attributes were not revealed.

These results provide valuable insight to policymakers regarding the need for proper labeling and regulation of open bag rice sales in an effort to increase consumer welfare and improve food security.