The government has placed a tem­porary ban on the export of grains including rice, maize, and soyabean from the country with immediate effect. This is to forestall potential food crisis which had become imminent as a result of the prolonged dry spells experienced in about eight regions in the country. Addressing the media in Accra yesterday, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheam­pong, said the decision to place temporary ban on the export of grains formed part of the raft of measures employed by the government to ensure the country did not run into food crisis. The Minister said apart from the ban on export, to form part of a raft of measures ad­opted to ensure food sufficiency and forestall any form of grain shortages in the country following long periods of dry spells in most part of the country, the government would tap into the ECOWAS grain reserve as well as partner with the private sector to bring in more grains to bridge the gap estimated within the potential shortfall. "Government will bring in up to 300,000 metric tonnes of maize and 150,000 metric tonnes of rice to provide food support to the vulnerable farmers who have lost their crops and for the market," he stressed. In addition, he said the government would bring in a total volume of 26,000 metric tonnes of poultry feed to directly support the poultry industry.