Debt Owed Seed Suppliers Of Planting For Food And Jobs To Be Cleared

The Ministry of Agriculture has assured that government will pay suppliers of seeds to farmers under the 'Planting for Food and Jobs' programme.

According to a Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Sagre Bambangi, government is committed to redeeming its pledge to the farmers.

Some of the farmers, who supplied seeds for the planting for food and jobs programme, have complained of the delay in accessing their monies months after supplying the seeds.

Dr. Bambangi told Citi Business News, the Ministry is fast-tracking the payment processes to sustain the policy.

“There are a lot of processes that our public financial system takes you through for you to access resources. I think the Ministry of Agriculture is engaged in these processes. Whoever hasn't been paid will be paid as long as they legitimately supplied seeds to the Ministry,” he assured.

He stated that though a specific date has not been set yet, government is working hard to get the suppliers some relief.

“I can't give a timeline now on when they'll be paid, but government can assure the suppliers of receiving payment soon because government will be working with them for the 2018 crop season. Government would not want to jeopardize the success of the planting for food and jobs program by not paying the seed providers,” he stressed.

Dr. Bambangi was speaking on the sidelines of the two-day Ghana Civil Society Orientation Consultative Workshop on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) And Mutual Accountability.

He called for a multi-ministerial strategy in solving the problems within the Agricultural sector at the workshop.

The workshop which was organized by Trust Africa and the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana was on the theme “Strengthening the Advocacy Moment for Smallholder Agriculture in Africa.”

One of the objectives of the workshop was to sensitize CSOs on the CAADP objectives, strategies and current activities for the implementation of the Malabo Declaration.

Another goal is to end hunger and halve poverty through inclusive agricultural growth and transformation should be by 2025.

The workshop also sought to develop a common understanding among civil society partners on their role in the CAADP process at national, regional and continental level, and also to map out strategies and roles of CSOs for strengthening engagement in CAADP processes, working with coalitions among other objectives.