Banks chase planting for Food & Jobs farmers as government owes them GHC4m

Farmers in Ashanti Region under the planting for Food and Jobs programme are unhappy about government inability to settle them GHC4, 151,160.

The programme was launched by President Akufo Addo in 2017 to help address the declining growth of the agricultural sector of the country.

Under the programme, which was started with a seed capital of GHS560 million, about 200,000 farmers have been provided with fertilisers as well as other farming inputs.

The President in his speech at the 2018 farmers’ day held in Northern Region said government has settled debt owe farmers under the planting for Food and Jobs.

But farmers of Seed Producers Association of Ghana (SEEDPAG) Biemso Coop and Blueberry farms all in Ashanti Region have raised concerns about government inability to settle them.

Tampuri Zakari executive member of Seed Producers Association of Ghana (SEEDPAG) speaking to Abusua Fm’s Osei Kwadwo said under the planting for Food and Jobs programme, the association in March and June supplied a total of 518.89 tonne of certified seed maize to Ministry of Minister for Food and Agriculture (MOFA) amounting to GHC4, 151,160.

According to Zakari Tampuri, there was a contract document which was signed by the associations as suppliers and MOFA as buyers.

In the contract, it was stated that the associations were to be paid immediately after filling their waybills and invoices on June 22, 2018 with Minister for Food and Agriculture (MOFA)

He said, “Unfortunately since the time we filled our waybills and invoices to date, not even pesewa of the amount due us has been paid whereas some of the suppliers were selected and paid their money in full in October.”

He added that the farmers are going through extremely hard times as a lot of them contracted loans to supply to enable them to produce so now their creditors are after them.

The farmers are therefore appealing to the government to pay them their money in full before the end of the year to enable them take care of their responsibilities.