Ministry drags credit defaulting farmers to court

Breman Asikuma (C/R), June 7, GNA 96 The Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Asikuma-Oboben-Brakwa District has dragged 18 maize farmers, who were supplied with 50 million cedis worth of inputs but had failed to pay for them to court.

The Ministry gave the farmers inputs to expand and improve their farms.

They all pleaded guilty when they appeared before the Asikuma-Oboben-Brakwa District Court presided over by Mr Asmah Akwesi Asiedu.

Dr Evans Lawson, District Director of Ministry of Food and Agriculture, filed a writ of civil summons to enable the Ministry to retrieve the money.

He explained that as part of the Government=92s programme to increase productivity, the Ministry gave the accused persons, who were 80 in number, inputs to improve their farms. He said the inputs were given to them during the 2005 farming season and they were expected to pay for them after harvesting and selling their crops but all attempts the Ministry made to get them to pay up had failed hence the institution of the court action. Dr Lawson warned that others, who benefited from the package but had failed to pay up would soon be served with writs of summons to show cause.

The Court awarded 150,000 cedis cost against each of the farmers to reappear on 13 June 2006.

They included Ransford K. Buatsi; Kwame Sekyere; Isaac Dwirah; Yaw Sam; Solomon Odoom; Kwame Damful; Emmanuel Donkor; Anthony; Emmanuel Yawson and James Forson.

Others were John Boadu; Abeiku Quanioo; Owusu Affrani; Edward Entsir; Emmanuel Fosu and Kojo Duko. 7 June 06