A group of maize farmers at Teacher Mante, near Nsawam have come together to form Teacher Mante Farmers Association to enhance their productivity and enable them take control on the pricing of their maize.

Speaking at a meeting of the association at Teacher Mante, many of the members complained of poor returns to their efforts as a result of some aggregators who dictate prices to them after harvesting.

Mr Gabriel Addo, interim Secretary of the association said it was aimed at establishing links with the Department of Food and Agriculture, Ayensuoano District Assembly and other relevant institutions to enable the members to be well informed about maize production to enable them adopt best practices to increase their productivity and earnings.

Mr Addo said the association was also aimed at turning Teacher Mante into a major maize producing area in the country to help sustain food security for the major towns connected to the area including; Accra, Nsawam, Suhum, Koforidua and beyond.

Mr Edmund Quaynor, Secretary to the Greater Accra and Eastern Regional Branch of the Seed Producers Association of Ghana (SEEDPAG) who was the Guest speaker at the meeting urged members of the association to use high yielding maize seed varieties to help increase their productivity and their earnings.

He advised the members of the association to unite and take advantage of their group to influence the prices of their produce to enable them get good returns for their efforts.

Mr Quaynor advised the group to take full advantage of government’s Planting for Food and Jobs programme to enable them get access to high yielding seeds and fertilizer at subsidised prices to support efforts at achieving food security for the country.