The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has described as “false and misleading” news reports that some maize seeds it supplied for government’s Planting for Food and Jobs programme have been rejected by farmers.

According to a press statement by the press secretary to the sector minister, Issah Alhassan, the news article cited the Assin South District Agricultural Officer, Jacob Sackey as having complained about a maize variety supplied by the ministry to farmers in the district under the initiative as being poor in quality and unable to withstand pests and other weather conditions.

However, the ministry has stated emphatically that per the records available, MoFA never supplied the maize variety used by farmers in the said district.

“Our investigations reveal that at the time farmers were planting their seeds, MoFA supplies had not reached them so they took the initiative to procure their own seeds which later turned out to be of poor quality,” the release said.

“Apart from this, the District Agricultural Director has emphatically denied ever granting an interview to Joy FM and stating that farmers were not happy with the variety supplied by MoFA.”

The statement underscored that the ministry “never supplied those so-called 'alien' seeds which later turned out to be of poor quality”.

MoFA additionally noted that the ministry went through rigorous technical processes before approving seeds for distribution to farmers under the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme.

“It is, therefore, refreshing to note that all farmers who were supplied with the certified improved seeds delivered under the hand of the Technical Committee at MoFA are so much satisfied with the varieties as evidenced in reports received by the ministry across the length and breadth of the country,” the statement added.

“The Ministry wishes, therefore, to reassure farmers of government's commitment towards enhancing their socio-economic livelihoods through pragmatic policies and programmes.”