Frustrated by Government’s inability to pay seed suppliers, NASTAG has petitioned the National Seed Council Chairman to step in and make sure they get paid. The National Seed Trade Association of Ghana (NASTAG) is owed around GH150 million by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA).
This pertains to seeds distributed as part of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) initiative during the planting season in 2021.
NASTAG asserts in a letter to Josiah Awombil, the Chairman of the NSC, that enterprises that provided seeds for the year 2021 have not been paid or have no plans to be paid by government.
The association also informed the NSC that because nearly all seed suppliers are local businesses, a delay in payments, may have an effect on the local economy.
While applauding the Ministry for taking action to pay other suppliers under PFJ, specifically fertiliser providers, NASTAG cautioned MoFA that “seed should never occupy a second position in the sequence of priority” since “fertiliser operates on good seeds to be able to affect crop performance.”
NASTAG also complained how these payment delays will make it harder for them to buy seeds, which will make it harder for them to repay whatever loans their members may have taken out to stay in business.
It warned that any more payment delays would undo any recent progress in seed sector investments that the PFJ had made possible.
Seed producers have access to a marketing channel through PFJ. Less than 45% of seed growers took part in the programme in 2018 compared to to over 80% in 2021.
According to a survey, the seed industry employed over 6,000 people in 2018, but in 2021, that number increased to more than 7,000 employees, an increase of about 17% in just two years.
Ag-Soft Links consultant Lydia Nikoi performed a survey of Ghanaian seed firms and producers in 2021. The survey showed that in 2018, open-pollinated varieties made up 95% of all certified seeds produced by Ghanaian seed producers, while hybrid seed production made up 5%.
According to her, in 2021, open-pollinated varieties made up 79% of all seed output, while hybrids made up 21%.