MiDA says it has not imported any seed maize from the US

Accra, Sept 9, GNA - The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) said on Thursday that the Millennium Development authority (MiDA) did not import any maize variety for distribution to farmers.

ADRA said all seed maize given to farmers in the MiDA Agriculture Project were locally produced certified "Obaatampa" variety.

This was contained in a statement from ADRA in reaction to news reports that MiDA had brought in seed maize known as "Pioneer" that is drought resistant and can yield 42 bags of maize per acre.

The statement said MiDA appointed ADRA to coordinate the Commercialization of Agriculture Project in the Afram Basin.

Under the project, beneficiary farmer groups are trained in group formation and dynamics, business development, value chain development, marketing skills and improved agricultural technologies.

These capacity building activities are aimed at increasing farm production and productivity, farm incomes and ultimately poverty reduction.

The statement said ADRA Ghana employed strategies such as setting up on-farm technology demonstration plots to demonstrate row planting, appropriate planting distances for optimum plant population, application of recommended fertilizer rates, timeliness in planting and weed control.

"It is important to state that during establishment of the on-farm demonstration plots, AGRISERV, an agricultural services company based in Accra, requested ADRA to include in the demonstration four hybrid maize varieties to observe their performance in the Afram Basin," it said.

The statement said AGRISERV obtained import permit from the Plant and Protection Regulatory Services Division of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to bring in the seeds on trial basis.

It said ADRA Ghana organized field day for farmers to compare the demonstrated recommended technologies with their local methods to motivate them to adopt the recommended technologies.