No shortage of maize on the market

The Techiman Maize Traders and Dealers Association has debunked recent reports about the shortage of maize on the market, countering that it has thousands of bags of maize in stock waiting for prospective buyers.

The association said the circulation of the fake report had resulted in the locking up of the produce and called for a swift action to counter that impression for its members to attract buyers.

The association debunked the report when a Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr George Boahen Oduro, visited the Techiman Maize Market last Monday to ascertain the veracity of the alleged shortage of maize at the market in particular and in the Brong Ahafo Region in general.

At the time of the visit, there were large trucks loading bags of maize, while porters were also offloading bags of maize which had been conveyed from other parts of the region to the market.

Fake news

A maize dealer, Mr Ibrahim Adamu, who spoke to the Daily Graphic, said the reported shortage of maize was false and asked prospective buyers and the public to ignore the falsehood.

“We have not experienced any maize shortage in Techiman and the other markets in the region; you can see things for yourself.

“We have maize in abundance and I don’t understand why people could peddle such falsehood,” he said, and expressed fear that thousands of bags of maize at the Techiman Maize Market and other parts of the region could go bad if nothing was done to reverse the situation.

Mr Adamu said all the shelters were fully occupied with maize, compelling the dealers to pack the rest outside, a situation which he described as not the best because of the onset of the rains.

Importation of maize

Another dealer, Mr Eliasu Seidu, who was also unhappy about the false report, expressed the belief that a group of people intentionally put the falsehood out there to bait the government to consider importing maize into the country for their own interest

He claimed that following the alleged shortage, buyers from other parts of the country had stopped visiting the Techiman Maize Market and that had negatively affected their business.

Shock

In reaction, Mr Oduro said the ministry was shocked on hearing about the shortage of maize in some parts of the country.

He said the government's flagship agricultural programme, Planting for Food and Jobs, had resulted in increased maize yields, stressing that despite challenges such as the Fall Armyworm attack, farmers were able to harvest plenty of maize.

“I have visited some municipalities and districts noted to be large producers of maize, such as Techiman, Sunyani, Ejura, among others, and found that the report was false,” he said.

Mr Oduro encouraged prospective buyers and the public to ignore the information and go to the major maize markets across the country to buy maize.