Good seeds. Photo credit: Totco Grains and Seeds

The Minister of state for Agriculture Vincent Sempijja says that the Ministry of health is the one to blame for the alleged supply of fake seeds to farmers. This came following reports that maize, soya and bean seeds as well as coffee seedlings were given to MPs to distribute to farmers in their constituencies under the Agriculture commercialization programme now managed by the Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF). More than 370 tonnes of seeds were distributed.

Sempijja told journalists at parliament that the UPDF should not be blamed in any way for the quality of in puts on the market.

Sempijja said that the seeds referred were procured by NAADS secretariat as its mandate of providing agricultural inputs to farmers. He said that government has been cautious on fake seeds, adding that last season the Ministry rejected supply of bean seeds which they suspected to be fake.

He continued to say that even the seeds supplied to farmers were at 95% germination rate and assured farmers that government is in high gear to regulate the seed sector in the country and ensure that farmers have access to high quality seed and other agricultural in puts. However, he noted that there is still high fake fertilizers and pesticides and weed spray on the market though government has stopped 60% of it.

The deputy commandant wealth creation Brig. Elly Kayanja denied the alleged UPDF supply of fake seeds to farmers. The director of the NAADS Dr. Samuel Mugasa urged farmers to plant their seeds immediately after receiving them so as not to encounter problems of non-germination. He also put the blame on the alleged supplied fake seeds to poor storage by some farmers who keep them for a long time and they lose viability.