The ministry of agriculture and forestry in Yei River State says it will take legal action against Non-Governmental Organizations supplying seeds to the farmers in Yei River State saying the seeds supplied in the current cultivation season are of poor quality.
Catherine Juan, Yei River State agriculture minister told Radio Tamazuj that several farmers have launched complains over poor crop germination this cultivation season.
She said agricultural officers were dispatched to the complaining farmers to assess the situation and they found out that the maize and vegetable seeds imported from neighboring Kenya and Uganda were expired.
“I personally went to verify from one of the farmers around Yei and found out that the germination rate of the seeds was poor. And we also discovered that some of the seeds given were of old stock. We expected that before they buy and import seeds into the country, they should first do germination testing,” Juan said.
“We are going to carry out close monitoring in the second crop cultivation and if the same thing continues as in the first season, then we will drag these agricultural supporting NGOs to court as the government of the state,” she warned.
Juan advised the farmers in the area not to lose hope but instead plant more seeds into a single hole to avoid zero germination. She also urged them to practice traditional methods of preserving their own seeds.
“My advice to the farmers is that let them go back to the traditional ways of keeping their own seeds instead of waiting for seeds brought from somewhere with poor viability or germination capacity,” she added.