The Ministry of Food and Agriculture is partnering with Integrity Commodities Limited to introduce a 50kilo weighing scale in the sale of maize to avoid shortchanging of farmers.

This is to prevent farmers from being deprived of the value of harvest on the market by traders who fail to buy produce at the right price per bag.

The standard weighing system was announced at the launch of phase two of the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs programme (PFJ 2.0) at Ejura Sekyedumasi in the Ashanti region.

The Ministry’s launch of PFJ 2.0 is expected to impact the lives of farmers and on the country’s food basket in general. Over 10,000 farmers have registered on the Ghana Agriculture and Agribusiness Platform (GhAAP).

Implementation of the PFJ phase two kicked off in three districts – Sekyere South, Ejura Sekyedumasi and Atebubu Amantin – with a stakeholder engagement to inform farmers of ready supply of all inputs.

The Municipal Chief Executive of Ejura Sekyedumasi, Dr Kingsley Osei says there are two big warehouses in the district for food preservation, which is expected to offer farmers ready markets.

Managing Director of Integrity Commodities Limited, Gideon Quaye, says under phase two of the planting for food and jobs programme, farmers will be provided seeds, fertilizers and other crop inputs to pay back during harvesting.

He noted the introduction of the weighing scale is geared towards promoting standardization in the agriculture value chain.

A 50kilo bag of maize is expected to be priced between 200 and 300 Ghana cedis.

Some of the farmers expressed gratitude for the 50 kilo weight standard for maize which they believe will improve their productivity and livelihoods.