He said ATTP would also examine the needs of the private sector so that they could offer the needed support for it to grow. Dr Mullen was speaking at a two -day sensitisation workshop for seed value chain actors in Northern Ghana in Tamale organised by the National Seed Trade Association of Ghana (NASTAG) with support from the USAID under its ATT Project.

The workshop was also used to introduce an initiative to make more certified seeds available to farmers for planting during the 2017 main cropping season in Northern Ghana. The initiative is a collaborative effort between the Agricultural Technology Transfer (ATT) project and the National Seed Trade Association of Ghana (NASTAG) and is aimed at increasing the current 11 per cent usage of certified improved varieties of maize, rice and soybean for cultivation by farmers in Northern Ghana to 27 per cent this year.

The overall objective of the project is to increase the use of certified seed for maize, rice and soybeans, which had been selected for the project to 40 per cent by 2018.  Dr Mullen gave the assurance that the ATT project would support 70 seed producers this year as part of the initiative to produce more certified seed for the three crops for smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana to plant.

He explained that the move was to contribute to increased crop productivity, increased incomes for farmers and ensured food security for the country.

Dr Mullen said as part of the initiative, the ATT project would also roll out a seed van project this year to ensure that certified seeds, which are critical inputs to increased productivity, get to farmers in their communities.

Mr Thomas Havor, an Executive Member of NASTAG commended the ATT project for the support to the seed sector of the country and also helping to increase the use of certified seeds by farmers in the three Regions of the North.

He therefore, appealed to all seed producers in Northern Ghana to come together and take advantage of the project to produce more certified seed for farmers to increase their productivity. Dr Gyan Solomon Ansah, the Coordinator of the West Africa Seed Programme, said it had been indicated clearly that the country needed seed security stocks so that the nation could rely on it in times of emergency.

He however said in part two of the plants and fertilizer Act, which talks about seeds, there is no delineated section that talks about seed security stocks. Dr Ansah tasked the seed producers association to support the review of the Acts, which was passed in 2010 to incorporate the seed security stocks to enable the country respond adequately in times of emergencies.