PFJ 2022: General Implementation Modalities for Improved Seeds

To ensure efficiency and value for money in the distribution of improved seeds to beneficiary farmers under the 2022 Planting for Food and Jobs Campaign, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) is rolling out the following implementation guidelines with the support of NABCO officials.

1. All seeds will be bagged in sacks with PFJ labels/logo
2. Seed growers/suppliers of improved seeds must liaise with PPRSD for sacks.
3. Copies of waybills on all seed consignments must be submitted to Regional Ministers or their representatives and Regional Directors of Agriculture for endorsement before offloading or sending to the districts/communities.
4. At the district and community levels, copies of waybills of all seed consignments must be submitted to MMDCEs or their representative and Municipal, Metropolitan and District Directors of Agriculture for endorsement.
5. Seed distributors and retailers will liaise with NABCO officials under the supervision of MMDCEs to distribute seeds to the sale outlets/retail points
6. Daily records sheets will be used to record daily sales to farmers.
7. NABCO officials will be placed at all retail outlets in all regions to supervise and record the quantities of seeds being sold to farmers through the use of daily records sheets.
8. The sales records of the retailers will be reconciled with the NABCO officials.
9. The date, name, quantities and types of seeds bought by beneficiary farmers should be recorded on the daily records sheets. It must be ensured that only daily records sheets provided by MOFA are to be used by the retailers.

2.0 QUALITY CONTROL

Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD) would intensify quality control under the Planting for Food and Jobs Campaign for 2022.

1. All seeds to be distributed under the Planting for Food and Jobs must be in PFJ-PPRSD approved sacks with PFJ logo.
2. All seeds to be distributed under the Planting for Food and Jobs Campaign must be duly certified by PPRSD.
3. For the purposes of reconciliation, locally produced seeds must have field inspection reports.
4. All certified seeds must have inspection tags which should contain information such as name of the grower, certification code of the seed inspector, germination percentage, variety, field location, address etc.
5. All vegetable seeds to be distributed under the Planting for Food and Jobs must have PFJ sticker/logo on them.
6. Seeds that will fall below the quality standards will not be accepted for payment and the appropriate sanctions will apply.

3.0 SUBMISSION OF IMPORT DOCUMENTS AND SOURCES OF SEEDS

1. All hybrid maize and vegetable seed supplier will be required to furnish the Ministry of Food and Agriculture with all importation documents (bill of laden, Custom Declaration forms & commercial invoices).
2. Companies that will purchase seeds from other companies or growers within the country will be required to furnish the Ministry of Food and Agriculture with the purchasing agreements.
3. Companies that produced their own seeds must provide proof that all the seeds have been certified by PPRSD and indicate where they obtained their foundations seeds.
4. Payment invoices will not be accepted from companies that will fail to provide these documents (a, b & c above).

4.0 COMPLETION OF SUBSIDY DOCUMENTATIONS

1. At the end of each month, the retailers would present the daily records sheets to the offices of the District Departments of Agriculture for a FORM A to be prepared. The District Department will record the total quantities of seeds sold by the retailers on the FORM A. The Retailer, District PFJ Desk Officers and the District Directors of Agriculture must sign the FORM A.
2. The FORM As will be sent to the Regional Departments of Agriculture for a FORM B & C to be prepared. The Regional PFJ Desk Officers will record the quantities of seeds sold on the FORMS B & C. At the regional level, the seed distributor/company, Regional PFJ Desk Officer and Regional Director of Agriculture must sign the FORM B & C.
3. The Regional and District Departments are required to prepare form A, B and C for the retailers and distributors within 3 days of submission of the daily records sheet and seed form As.
4. At the end of each month, all seed forms (A, B & C) should be aggregated by the seed companies and submitted to the Director of Crop Services together with invoices other relevant documents for processing and payments.
5. The figures will be reconciled by the Director of Crop Services with NABCO officials and the forms will be forwarded to the internal audit Unit for the necessary audit to be carried out.
6. If the figures are found to be accurate, a FORM D is prepared. The seed Company, the Director of Crop Services and the Chief Internal Auditor will sign the FORM D. The form D and the invoices from the companies are sent for approval by the Hon.  Minister for Food and Agriculture for onward submission to the Ministry of Finance for payment.
7. It is not allowed to use correction fluid to change figures on the daily records sheets, waybill and the seed forms (A, B & C).
8. The daily records sheets must be signed by the NABCO Officers and the input retailers at the end of the month before submission to the District Departments of Agriculture for form As to be prepared.
9. The figures on the FORM As must correspond to the figures on the daily records sheets.
10. Distributors and retailers are allowed to use photocopies of the daily record sheets to record daily sales to farmers.

5.0 DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED FOR PROCESSING AND PAYMENT

1. Well completed seed forms (A, B & C) duly signed and stamped by the Regional and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Directors of Agriculture respectively.

2. Companies and distributors waybills duly signed and stamped by the Regional Ministers and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives or their representatives.
3. Daily records sheets duly signed by the retailer and NABCO officer and stamped by the District Director of Agriculture.

1. Invoice(s) with following supporting documents (Bill of Lading, Commercial Invoices and Customs Declaration Forms for hybrid maize and vegetable seeds importers)
2. Germination test results

6.0 GUIDELINES FOR SEEDS STOCK TAKING

1. All participating companies will be required to declare their opening stocks at the beginning of the season.
2. All participating companies must inform MOFA in writing whenever they import or procure new consignments. The request for stock taking must be submitted at least one week before the exercise is carried out.
3. Participating companies who will purchase their seeds locally from other companies must at all times invite MOFA to take stocks before distribution commences.
4. Companies that would purchase their seeds locally should indicate in their letters to MoFA (supported by a purchasing agreement), the companies they are purchasing their inputs from.
5. Upon receipt of the letter for stock taking, the team will arrange with the companies the appropriate day the stock taking exercise will be carried out.
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7. The stock taking will only be carried out on seeds that have been bagged in the prescribed PFJ packaging materials. All vegetable seeds with the exception of cabbage seeds will be packaged in 100 grams packaging materials with PFJ logo. Cabbage seeds will be packaged in 25 grams packaging materials.
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9. The consignments must be well arranged in the warehouses to facilitate the stock taking exercise. The team will not count any consignment that is not well arranged in the warehouses.
10. Warehouse Managers are required to cooperate fully with the stock taking team and give all relevant information for the conduct of the stock taking exercise.
11. Seeds that have expired will not be counted.

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) WOULD NOT ACCEPT any invoice(s) on seeds which have not been verified/counted by the team before distribution. Please under no circumstances that seeds are distributed without stock taking.

7.0 ASSESSMENT/VERIFICATION OF SUBSIDY FORMS A’s AND DAILY RECORDS SHEETS.

Under the 2022 Planting for Food and Jobs Campaign, seed subsidy forms A’s and its associated daily records sheets will be assessed/verified prior to the preparation of forms B & C by the Regional Department of Agriculture. The assessment will be carried out as follows;

1. The subsidy forms will be assessed by randomly picking the contact numbers recorded on the daily records sheets attached to the form A’s and calls placed to the farmers/persons to find out whether he or she received the seeds or not.
2. If 50% of farmers/persons randomly selected on the daily records sheets deny buying any seeds at all.
3. If the farmers/persons randomly selected in the daily records deny buying the quantities of seeds recorded against his/her name.
4. If the quantities of seeds recorded against names of the farmers/persons are more than the approved quantities. 
5. If the contact numbers recorded on the daily record sheets are fictitious/wrong numbers or are not legible.
6. If the contact numbers do not belong to the farmers/persons recorded on the daily records sheets and the farmers/persons the number belongs to deny knowing the farmers/persons recorded on the daily records sheets.
7. If the accompanying daily record sheets do not have contact numbers/ID Card against farmers’ names.
8. Failure to comply with the above guidelines (1 – 7) will lead to the rejection of the daily record sheets and subsequently non-payment of the invoice(s).

8.0 APPROVED SUBSIDIZED PRICES FOR SEEDS AND PLANTING MATERIALS

a. Cereals, Legumes Seeds & Planting Material Prices

b. Vegetable Seed Prices