Farmers' chia seed produce should not be sold at auction, officials from the Ministries of Agriculture, Justice, and Local Government have said, pledging to protect farmers' interest.
They made the observation on Tuesday in Kigali during a meeting that convened stakeholders in the chia seed value chain, including farmers, government officials, and chia seed firm - Akenes and Kernels Ltd.
Their comments come as farmers who supplied chia seeds to Akenes and Kernels Ltd, made an urgent appeal to the Government to halt the auction of 1,000 tonnes of the produce - estimated at Rwf3.6 billion - for which they said the company had not yet paid them.
Such an auction is intended to enforce a court order to pay one Didier Sheja who won a court case against Akenes and Kernels Ltd, and the company has to pay him over Rwf40 million. It is said that Sheja is one of some 3,000 chia seed farmers owed an estimated Rwf22 billion by the company.
Gerardine Mukeshimana, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources said that the person who is owed Rwf40 million by the firm, should not be paid underscoring that the farmers' chia seed produce must be left alone.
"There is an issue that is causing problems - the auction which we also stand against. We will request MINIJUST (the Ministry of Justice) that we should work together to protect the produce of the farmers, because the produce that is there does not belong to those who are selling it," said Gerardine Mukeshimana, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources.
Mbonera Théophile, the Permanent Secretary and Solicitor General in the Ministry of Justice said that legally, he cannot dispute the fact that the produce belongs to the farmers, but pointed out that the legislation provides a person who claims that the asset to be auctioned is theirs, lodges an injunction case in the court so that it removes it from the properties targeted with auction.
"But, on the other hand, we are trying to address the issue of all the residents, including those who won cases, who have the right to have the auction enforced because their case became an order and the person who lost the case pays willingly or by force," he said.
He told the farmers they want a strategy that can help address that problem amicably, and doesn't think that the Ministry of Justice has the power to stop an auction because the property is theirs.
"If you think it is yours, you can take legal action and request that the auction be halted," he said, pointing out that the concerned government officials will exchange ideas to find the needed solution.
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Emmy Nsengiyumva, the president of the committee of chia seed farmers in Rwanda said that it is good that the public entities in charge of protecting the rights of citizens should negotiate for the chia seed auction ban, so that farmers carry on payment negotiations with the chia seed firm.
"The management of Akenes and Kernels should file an appeal for the case in question (which it lost to Didier Sheja) so that our goods are not taken, and then we also file an injunction case against the auction, based on that appeal of Akenes and Kernels," he said.
Meanwhile, Yves Ndayisenga, Chief Finance Officer of Akenes and Kernels Ltd said that the company has been battling cases of 189 people who took legal action in courts of law.
He added that the seizure of the chia seeds, the closure of the company's offices at the Kigali Special Economic Zone, and action taken against its ability to raise funding and financial transactions, have paralysed its business.
Minister of Local Government, Jean Claude Musabyimana urged farmers and the company to root for mediation in order to find an amicable solution to the problem, instead of resorting to court cases.
