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From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The Director-General of Benue Agro-Industrial and Processing, Economic Transformation Bureau (BNAGRO), Mr. Peter Chieshe, said the state Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, is changing the narrative around agricultural practices to deliver prosperity to citizens.
Chieshe, who stated this while speaking with newsmen in Makurdi, decried the crude manner in which Benue farmers had been farming before the tenure of Governor Alia.
He noted that as a result of the crude farming practices among farmers in the state, the majority had been struggling to achieve prosperity, with poor yields and less value for their produce.
The industrial expert also noted that farmers had not been getting value for their produce due to the lack of agro-industrial and processing companies in the state, a development which he said had kept agricultural practices at the subsistence level.
Chieshe said Governor Hyacinth Alia had set plans in motion and was poised to change the trajectory by focusing on establishing agro-industrial processing companies.
The BNAGRO DG explained that the new Bureau is to leverage the potential of agriculture and manufacturing to bring development and prosperity to Benue State, even at the grassroots.
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He said: “Agriculture is a vast field. Farmers’ output value is poor. Agriculture is interwoven with processing. Farmers do not capture the true value; agro-industrial processing is where the wealth is. That is where value enhancement happens. Selling agricultural raw materials will make your farmers poor.
“But the food industry is where the wealth is everywhere around the world. The agro-industrial sector is a big employer of labour. The governor has a vision to diversify the economy of the state away from depending on the monthly allocation by leveraging the power and potential of agro-industry for economic transformation that will change the face of Benue. This is a strategy to drive home-grown solutions to prosperity.
“The Bureau is charged with modernising agriculture. It is charged with jump-starting agro-industrial production and delivering economic transformation.
“We are going into agricultural modernisation and processing. We will help small farmers to boost their productivity. The government will revive moribund industries and establish new ones. The governor is opening up the state to woo foreign investors to invest in this area and grow the economy.
“The governor has a plan to reposition the state to its true status as the Food Basket of the Nation. He has a plan to make Benue the leading rice-producing state. The plan is to improve the Internally Generated Revenue through rice production.”
He assured that very soon, “You will see Benue hitting the nation with Benue rice that can compete with any rice in the world. The focus is on farm mechanisation. Benue State has not gotten it right in agriculture, and that is what the Governor wants to correct. It does not make sense for any government not to support or implement agricultural mechanisation and funding and allow its farming population to continue to use hoes in the 21st century.
“This government wants to change that trajectory. We want the smallholder farmers to grow. Massive land clearing is ongoing in all parts of the state, and Benue people will see a great deal of transformation in the agricultural sector of the state. The Small and Medium Enterprises would not be neglected again. We will help them to grow,” he said.
