Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to large-scale agricultural transformation through strategic land aggregation and improved access to farm inputs.
Governor Alia, who stated this while flagging off the 2026 Fertilizer and Other Farm Inputs Sales and Distribution Exercise in Makurdi, said his administration has subsidized fertilizer by 51% and warned against any form of diversion or malpractice.
The Governor also disclosed that the product will be sold to farmers at a subsidised rate of ₦28,000 per bag, while the government bears the subsidy to cushion production costs and support smallholder farmers across the state.
Speaking during the ceremony at the Benue Fertilizer Blending Plant, Industrial Layout, Makurdi, Governor Alia described the initiative not merely as a seasonal intervention, but as a deliberate policy direction aimed at boosting food security, expanding cultivated farmlands through land aggregation, and driving rural economic prosperity across the state.
He said that Benue’s pride as the “Food Basket of the Nation” must be sustained through modern agricultural practices, stressing that government interventions are being expanded to ensure farmers have access to quality inputs, improved seedlings, herbicides, and support systems needed to increase productivity and commercialise agriculture at scale.
Alia also said that the 2026 input distribution exercise will cover all 23 local government areas, with strengthened transparency mechanisms to ensure equitable access and eliminate diversion.
The Governor said that the administration has also increased the volume of fertiliser and related inputs to match the expanding farming population and the growing acreage under cultivation through land aggregation initiatives.
He further said; “The broader agricultural agenda of the administration includes rural road development for evacuation of farm produce, irrigation expansion for all-season farming, agro-processing and value addition to reduce post-harvest losses, as well as capacity-building programmes for farmers, youths, and women engaged in agribusiness”.
Alia therefore urged farmers to take full advantage of the programme, and also charged officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to uphold transparency, fairness, and accountability in the distribution process.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Hon. Benjamin Ashaver, declared that the era of substandard fertiliser distribution in Benue State was over.
Ashaver announced that strict enforcement mechanisms had been put in place to deal with any form of bypass or malpractice in the system.
