ZAKI BIAM – Gov Gabriel Suswam of Benue State on Thursday commenced sales and distribution of fertiliser for 2014 cropping season.
The governor started the sales at Zaki-Biam in Ukum Local Government Area of the state.
Suswam said that the state government would not tolerate activities of people who indulged in illegal sales of fertiliser.
He said the fertiliser was meant for genuine farmers and that those not identified as a farmer who purchased the product at a subsidised rates for resale would be punished.
The governor declared that the government was subsidising the sale of fertiliser for 2014 to the tune of N3,300 against the market price of N6,500 per bag.
He said that the Fulani invasion of the state had disrupted many activities that would had accelerated its development.
Suswam, however, urged the people to remain focused and to protect their land from unscrupulous characters who might want to send Benue into extinction.
The governor urged everybody affected by the crises and who were displaced to return homes and face their farming activities, assuring them that normalcy had returned.
In his address, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Donald Gbugho, enjoined farmers to harness the opportunity provided by the government for the development of the agricultural sector.
“This is imperative if we must achieve food security, employment generation and wealth creation in Benue,’’ Gbugho said.
Gbugho expressed gratitude to the state government for the timely provision of fertiliser for farmers to motivate them for massive crop production in 2014.
He assured farmers that the government through his ministry had purchased a large quantity of fertiliser to meet farmers’ needs for the 2014 cropping season.
The commissioner also said that arrangements had been concluded with the Federal Government to increase Benue farmers’ participation in the e-wallet fertiliser distribution project. (NAN)
