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Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has flagged off the 2023 Fertilizer Sales and Distribution to farmers in the state with a caution against diverting the product for any reason.

Speaking at the event, Alia said he will not accept the diversion of government subsidised fertilizers for personal use by anyone, irrespective of their position in government.

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He said the flag-off is part of his administration’s efforts at cushioning the effects of the harsh economic challenges temporarily being experienced by the people of the state and Nigeria as a whole.

Alia who described Benue state as one of the richest states in terms of fertile land for agriculture, urged Benue farmers to take advantage of the N12,500 being the subsidized amount for a bag of fertiliser, promising to provide improved agricultural machineries as well as an enabling environment for farmers as the administration progresses.

He disclosed that government has purchased 100 trucks of fertilizer for the state, and urged the farmers to exercise patience, saying, going forward, farming seasons will be flagged off in April of every year.

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Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Nats Adzuu, commended the governor for his efforts at ensuring that fertilizer is made available to Benue farmers at a subsidized rate.

He assured the governor of the ministry’s commitment to food security and fair distribution of the product across the state.

Chairman, Taskforce committee on governor Alia’s 100 days in office, Dr. Moses Tule, disclosed that the governor has allocated one truck of fertiliser each for all the political parties in the state, insisting that the time for campaigns are over, and as such everyone deserves to enjoy the dividends of democracy, irrespective of their political parties.

Dr. Tule added further that, fertilisers will be sold at the ministry of agriculture and at all the Agric departments across the 23 local government areas in the state.

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Tule also said the governor had purchased 50 bags of the fertiliser for the most vulnerable farmers in the state, to be distributed at the SEMA office.

Sun