Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia on Wednesday flagged off the sale of 9,000 metric tons of fertilizer to farmers for the 2025 farming season, with the government providing a 50 percent subsidy to ease production costs.
The launch took place at the Benue Fertiliser and Chemicals Company Factory, Naka Road, Makurdi, where the governor disclosed that the 600 truckloads of fertilizer valued at N16.8 billion would be sold to farmers at N22,500 per bag.
“Out of this amount, the state is paying N8.1 billion as subsidy, making fertilizers available to farmers at N22,500 per bag. This demonstrates our administration’s determination to make agriculture the bedrock of wealth creation in Benue,” Alia stated.
The governor explained that delays in fertiliser distribution were caused by irregularities among contractors in 2024. He assured that outstanding debts of about N5 billion owed to genuine contractors would be cleared by the end of October.
To curb past abuses, Alia announced that payments for fertiliser would now be processed through a cashless system. Farmers will transact via POS terminals at accredited centres, ensuring direct payments to suppliers, while cooperatives will be required to submit detailed beneficiary lists for transparency.
The governor further disclosed that fertiliser distribution for the wet season would now be conducted between April and June, while the dry season sales would be scheduled for November to January each year. He also revealed that by December 2025, Benue would begin full-scale fruit processing, banning the export of raw oranges to encourage value addition and job creation.
At the event, Governor Alia donated 300 bags of fertiliser to widows. Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Benjamin Ashaver, urged farmers to embrace wet and dry season farming to boost food security, while cautioning against black-market sales of fertiliser.
Contractor and Chief Executive Officer of Star Fertiliser and Chemicals Company, Mr. Julius Ator, advised farmers to purchase only from accredited centres to avoid substandard products. The traditional ruler of Makurdi, Chief Moses Anagende, also commended the government for making fertiliser affordable to smallholder farmers.
With this intervention, the Benue government says it is reaffirming its goal to strengthen food sufficiency and position the state as a leading agricultural hub in Nigeria.
