The Benue Government has earmarked?N1.5 billion for the procurement of 400 trucks of assorted brands of fertiliser for distribution and sale to farmers for the 2012 cropping season.
Dr Eugene Aliegba, the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, announced this in Makurdi on Thursday during the ministry’s accountability news briefing.
Aliegba said that the ministry had awarded the contract for the supply of fertiliser to three contractors to ensure that good quantities of the commodity was supplied in good time.
“These contractors are making frantic efforts to deliver their contract on schedule.”
He also announced the payment of N407 million into the Central Bank of?Nigeria (CBN)?Escrow Account, to enable farmers in the state to benefit from the Agricultural Transformation Agenda programme of the Federal Government.
Aliegba said that the objective of the approval was to ensure that farmers accessed enough fertiliser and other inputs through the e-wallet system?for the 2012 farming?activities.
He said that the ministry had registered 134, 000 farmers?under the Federal Government Farmers’ Data Capturing exercise, to enable them to benefit directly from the Federal Government's assistance.
Aliegba further disclosed that government had procured 5,000 units of Knapsack Sprayers at the cost of N45 million for sale to farmers at?subsidised rate in the 2012 cropping season.
He pointed out that within the period under review, the state government provided assorted brands of herbicides and insecticides worth N10 million to be sold to farmers during the 2012 cropping season.
He gave assurance that?the ministry would soon inaugurate the sale and distribution of the agro-chemicals before the end of May.
He said that the government had established Swine Demonstration Farms to fast track pig production in the state.
The commissioner said some officers had been trained to manage the farms, adding that “exotic, highly prolific and disease resistant pigs'' would arrive the state before ending of May.
Aliegba further said that 192 Fadama Community Associations had been registered in the state and were participating in the programme with 2,727 Fadama User Groups.
“The main objective of the project is to sustainably increase the incomes of participating rural communities,''
Aliegba identified?the revenue sources of the ministry to include collection of taxes, fees, levies and other forms of revenue on crops produce, livestock and fishery produce.
However, he?commissioner regret that the ministry was facing the challenge of untimely release of counterpart funds and expressed?fear that the state might be?delisted from donor agencies’ assistance. (NAN)