Business
Gov Promises To Transform Benue Through Agriculture
Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue said government was striving hard to transform the state through agriculture.
Suswam stated this last Thursday in Makurdi at a two-day workshop organised by the Office of the Special Adviser(Agric) to the Governor. The theme of the workshop is “Genetically Modified Foods and Organisms (GMFOs).”
The governor who was represented by Dr David Salifu, Secretary to the State Government, said he intended to achieve his target by ensuring that food processing industries were established across the state.
He stated that the state government had encouraged agricultural extension services and training in order to keep farmers abreast of developments in agriculture.
He said that effective fertiliser distribution and soft loans to farmers were other areas the state government had massively invested in.
“The state government has stepped up partnership with our universities and research institutions and has embraced projects aimed at enhancing agriculture production such as the FADAMA project,” he said.
He restated government resolve to partner with institutions and research bodies in the use of evidence-based innovations to enhance food production and improve living conditions of the people.
He called on farmers to embrace innovations in order to compete favourably with their counterparts in other parts of the world.
“As competitions for arable land and water resources increase with rising food demands, the option to continually embrace innovations becomes more crucial,” he said.
Also speaking, Programme Manager, Benue State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority, Mr James Ker, said GMFOs were capable of improving storage and nutritional quality of foods.
Ker said GMFOs were pest and disease-resistant, adding that they also had tolerance for water, temperature and saline extremes.
He appealed to farmers to practise the production of GMFOs so as to step up agriculture and improve on their incomes.
Earlier, Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Eugene Aliegba, had commended the governor for sponsoring the workshop which he said, would help farmers to update their knowledge in the production of GMFOs.