May 31, (THEWILL)- The Benue State Government has agreed with a company to provide 100 tractors for farmers this cropping season.
The Director General, Bureau for Agricultural Development and Mechanisation, Engr. Terese Ninga, explained that the supply is part of the 1,000,000 tractors the Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration promised to buy for Benue farmers.
“Already, the government has set up a Mechanisation committee to move the state out of the primitive way of farming. So far, one hundred thousand farmers in the state have been profiled at the initial stage.”
The Director General expressed the hope that over 3 million farmers will be registered in the next four years to pave the way for a full Mechanisation system, which will be the first of its kind in the history of Benue State.
Engr Ninga, who was fielding questions from Radio Benue on achievements of Governor Hyacinth Alia’s one year in office, noted that the Bureau which is the creation of the present regime, is aimed at achieving mechanise farming.
According to him, the Alia government is also set to revamp the extension of agriculture services, maintaining that the Benue community will continue to witness innovations in the farming sector to boost their yields.
Meanwhile, foodstuff prices have continued to go high in the market with a tin of rice going for N32,000 at Wurukum Rice Mill market, while a big tuber of yam is sold at the cost of N1,200.
Our checks revealed that a milk cup of beans is sold for between N250 and N260 while a small bottle of red oil goes for N700 as a short distance drop by Okada Rider is N300.
A market woman, Mrs Dorothy Aze attributed the rise in prices of foodstuff to the high cost of transporting goods from local markets to the urban areas for sale.
A Makurdi-based transporter, Mr Igaber Utyo, said at the moment, a litre of fuel at some filling stations is as high as N860, attributing it to a rise in transportation costs so as to make a profit per journey.
