Benue Government & IFAD Distribute Solar-Powered Irrigation Machines/Inputs for 2024 Dry Season Farming

The Benue State government has urged farmers to fully utilize the over forty million Naira worth of dry season farming inputs, including solar-powered irrigation machines, to enhance food production. Recognizing agriculture as Benue’s primary pathway out of poverty, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Professor Moses Ogbaji, emphasized the importance of maximizing these resources during the launch of the 2024 dry season farming program in Benue.

At the event, which marked the kickoff of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) initiative, seeds, fertilizers, and solar-powered irrigation pumping machines totaling forty million Naira were distributed to one hundred farmers. The farmers, represented by the Commodity Alliance Forum, pledged to make efficient use of the provided inputs to boost agricultural productivity.

IFAD underscored the need to improve security conditions to enable more farmers, particularly those residing in internally displaced persons camps, to participate in the program. Key inputs such as improved rice seeds like Farrow 40, NPK fertilizers, and solar-powered irrigation pumping machines were earmarked for distribution to the selected Benue farmers.

Through its value chain development program in collaboration with the Benue State government, IFAD aims to facilitate year-round farming activities. Commissioner Ogbaji reiterated the importance of farmers utilizing the distributed inputs effectively to maximize agricultural output.

Acknowledging the need for government oversight mechanisms, both farmers and the state program coordinator emphasized the necessity for enhanced security support to ensure uninterrupted farming activities.

Meanwhile, Fidelis Chia, Chairman of the Commodity Alliance Forum, and Emmanuel Igbaukum, State Program Coordinator for IFAD, elaborated on the objectives of the program. Despite facing longstanding challenges, including insecurity leading to food inflation, Benue State, known as the nation’s food basket, is now witnessing signs of progress with the recent attainment of relative peace.