The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Benue state chapter has commended the state government for taking the initiative to ensure food sufficiency through subsidies on fertiliser, other farming requirements as well as encouragement of loan schemes for small scale businesses through cooperative societies.
ALGON also commended Governor Hyacinth Alia on the directive that all local government executives as well as key ministries and parastatals of government come up with sustainable models and methods of ensuring that Benue state remains and, practically, retains its title as the food basket of the nation.
In a communique by the association, on behalf of the 23 local government caretaker chairmen from the state at the end of a two-day sensitisation workshop on the role of the local government at enhancing the capacity of the federal government food security emergency programme facilitated by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and SEGNIP Oromotions in Abuja , the association maintained that the advocacy for Nigerians to eat what they grow is overdue. It stressed that Benue state is already on the way to ensuring that there is a geometric increment in crop production despite the state of insecurity and hard economic realities.
The resolution signed by the state ALGON which consists of 23 council executives, under the leadership of Hon. Phillips Achua (Konshisha local government chairman), pointed out that Benue state records highest in terms of yam production in Nigeria and that over 200 trucks of yam are loaded daily from the Zaki-Biam market alone, adding that the federal government should consider more interventions and affordability of farming requirements such that will migrate farmers from peasant to mechanised farming .
ALGON commended the giant strides of the governor to boist agriculture through various incentives and security measures to protect farmers from incessant attacks. It called on the federal government to intervene in the areas of food storage facilities and make fruit-yielding seed crops that will guarantee all year farming available to Benue state farmers as well as buy-back policies that will feed the National Grain Reserves stations. It noted that Benue state has the right soil texture, climate and human resources to feed substantial part of Nigeria and called on the federal government to support the initiatives of the state government to fully utilise the agricultural potential of the state.
The ALGON commended the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume and SEGNIP Chief Executive Engineer Kayode Adegbayo for putting together a programme that speaks to the core issues of food security, cutting down on food importation which will reduce poverty and improve the Nigeria growth domestic products.
