By Abraham Aondo
Nine thousand metric tons of fertilizer have been launched by the Benue State Government for sale and distribution to Farmers for this year’s cropping season.
The exercise was performed by Governor Hyacinth Alia at the factory of the Benue Fertilizer and Chemicals Company, Industrial Layout Naka road, Makurdi.
Governor Alia stated that the six hundred truck load of the fertilizers cost over sixteen billion naira but the State Government would pay fifty percent of the sum, while farmers would handle the remaining amount of twenty two thousand, five hundred naira per bag.
He explained that the delay in the sale and distribution of fertilizer and other inputs was due to the sharp practices by some contractors for last year which were being investigated and assured that their full payment would be made between the end of this month and October.
According to the Governor, to ensure transparency and accountability, cashless payment policy has been introduced with the use of only POS in all the approved selling points without the involvement of divisional agriculture officers.
Governor Alia announced that going forward, the wet season sales and distribution of fertilizer would be done between April and June while that of the dry season farming would be in November and January every year.
Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Benjamin Ashaver urged farmers to take advantage of the wet and dry season farming to guarantee food sufficiency.
Contractor and Chief Executive Officer of Star Fertilizer and Chemicals company, Julius Atorough advised farmers to be wary of where to buy the fertilizer to avoid the substandard products.
Edited By Terna Injua
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