The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has appealed to the Federal Government to increase the supply of agricultural inputs to Benue State, saying the current allocation is insufficient to meet the needs of farmers.
Speaking in Makurdi on Saturday, the ministry’s Benue State Coordinator, Nathaniel Daspan, said the office oversees agricultural activities and supervises the distribution of Federal Government-provided farm inputs across the state.
He explained that the ministry procures items such as fertilisers, improved seeds, herbicides and insecticides before allocating them to states for distribution to farmers in line with approved guidelines.
Daspan said the Benue office ensures transparency in the distribution process by prioritising registered farmer groups, cooperative societies, commodity associations and vulnerable farmers.
According to him, Benue has more than 400 registered cooperative societies, making distribution through organised groups the most effective way to reach a larger number of beneficiaries.
He added that the office also monitors farming activities across the state and forwards reports on farmers’ challenges to the ministry’s headquarters to support intervention programmes.
The coordinator praised President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agricultural initiative, noting that it was designed to lower production costs and improve farmers’ earnings through subsidised farm inputs and equipment.
However, he expressed concern that Benue receives fewer agricultural supplies than some neighbouring states despite having high demand.
“The available inputs are inadequate. Compared to some neighbouring states, Benue gets less allocation even though farmers here require more support.
“We need increased supplies of fertilisers, improved seeds, herbicides, insecticides and equipment such as power tillers to enable more farmers to benefit,” he said.
Daspan disclosed that the Federal Government had completed the registration of eligible beneficiaries for the 2026 wet season agricultural support programme.
He explained that registered farmers would access subsidised inputs after enrolling with the Bank of Agriculture and making the required counterpart payment through the bank.
According to him, the arrangement is intended to curb irregularities in the distribution process, while security agencies will oversee redemption centres to ensure accountability.
He noted that although the registration exercise had been concluded, the distribution of inputs for the 2026 wet season had not yet begun.
Daspan stressed that timely delivery of farm inputs is essential because farming activities follow strict seasonal timelines, warning that delays could reduce productivity.
He added that increasing the supply of agricultural inputs would improve farmers’ incomes and strengthen food security across the state.