Michael Oglegba, Benue State Commissioner for Finance, highlighted the state’s shift from traditional farming methods to modern mechanisation in an effort to enhance food security and transform agriculture into a lucrative business
Oglegba, in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday, emphasised the need for farming to evolve from a mere lifestyle to a profitable business venture.
“We’ve done this over the past few years, where we’re farming with cutlasses and hoes. Now, the Benue State government has embarked on massive mechanisation of its processes,” he stated.
He underscored the importance of making farming profitable and sustainable, asserting that, “Farming should be so profitable that once you get your hands on it and you start it, you stay there and just improve your income from that process. Farming must move from just being a lifestyle, as it is in Benue, to a business.”
Addressing the potential integration of AI in farming, Oglegba suggested that “we need to start from where we are,” he said, using Benue as an example.
“We see large trees, almost forest regions. These are virgin lands that nobody has ever used tractors on before.”
Furthermore, when discussing the tonnage of crops in Benue State, Oglegba refrained from specifying exact figures. However, he noted the strategic use of the Zaki-Biam market, reputed to be the largest yam market in the world, to gauge agricultural output.
He said, “We have a market called the Zaki-Biam market, it’s the largest in the world. What we’ve done is to go to Zaki-Biam market, see how much tonnage of yam was brought in for sale this year, and use that as a smart way of determining the tonnage produced in the year before.
He explained that the movement of a hundred thousand turns is based on calculations from these points of sale. Oglegba also addressed Nigerians’ optimism regarding agricultural pricing, stating that while it will take several cycles of farming to impact the supply side significantly, once supply surpasses demand, prices will naturally decline.
Frances Ibiefo
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