Engr Terese Ninga is the Director-General of the newly created Bureau of Agricultural Development and Mechanisation which subsumed two agencies – Benue State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (BNARDA) and Benue Tractor Hiring Agency (BENTHA). In this interview, he speaks about his plans to promote irrigation farming, mechanization and agribusiness. Excerpts:
You are taking over two moribund government agencies; how much of a herculean task is that to you?
It is true the agencies are moribund but they have huge potentials and those potentials are enough to give me courage to take on the work of reviving them.
Secondly, the Executive Governor of Benue State, Rev. Dr. Hyacinth Alia, who has given me this opportunity to serve is interested in agriculture and in the common man, and it is his vision that every Benue man or woman should be prosperous, knowledgeable and also be in good health.
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He took over a state that is down and he’s not afraid of the challenges and that also has given me courage. Since he is not afraid of challenges, I know he will encourage me to face this challenge head on. The task is herculean but I am not daunted. The Almighty God that I serve is also there to help me. And I have more than 30 years experience and knowledge in this sector, so I believe I will use it to ensure that we succeed in the mission of reviving these moribund agencies and making them helpful to the development of agriculture in Benue State.
The vision of this new bureau is to transform the lives of people in the state; in practical terms how are you going to achieve that?
Firstly, one of the major problems we have is data. Who are the farmers, where are the farmers, what are they farming and what are the sizes of their farms? This is very important. We are going to emphasis on getting data in corroboration with Benue State Bureau of Statistics and the National Bureau of Statistics so that we have enough data on the land we have and on the farmers, which would be helpful in meeting the needs of the farmers.
Secondly, we have the problem of mechanization so we are going to approach mechanization at all levels – small, medium and large for commercial farmers and smallholder farmers. If we have the data, it will be easier to attend to their needs and the governor is interested in ensuring that young men and women engage in profitable agribusiness. Thus, he is interested in mechanization and we are going to ensure that this time around as tractors were left to be obtained by individuals, or big corporate organisations, we will be hiring out tractors. We are going to get tractors and hire them out to people at affordable rates. We will also get small machines, tillage machines so that those who cannot afford the larger ones can acquire the small ones.
We are also going to look at harvest and post-harvest measures; that is threshers and other processing equipment. We are going to ensure that our farmers have access to these machineries and other inputs to boost production and take away the drudgery involved in the traditional way of farming. This will no doubt encourage the young people to go into farming.
The Benue people believe that farming is an occupation; it is their traditional way of life so how are you going to change that mentality so that they begin to see farming as a business?
That is the major thrust of this bureau and we are going to introduce farmers to smart agriculture. When you talk of smart agriculture, it is access to technology through intensive extension activities. We are going to revive the extension aspect of Benue State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (BNARDA) to ensure that farmers are educated, and that they have access to modern technology, new seeds, new inputs. These will make them more productive. So instead of 10 tonnes per hectare per one particular seed, we will try to take it to a standard of 15 or so.
Crop improvement or increased yield is what we are targeting and if they are able to increase their yields, then it becomes a business but if they are not able to increase their yields, then it remains just an occupation.So, we want to ensure that they increase their yields through better extension services.
We are just about two or three months away from the start of the farming season, what is going to be your first major project this season?
The first major project of course is the data. We are going to begin collecting data and the second one; we are going to acquire machineries so that they will be available for farmers to use as from March.
How many tractors are you acquiring at the initial stage?
We are thinking of a hundred, possibly 300 tractors and 300 tillers.
A major problem for farming communities in Benue is that of insecurity. Do you have an idea of what the state government is doing to ensure that these communities are secured and your job is made easier for you?
Our governor has been interfacing with top military brass and other security agencies and you can notice that Benue State is less in the news concerning insecurity problems, which shows it is getting better and he is interested in people returning to farms and also, there are measures to ensure that security personnel are in place to give farmers confidence to work on their farms.
Climate change has made it difficult for farmers to depend on rain-fed agriculture, what are you doing to take advantage of the enormous natural resources Benue has for off-season farming?
We are partnering with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to participate in the second phase of its dry season farming. And the Benue State governor has also appropriated more funds for dry season farming in year 2024. We are just starting and we will expand and continue in subsequent years.
Have you identified the locations where you will start the dry season farming?
Of course, there are existing irrigation sites, one here in Makurdi and there are others in Gwer-West, Katsina-Ala, Jato Aka, Oturkpo and Agatu. For now, there are some forms of irrigation in those places and we will latch on to them and expand and move to other areas.
So, we need the cooperation and patience of the people of Benue State because we cannot do everything in one day, but we are chomping at the bit and the results will soon begin to show.
