Benue Seeks More Agricultural Support, Pledges Backing For ICRISAT

Benue State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Benjamin Ashaver, has called for additional agricultural interventions from development partners and pledged the ministry’s support for the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

Ashaver made the call when an ICRISAT delegation visited the ministry’s headquarters in Makurdi for an engagement with him.

The commissioner said the state government needed more interventions from development partners to strengthen agricultural development, particularly amid competing demands on limited resources.

He assured ICRISAT of the ministry’s cooperation to ensure that intended beneficiaries derive maximum benefits from its interventions.

Earlier, ICRISAT Country Director, Dr. Victor Afari-Sefa, represented by the institute’s consultant, Dr. Ignatius Angarawai, said Benue was among states selected for interventions aimed at improving food security, nutrition, climate resilience and livelihoods.

He said ICRISAT was developing a climate-smart investment framework with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to guide donor support.

Afari-Sefa also stressed the need to address the roles of women and young people in agriculture, as well as human and livestock health and climate-smart irrigation.

ICRISAT Global Food Systems Economist, Dr. Kamara Amadu, said subsequent stakeholder workshops would focus on developing a durable solutions framework to address the needs of farmers, internally displaced persons and host communities affected by conflicts.