Benue State Governor, Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has said that, effective this season’s harvest, Benue oranges and soybeans will no longer be allowed out of the state in raw form, signalling heavy taxation on the commodities for traders.
The governor, who disclosed this while addressing “Mba i Tsough Ve,” the highest decision-making body of NKST Women Fellowship at NKST Headquarters, Mkar-Gboko, said his government is determined to give Benue farmers value for their produce.
Benfruits, the state juice processing plant, conducted a test run of its production line earlier this week and is awaiting the results of the product analysis to commence full-scale industrial processing of oranges, mangoes, and pineapples.
The governor, who acknowledged Benue State’s leading role as a producer of yams and soybeans in Nigeria, said the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security has been tasked with delivering a yam processing plant for the state.
He indicated that heavy taxation may be imposed should marketers prefer to transport the commodities out of the state, as his government intends to take over all.
Speaking in Tiv, the governor told the assembly that Benue belongs to the people of the state, and no one outside the state can better develop it, save the people themselves. While calling for sustained prayers, Fr. Alia encouraged the people to unite for accelerated development in the state.
