The Benue Investment and Property Company Limited (BIPC) is to commence verification of orange farmers across the state to ensure the genuineness of the more than 4,000 farmers registered during the company’s orange farmers’ registration exercise.
Group Managing Director of BIPC, Dr. Raymond Asemakaha-CFA, disclosed this on Friday while receiving transition members of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Benue State chapter, at the company’s headquarters in Makurdi.
According to him, the verification exercise is aimed at establishing a reliable database of genuine farmers who will supply oranges to the company when juice production commence.
He emphasized that the initiative aligns with Governor Hyacinth Iormem Alia’s drive to industrialize the state and ensure that Benue farmers get real value for their produce.
Dr. Asemakaha further directed, Departmental Head, Business Development and Strategy, Theresa Abeda to lead close collaboration with AFAN to ensure the exercise produces credible and comprehensive data.
In separate remarks, Prof. Godwin Timun and Agbaugya John commended the BIPC leadership for its efforts in reshaping the state’s economy, noting that without such interventions, the prices of essential commodities like bread and water would have sharply increased.
They pledged AFAN’s support by providing existing farmer data to BIPC and linking the company with its members across the state to achieve a unified and authentic database.
