The Benue State Government has endorsed a Strategic Food Security Plan aimed at strengthening agricultural productivity, rebuilding rural livelihoods and addressing insecurity and other challenges undermining food production across the state.
The plan was unveiled under the “Enhancing Food Security and Peacebuilding in Nigeria through Strategic Planning Project,” which brought together farmers, academics and other stakeholders to develop a coordinated approach to improving food security and promoting peace in farming communities.
Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Benjamin Ashaver, called on Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the state to take ownership of the strategy and support its implementation.
Ashaver, who was represented by the Technical Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, Danjuma Adejo, also urged local government councils, traditional institutions and farmers to adopt the plan within their communities and sustain the partnerships that contributed to its development.
He said the state had adopted a five-year development framework and reaffirmed Governor Hyacinth Alia’s commitment to implementing the strategy, with a mid-term review scheduled for 2028 and an end-term evaluation planned for 2031.
The commissioner said insecurity had significantly disrupted agricultural activities in the state, displacing farmers from their communities, limiting access to farmlands and resulting in the loss of crops and harvests.
“Benue State’s agricultural fortunes have, in recent years, been tested by forces beyond the ordinary challenges of farming. Insecurity has driven farmers from their farmlands. Displacement has fractured our community of planting and harvest seasons,” he said.
He added that land-use conflicts between herders and farming communities had weakened trust and disrupted social and economic activities in rural areas.
“Land-use conflicts between herders and farming communities have destroyed the trust that once held rural communities together,” Ashaver said.
He commended the Policy Team of the Supply Chain, Research and Innovation Hub, led by Mr Ajibola Oladipo and Dr Shalem Shiekuma, for its contribution to the development of the strategic plan.
Presenting the document to the state government, Dr Akange Edward said the policy was designed to create a more stable environment for agricultural production, improve land governance, rebuild inclusive rural economies and strengthen logistics and market systems.
Edward said the state’s food-security challenges went beyond low agricultural output, noting that persistent attacks on farming communities and broader conflict dynamics had exposed structural weaknesses within the food system.
“Benue State is celebrated as the Food Basket of the Nation. With fertile land, abundant water resources and a resilient farming population, it has historically anchored Nigeria’s food economy,” he said.
“Yet today, Benue stands at a crossroads. Insecurity, displacement, land-use conflict, climate pressures and collapsing infrastructure have converged to weaken agricultural stability and rural livelihoods.”
However, the Strategic Food Security Plan is expected to provide a framework for coordinated action across government institutions, farming communities and other stakeholders as the state seeks to restore agricultural stability, strengthen food production and promote peace in rural areas.
