Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has finalized plans to host President Bola Tinubu for the commissioning of the Benue fruit concentrate and Ben Fruits factories, alongside several other capital projects. The governor disclosed this during an inspection tour of the facilities.
The inspection covered the fruit concentrate and Ben Fruits factories, as well as the Benue Investment Property Company motorcycle assembly plants at the Makurdi industrial layout. According to the governor, the visit forms part of ongoing efforts to curb the post-harvest losses of Benue's agricultural produce.
The fruit concentrate factory in Makurdi appeared ready for commissioning, with installation and exterior design work completed. Alia toured the plant from the intake point through the rollers and washers to the processing machines, accompanied by his deputy, before declaring that everything was now set to invite the president into the state.
The governor called on neighboring states that record high post-harvest losses to take advantage of the facility, noting that large fruit juice companies were already showing interest. The juice factory is designed to process produce such as mango, orange, citrus, tomatoes and pepper, giving farmers a direct market for their crops.
Officials leading the state's industrialization program said the factories represent a deliberate attempt to create a value proposition for local produce. They described the move as a way to ensure that crops that previously rotted away because of a lack of buyers now have a clear commercial outlet.
The motorcycle assembly plants are intended to support farmers directly. More than 5,862 farmers captured in the state's data are set to benefit from a motorcycle distribution scheme designed to help them access their farms and transport produce, reducing their dependence on middlemen so that the farm owners themselves benefit.
Officials said the projects fit into a broader plan that the administration has pursued since taking office in May 2023, aimed at transforming Benue from a dependent economy into a production economy. The planned commissioning by the president is presented as a milestone in that effort.