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Interview with His Excellency Gabriel Suswam Executive Governor of Benue State
Leading the Way Forward in Benue State
CN: What is Benue State’s strategic positioning within the Nigerian federation and why is its location conducive to private sector growth?
Governor Suswam: Benue State is very central and also a link between the South-South and to some extent the Southeast as well as to the northern part of the country. So as far as transportation goes – transportation by road and by rail – travelers have to pass through Benue.
The state is known for its agricultural prowess as we do a lot of farming. Benue state is blessed with fertile soil that warrants the cultivation of wide variety of crops in large quantities and since most Benue citizens are farmers the state is known as “The Food Basket of the Nation”.
So for agricultural production, Benue state is very strategic. Basically what we engage is subsistence farming. We have not yet reached the level of mechanized farming, so we haven’t reached the optimum production level. My goal as Governor is to be able to engage some of the modern technologies in farming in Benue so that we optimally produce agricultural products that will not only be consumed in Nigeria but can also be exported.If we were to take oil out of Nigeria, agriculture would be very central and in that case Benue State would become very central in the economic well-being of this country.
We are very mindful and conscious of our strategic position and with the efforts put in place by the present Government we will be able to attempt a very high level of production. One of the first steps is a pilot scheme that engages in some form of mechanization of some of the crops that we produce in Benue.
