(Peter Mbah. Photo by Premuim Times)
Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah said on Tuesday that 63,000 registered smallholder farmers in the state would receive fertilizers and other agricultural inputs in 2026.
Mbah said that the action was consistent with his administration’s goal of ending poverty and expanding Enugu State’s GDP to $30 billion, with agriculture accounting for 40% of the expansion.
According to Mbah, his administration has always viewed agriculture as a major industry rather than just a source of food, which is why efforts have been made to transition Enugu farmers from subsistence to commercial farming.
The governor said his administration has, over the past three years, focused on providing fertilisers, agrochemicals, stems, seeds and seedlings to improve farm yields, disclosing that 63,000 bags of fertiliser have now been made available, alongside plans to train farmers.
He added that the administration is working to migrate smallholder farmers from subsistence to mechanised farming, which is why investment has also gone into machinery, with a broader goal of developing a full agricultural value chain.
He explained that the state is looking to expand into exports, engaging across the value chain by exporting fresh produce, processing and adding value to farm products, packaging them, and then exporting noting that this is part of why the airport concession and cargo terminal are important to the state’s agricultural plans.
Mbah called on those responsible for distributing farm inputs to ensure that they reach farmers by strictly following the state’s database, warning farmers against reselling the items.
He said the state government is working with its farmer database and would enlist Local Government Chairmen and community religious leaders to ensure the inputs get to end users free of charge, stressing that middlemen would not be tolerated.
He noted that the fertilisers are clearly marked “Not for Sale,” and urged farmers to use them to scale up production toward a bumper harvest that would help reduce food costs in the state.
He also disclosed that the Special Agro-Processing Zones, part of his administration’s agro-industrialisation drive, would soon become operational to boost production and reduce post-harvest losses.
Adding that the government is focused on raising the earning capacity of communities with high poverty levels and is building farm roads to ease the evacuation of produce.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Dr. Patrick Ubru, announced a significant increase in the 2026 Agricultural Free Inputs Distribution Programme compared to 2024.
He said over 12,000 bags of fertiliser, improved seeds and chemicals were distributed in 2024, rising to over 40,000 last year, and that this year’s distribution of over 63,000 bags represents a 58 per cent increase from the previous year.
He noted that thousands of farmers across the state’s 17 Local Government Areas would receive free improved rice, maize, tomato and pepper seeds, cassava stems, fertilisers and agrochemicals to boost productivity and cut costs.
Beyond input support, Ubru said the Mbah administration has established a modern Seed Testing Laboratory and Seed Gallery, digitally profiled over 84,000 farmers, and integrated agricultural data into the state’s Geographic Information System.
He added that over 25,000 farmers have been trained in climate-smart agriculture, with the state also providing seasonal climate prediction information through its partnership with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency.
He further disclosed that the 260 Farm Estate Programme is underway, a tractor assembly plant has been established in partnership with Nortra Tractors to boost mechanisation access, and centre pivot irrigation systems are being rehabilitated to support year-round cultivation of crops such as rice.
In his remarks, the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme Phase One (ATASP-1) Coordinator, Romanus Egba, assured the governor of well-planned distribution channels, involving clergy and community leaders to ensure the items reach intended beneficiaries, noting that in addition to a bag of fertiliser, each farmer would receive a bag of maize or rice, cassava cuttings, herbicide, and vegetable seeds such as tomato or pepper.
The representative of the Farmers Association of Nigeria, Enugu State Chapter, Sir Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Eneh, thanked Governor Mbah for his consistent investment in agriculture, while warning that any farmer or individual who colludes to resell the farm inputs should be prepared to face imprisonment.
