ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Governor Peter Mbah has flagged off the 2026 distribution of free fertilisers and other agricultural inputs to 63,000 registered smallholder farmers across Enugu State, reaffirming his administration’s commitment to transforming agriculture into a major driver of economic growth.
Speaking at the launch on Tuesday, Mbah said agriculture remained central to his administration’s vision of building a $30 billion economy, with the sector expected to contribute about 40 per cent of the projected growth.
The governor said his administration views agriculture as a business rather than a subsistence activity, stressing that government investments are aimed at moving farmers into commercial and mechanised farming while strengthening the entire agricultural value chain.
“We have done this in the last three years, essentially providing fertilisers, agrochemicals, stems, seeds and seedlings to improve our yields. Today, we have 63,000 bags of fertilisers.
“We also have to migrate our smallholder farmers from subsistence farming to mechanised farming, which is why we invested in machinery. We are looking at exports, value addition, processing, packaging and exporting our produce to other parts of the world,” Mbah said.
He explained that ongoing investments in the state’s airport concession and cargo terminal were designed to support agricultural exports and improve access to international markets.
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The governor directed officials handling the exercise to ensure the farm inputs reached only registered beneficiaries, warning against diversion or sale of the materials.
“We are working with our database and all stakeholders to ensure these inputs get to the end users free of charge. We do not want middlemen.
“The fertilisers have ‘Not for Sale’ boldly written on them. They must be used to increase production, achieve a bumper harvest and reduce the cost of food in Enugu,” he warned.
Mbah also disclosed that the state’s Special Agro-Processing Zones would soon commence operations to reduce post-harvest losses, encourage value addition and increase farmers’ incomes, while ongoing rural road projects would improve evacuation of farm produce.
Earlier, Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Dr. Patrick Ubru, said the 2026 distribution marked a significant increase in government support to farmers.
According to him, the programme has expanded from over 12,000 bags of fertiliser and other inputs distributed in 2024 to more than 40,000 bags in 2025 and 63,000 bags this year, representing a 58 per cent increase over last year’s figure.
He added that thousands of farmers across the state’s 17 local government areas would receive fertilisers, improved rice, maize, tomato and pepper seeds, cassava stems and agrochemicals to boost productivity and lower production costs.
Ubru further highlighted other achievements of the administration, including the establishment of a modern Seed Testing Laboratory and Seed Gallery, digital profiling of more than 84,000 farmers, training of over 25,000 farmers in climate-smart agriculture, and the rollout of the 260 Farm Estate Programme.
He also disclosed that the state had partnered with Nortra Tractors to establish a tractor assembly plant while rehabilitating centre pivot irrigation systems to support year-round farming.
Also speaking, the Coordinator of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme Phase One (ATASP-1), Romanus Egba, assured that community leaders and clergy would help ensure transparent distribution of the inputs.
He said each beneficiary would receive a bag of fertiliser alongside maize or rice seeds, cassava cuttings, herbicides and vegetable seeds.
On behalf of farmers, the representative of the Farmers Association of Nigeria (FAN), Enugu State chapter, Sir Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Eneh, commended the governor for sustained investment in agriculture and warned that anyone found diverting or selling the free farm inputs would face prosecution.