The Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, has flagged off the distribution of fertilizers and other farm inputs for 2026 to 63,000 registered smallholder farmers in the state.
Speaking at the launch held at Michael Okpara Square, Governor Mbah reiterates his administration’s view that agriculture is more than just a mere source of food, but a big business, hence the free inputs to farmers, efforts in progress to migrate Enugu farmers from subsistence to commercial farming, and exportation of farm products.
“We have done this in the last three years, essentially providing fertilizers, agrochemicals, stems, seeds, and seedlings to improve our yields. Today, we have 63,000 bags of fertilizer for our farmers.”
“We intend also to migrate our smallholder farmers from subsistence farming to mechanized farming, which is why we also invested in machinery. And that means that we are going to start thinking about a full value chain.”
“We are looking at exports, playing in all the value chains, being able to export fresh produce from here to other parts of the world, being able to process our produce, add value, package, and then export. This is also why the airport concession and cargo terminal are important to us,” he said.
Issuing a stern warning to seedling and other input distributors, Governor Mbah urged them to ensure the inputs reach farmers by adhering to the database and at no cost.
“We are working with our database. We are also going to implore all our stakeholders, the Local Government Chairmen, and the priests in the various communities to make sure that these inputs get to the end users, free of charge. Please make sure these inputs reach our farmers. We do not want middlemen.”
“The fertilizers also have ‘Not for Sale’ boldly written on them. So, you must make sure that you use this to scale up our production so that we can have a bumper harvest and drive down the cost of food in Enugu,” Mbah reiterates.
The Enugu State Governor also revealed an agro-industrialization initiative plan of his administration to map out Special Agro-Processing Zones with the goal of scaling up production and cutting post-harvest losses.
“We want to make sure that we increase the earning capacity of our various communities where we actually have a lot of our poor people. We’re building our farm roads so that it will be easy for us to evacuate what we have produced,” he stated.
Earlier in his remarks, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialization, Dr. Patrick Ubru, announced a significant increase in this year’s Agricultural Free Inputs Distribution Program compared to that of 2024.
“In 2024, over 12,000 bags of fertilizer, improved seeds, and chemicals were distributed; in 2025 it rose to over 40,000.”
“Today, over 63,000 bags will be distributed, representing a 58 per cent increase from last year. Thousands of farmers across the 17 Local Government Areas will receive free improved rice, maize, tomato and pepper seeds, cassava stems, fertilizers, and agrochemicals to boost productivity and reduce costs,” Dr. Ubru said.
Dr. Ubru further disclosed some initiatives established by the present administration: the establishment of a modern Seed Testing Laboratory and Seed Gallery, the digitally profiling of over 84,000 farmers, the training of farmers, and the integration of agricultural data into the state’s Geographic Information System (GIS).
“Over 25,000 farmers have been trained in climate-smart agriculture, while we are also providing Seasonal Climate Prediction Information through our partnership with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).
“The 260 Farm Estate Programme is underway in Enugu State, and a tractor assembly plant has been established through a partnership with Nortra Tractors, making mechanization more accessible.”
“Additionally, centre pivot irrigation systems are being rehabilitated to enable year-round cultivation of crops like rice,” Ubru reveals.
In his remarks, the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme Phase One (ATASP-1) Coordinator, Romanus Egba, assured the governor of well-planned distribution channels, using clergy and community leaders to ensure that the various items reached the intended beneficiaries.
In addition to a bag of fertilizer, Egba revealed that each farmer will get one bag of maize or rice, cassava cuttings, herbicide, and vegetable seeds such as tomatoes or peppers.
Taking ownership of the project, the representative of the Farmers Association of Nigeria (FAN), Enugu State Chapter, Sir Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Eneh, appreciating the state government’s interventions, warns any farmer or person who plots to sell any of the farm inputs to be ready to go to jail.
