By Peter Duru, Makurdi
The Benue Investment and Property Company Limited (BIPC) has cautioned citrus farmers against transporting and selling oranges outside Benue State, warning that the practice poses a serious threat to the state’s agro-industrialisation drive and local processing industries.
The Group Managing Director of BIPC, Dr Raymond Asemakaha, made the appeal in a statement, urging farmers to supply their produce to the Bensono Concentrate Factory rather than selling it outside the state.
According to him, the continued movement of raw oranges out of Benue could undermine the steady supply of raw materials needed by the Bensono Concentrate Factory and other citrus processing facilities established by the Benue State Government.
Dr Asemakaha noted that the state had invested heavily in citrus processing and could no longer afford to export raw agricultural produce while local industries struggled to secure sufficient inputs for production.
