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Benue Farmers And Traders Association, KM3 Makurdi-Gboko Road, Makurdi (2026)

03/06/2026

GUINEA CORN: THE SMART CROP FOR UNCERTAIN SEASONS
Many Benue farmers still treat guinea corn (sorghum) as a backup crop something to plant when conditions are poor and hope for the best. Yet some of the most profitable farmers are beginning to see it differently. They are treating sorghum as a business crop, and the results are speaking for themselves.

Nigeria is Africa's largest producer of sorghum, cultivating more than six million hectares annually. The crop feeds households, supplies livestock feed manufacturers, and serves as a major raw material for the brewing industry. Yet despite this enormous market, many farmers in Benue continue to harvest far below the crop's true potential.

THE DIFFERENCE OFTEN STARTS WITH SEED.
Improved varieties such as SAMSORG 53 and SAMSORG 54 were developed to address many of the challenges farmers face. They are early maturing, relatively short in stature, and capable of producing significantly higher yields than many traditional varieties. While unimproved local seed often produces about 0.8–1.2 tonnes per hectare under typical farmer conditions, improved varieties can achieve 2–3 tonnes per hectare under good management, with even higher yields recorded in research and demonstration trials.

Their maturity period of about 85–90 days makes them particularly valuable in an era of increasingly unpredictable rainfall. Unlike maize, sorghum can withstand dry spells more effectively and continue producing under conditions that would severely reduce yields in many other cereal crops. This resilience is one reason farmers across the semi-arid regions of Africa continue to depend on it.

HOWEVER, IMPROVE SEED ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH.
One of the biggest constraints to sorghum production in Benue is Striga, commonly known as witchw**d. This parasitic w**d can devastate entire fields if left unmanaged. Farmers can reduce Striga pressure through crop rotation, especially with legumes such as soybean and cowpea, while also adopting improved varieties and maintaining good field sanitation.

Bird damage is another challenge. Quelea birds can destroy significant portions of a crop as grain approaches maturity. Early-maturing varieties help reduce this risk by shortening the period during which the crop is exposed to bird attack.

The market opportunity is substantial. Sorghum is purchased by household consumers, grain traders, feed millers, flour processors, and major brewing companies across Nigeria. This means farmers are not dependent on a single buyer or market channel.

The economics are becoming increasingly attractive. A farmer harvesting 2 tonnes per hectare and selling into favourable markets can generate substantial gross revenue from a single season. As yields improve, profitability increases even further without necessarily expanding farmland.

There is also value beyond the grain itself. Sorghum stalks, often discarded after harvest, are valuable as dry-season livestock feed, mulch, fencing material, and silage. For mixed crop-and-livestock farmers, this additional value can significantly improve overall farm returns.

Another emerging opportunity lies in the livestock feed sector. As maize prices continue to fluctuate, feed manufacturers are increasingly incorporating sorghum into poultry and livestock feed formulations, creating an additional source of demand that many farmers have yet to fully exploit.

The lesson is simple. Sorghum is no longer just the crop farmers turn to when conditions are difficult. It is becoming one of the most climate-resilient and commercially important grains available to Benue farmers.

The farmers who benefit most will not necessarily be those with the largest farms, but those who adopt improved varieties, manage their fields properly, understand their markets, and treat guinea corn as the serious business opportunity it has become.

01/06/2026

BEEKEEPING: THE GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

Nigeria's demand for honey far exceeds local production. While estimates vary, industry reports consistently indicate that domestic production supplies only a fraction of national demand, creating a substantial supply gap that is often filled through imports. Every kilogram of quality honey produced in Benue helps close that gap while creating income for farmers.

The opportunity is real, but successful beekeeping is more than placing a hive and waiting for honey.

Under good Guinea Savanna conditions, a well-managed Langstroth hive typically produces about 1–4 litres of honey per harvest, with exceptional colonies producing more during strong nectar-flow periods. Since one litre of honey weighs approximately 1.4 kilograms, commercial planning should always be based on weight rather than volume.

A practical example: 10 productive hives yielding an average of 3 litres each per harvest can produce about 42 kilograms of honey. At current retail prices, that represents a meaningful income stream, and two harvests per year can significantly improve household earnings.

Success begins with proper hive placement. Hives should be elevated on stands, face east or south-east to receive morning sunlight, and be located within reach of diverse flowering vegetation. Avoid areas with heavy pesticide use, as chemical exposure can severely reduce bee populations and honey production.

Good colony management is essential. Hives should be inspected every 7–14 days during active seasons to monitor colony strength, queen performance, food reserves, and signs of disease or swarming. Swarming is one of the most common causes of colony loss and must be managed early through proper hive supervision and colony splitting when necessary.

One pest deserves particular attention: the small hive beetle. In hot and humid conditions, beetle infestations can quickly damage brood, honey, and comb. Simple beetle traps and regular hive sanitation are among the most effective control measures available to smallholder beekeepers.

For farmers targeting export markets, quality standards matter. Honey intended for premium international markets must be properly handled, free from contamination, have low moisture content to prevent fermentation, and meet regulatory requirements. The use of prohibited antibiotic residues can disqualify honey from export opportunities.

Honey is only the beginning.

Beeswax is a valuable by-product used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, candle-making, and crafts. Many beekeepers overlook its value even though every honey harvest generates wax that can be processed and sold.

Propolis, the natural resin bees use to protect their hives, is increasingly sought after for nutraceutical and wellness products because of its recognised antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. What many beekeepers scrape away as waste can become an additional source of income.

Another overlooked opportunity is pollination services. Fruit and vegetable crops such as mango, avocado, cucumber, watermelon, and tomato often benefit significantly from bee activity during flowering. Around the world, farmers pay beekeepers to position hives near their fields because improved pollination can increase productivity. As commercial agriculture expands in Nigeria, this service market is expected to grow.

At the premium end of the industry, specialised products such as bee venom are attracting interest from pharmaceutical and research sectors. While collection requires specialised equipment, training, and strict safety procedures, it demonstrates how a modern apiary can produce far more than honey alone.

The future of beekeeping belongs to farmers who understand that a hive is not just a container for honey. It is a production unit capable of generating income from honey, beeswax, propolis, pollination services, and other value-added products.

The question is not whether the market exists. The market is already here. The question is whether Benue and African farmers will position themselves to benefit from it.

29/05/2026

ACHA: THE SMALL GRAIN ENTERING GLOBAL MARKETS

Fonio, known locally as acha, is one of West Africa’s oldest grains, but it is rapidly becoming one of its most commercially important. What many farmers still see as a “traditional local crop” is now attracting serious demand from gluten-free and health food markets in Europe and North America.

The reason is simple. Acha is naturally gluten-free, has a low glycaemic index, and contains important sulphur-rich amino acids such as methionine and cystine that are limited in many cereal-based diets. These nutritional advantages are driving rising global demand for ancient grains and healthier food alternatives.

Traditional acha varieties commonly produce about 300–600 kilograms per hectare under smallholder rain-fed conditions. Improved varieties under good management have achieved between 800 kilograms and 1.2 tonnes per hectare in research and farmer demonstration trials.

In Benue, acha performs best in LGAs such as Gwer West, Guma, Logo, Katsina-Ala, and Tarka where lighter soils and moderate rainfall favour production. The crop matures within 70–85 days, making it one of the fastest cereal crops available to farmers and an important option when rainfall arrives late.

Successful production depends heavily on management. Farmers typically broadcast 5–10 kilograms of seed per hectare on well-prepared sandy loam soils. Early w**d control is critical because acha competes poorly during its early growth stages and usually requires at least two w**dings for good yield performance.

Processing has historically limited commercial expansion because traditional dehulling is extremely labour-intensive. However, motorised threshers and dehullers now available in Nigeria are reducing processing time dramatically and making larger-scale commercial production more practical.

The export opportunity is real. Processed organic fonio currently sells in European wholesale markets for approximately EUR 3–8 per kilogram depending on quality and certification standards.

There are also hidden income streams many farmers overlook. Acha straw is highly valued as dry-season livestock feed because of its better digestibility compared to many cereal residues. Livestock farmers increasingly purchase baled acha straw instead of lower-quality stover during the dry season.

Another emerging opportunity is food processing. Research in Nigeria has shown that blending acha flour with soyabean flour produces a nutrient-rich gluten-free complementary food suitable for infant and child nutrition programmes. This creates additional market opportunities for organised farmer groups supplying processors, schools, nutrition programmes, and institutional buyers.

The farmers who benefit most from the growing acha market will not necessarily be those with the largest farms, but those who understand quality production, proper processing, and market timing before the industry becomes crowded.

28/05/2026

AFRICAN PEAR: THE UNDERESTIMATED TREE THAT PAYS FOR DECADES

There is a tree growing in many Benue compounds and farm boundaries right now that most farmers treat as a bonus, something that gives fruit when it wants to and gets ignored when it does not. That tree is ube, the African pear, and I think it is one of the most undervalued agricultural assets in this region.

Let me explain why.
A mature Dacryodes edulis tree in Benue conditions, growing in the Guinea Savanna where annual rainfall sits between 1,000 and 1,400 millimetres, realistically produces between 200 and 800 fruits per season depending on tree age, management, and water availability. The exceptional trees producing 1,500 fruits and above tend to be in the wetter southern forest zones of Nigeria and Cameroon. Plan around the honest Benue figure and you will not be disappointed.

At farm-gate prices of NGN 50 to NGN 150 per fruit during the main harvest season, a productive mature tree generating 500 fruits earns NGN 25,000 to NGN 75,000 in a single season with minimal input. Scale that across 100 trees on one hectare and you begin to understand why serious agroforestry practitioners treat ube as a wealth crop rather than a bonus tree.

The prices spike sharply when supply drops. That is the nature of a fruit with a short shelf life and strong urban demand. Farmers who harvest and move to market quickly during the early and late edges of the season, before and after the main glut, consistently capture the highest rates.

START WITH GRAFTED MATERIAL AND KNOW WHY IT MATTERS
If you are planting deliberately, use grafted seedlings exclusively. Grafted African pear begins fruiting in three to five years. Trees grown from seed take seven to twelve years before meaningful production. For a tree crop, that difference is not a minor consideration. It is the difference between starting to earn within a farming generation or waiting through most of one.

The establishment phase is where many Benue farmers lose seedlings unnecessarily. African pear is naturally a humid forest species. Benue's rainfall is adequate in most years but the dry season, particularly in the northern LGAs, puts young trees under significant stress. Supplemental watering during the first and second dry seasons after planting is not optional for grafted material. It is what keeps your investment alive until the root system is deep enough to manage independently.

HOW MOST UBE FARMERS LOSE INCOME THEY DO NOT EVEN KNOW THEY HAVE
The fruit gets harvested and sold. The seed gets thrown away. The leaves fall and nobody collects them. This is the pattern on almost every Benue ube farm I have encountered.

Here is what those materials are actually worth.
African pear pulp butter, processed from the fleshy mesocarp of the fruit rather than the seed, is an active ingredient in the West and Central African natural cosmetics market. Several Nigerian artisanal cosmetic producers in Lagos and Abuja are formulating skin care and hair products with it. European and North American cosmetic buyers are increasingly sourcing it as an exotic butter for premium natural beauty products. Bulk price in the Nigerian artisanal market currently sits at NGN 5,000 to NGN 10,000 per kilogram. Overripe fruits, undersized fruits, and cosmetically damaged fruits that cannot be sold fresh are your raw material for this processing pathway. You are currently discarding income.

The seed contains a semi-solid oil with confirmed traditional medicine and cosmetic applications. The pressed seed cake after oil extraction contains moderate protein of around eight to twelve percent on a dry matter basis, making it a useful livestock feed supplement when mixed with higher-protein ingredients. Not the highest-protein feed you will ever find, but usable and currently wasted on most farms.

African pear leaves and bark are used in traditional medicine across West and Central Africa. Research has confirmed bioactive compounds including terpenoids, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Herbal medicine markets in Makurdi, Abuja, and Lagos buy dried leaves and bark from suppliers who understand this market. Sustainable harvesting during normal orchard management, drying and bagging what you prune, costs you almost nothing and generates supplementary income from work you are already doing.

ONE PEST THAT NEEDS YOUR ATTENTION
Fruit fly infestation, specifically Bactrocera species, causes premature fruit drop and internal damage that reduces marketable yield significantly on unmanaged ube farms. The same integrated pest management approach that works for mango applies here. Methyl eugenol traps throughout the orchard targeting male flies, combined with protein bait sprays targeting female flies, gives you comprehensive control without heavy pesticide use that would contaminate fruit heading for premium markets.

THE AGROFORESTRY DIMENSION MOST ADVISORIES MISS
Pure stand ube orchards at 10 by 10 metre spacing work well as a deliberate investment. But most productive ube trees in Benue grow in mixed systems alongside cocoa, plantain, and food crops, and they perform well in those systems. If you are integrating African pear into an existing farm rather than establishing a new orchard, that mixed agroforestry approach has decades of proven productivity behind it across West and Central Africa. Do not feel you need to clear land specifically for ube. Use your farm boundaries, your compound edges, and the spaces between other permanent crops.

BEFTRA, the Benue Farmers and Traders Association, has been working to shift how Benue farmers see this crop. Not as a wild tree that produces when it feels like it, but as a managed, grafted, commercially positioned asset that generates multiple income streams across decades with relatively modest input once established.

The farmers who plant grafted ube today, manage the establishment years carefully, and build the processing and market connections while the trees mature, will be the ones whose children inherit productive orchards rather than empty land.

Tag a farmer who has ube trees on their farm boundary and has never thought of them as a business.

27/05/2026

CATTLE: WHY A SMALL HERD CAN BUILD SERIOUS WEALTH

I want to challenge something many livestock farmers in Benue believe deeply. That wealth in cattle comes from owning large numbers. I have seen farmers with fifty animals struggling to break even while others with eight well-managed bulls are building real, compounding income. The difference is never the number. It is always the management.

Let me show you what the numbers look like right now.

A medium cow that sold for NGN 250,000 to NGN 400,000 in 2024 is fetching NGN 800,000 to NGN 1 million in many Nigerian markets today. That is not just inflation. It reflects a genuine and growing shortage of well-finished quality cattle entering the market. Demand is outpacing supply and farmers who produce consistently good animals are the ones capturing that premium.

BREED SELECTION MATTERS, BUT KNOW YOUR ZONE FIRST
For most Middle Belt fattening systems, Bunaji and Sokoto Gudali bulls are your best starting point. They grow well, respond to good feeding, and are familiar to most Benue livestock traders and buyers.

But here is what many cattle advisories skip entirely. If your farm is in the southern or central Benue LGAs where tsetse fly pressure is high, Bunaji and Sokoto Gudali carry significant trypanosomiasis risk. Sleeping sickness in cattle is real in those zones and it kills quietly before many farmers notice. In high-tsetse areas, N'Dama or Muturu breeds, or their crosses with Bunaji, give you meaningful natural tolerance that exotic and semi-exotic breeds simply do not have.

Know your agro-ecological zone before you decide on your breed. That single decision can be the difference between a profitable cycle and an expensive disease outbreak.

THE FEEDING WINDOW MOST FARMERS GET WRONG
Feed is 60 to 70 percent of your production cost. Everything else is secondary.

For smallholder fattening, a four to six month cycle works best. Your daily ration should be roughly 60 to 70 percent roughage, including maize stover, sorghum residue, or good quality hay, and 30 to 40 percent concentrate supplement. For a bull weighing 200 to 250 kilograms, daily dry matter intake should run at about 2.5 to 3 percent of body weight. That is your practical feeding benchmark.

Here is where many farmers leave money on the table during the dry season. Urea-treated stover. It sounds technical but the process is straightforward. Dissolve urea at four to five percent by weight in water. Pour evenly over your chopped stover. Cover tightly with plastic sheeting and leave for seven to twenty-one days. Before feeding, uncover and allow the ammonia smell to dissipate fully. What you get is crop residue with significantly improved digestibility and nutritional value, at a fraction of the cost of commercial feed.

Farmers who have adopted this through BEFTRA field engagements consistently report maintaining good daily weight gain through the dry season without buying expensive concentrates at inflated prices.

One more practical point on feeding. Do not keep fattening animals beyond 280 to 320 kilograms live weight before selling. Beyond that range, feed increasingly converts into fat rather than lean muscle. Your feed conversion ratio worsens. Your profit margin shrinks. Shorter, efficient cycles and strategic selling beat long drawn-out fattening every time.

MARKET TIMING IS A MANAGEMENT DECISION
This is one of the most underutilised profit strategies in Nigerian cattle farming.

Cattle prices spike by 30 to 50 percent above normal during Eid ul-Adha and Christmas. Farmers who plan their fattening cycles to produce market-ready animals during those windows earn significantly more from the same feeding investment than farmers who sell whenever animals happen to be ready. Time your cycle backward from the festive peak. That discipline alone can add hundreds of thousands of naira to your annual return.

DISEASE PREVENTION IS NON-NEGOTIABLE
A single outbreak can erase months of investment within days. I have seen it happen more than once across Benue farms.

Follow this basic schedule. Vaccinate against Foot and Mouth Disease twice yearly before major cattle movement seasons. Vaccinate against Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia annually. Vaccinate young cattle against Black Quarter. Vaccinate replacement heifers against brucellosis between six and eight months of age. Deworm regularly and monitor body condition scores.

For Benue farmers in tsetse zones, add this to your protocol. Diminazene aceturate injection for any animal showing acute trypanosomiasis symptoms. Isometamidium chloride as a seasonal prophylactic before peak tsetse pressure. Pour-on insecticides for tsetse repellence during high-risk months. Your veterinary officer can help you time these interventions correctly for your specific LGA.

Water. Consistent clean water access is one of the simplest and most overlooked productivity factors in cattle management. Animals without adequate water eat less, gain weight slower, and become vulnerable to heat stress. Do not let this basic requirement become a bottleneck on your farm.

THE REVENUE STREAMS MOST CATTLE FARMERS ARE DISCARDING
Your cattle are producing valuable material every day that most farmers either give away or leave to waste.

Dried processed cattle manure sells at NGN 8,000 to NGN 15,000 per tonne in Nigerian organic fertiliser markets. A small feedlot of five to ten bulls generates one to two tonnes monthly. That is NGN 8,000 to NGN 30,000 in supplementary income sitting in your pen every single month.

If you slaughter on-farm, collect the blood. Dry it. Dried blood meal contains 80 to 85 percent crude protein and Nigerian feed millers and fish farmers are buying it at NGN 600 to NGN 900 per kilogram. A single mature bull yields enough blood to produce one to two kilograms of dried blood meal. Small money per animal but it adds up across a season.

Bones, hooves, and horns are equally saleable. Makurdi-based organic input suppliers are confirmed buyers of raw bones for processing into bone meal, which contains 15 to 20 percent phosphorus and 24 to 30 percent calcium and sells at NGN 200 to NGN 400 per kilogram to crop farmers. Collect these materials instead of discarding them.

The principle that BEFTRA, the Benue Farmers and Traders Association, has been sharing consistently across livestock farmer groups in Benue is this. Efficiency builds wealth faster than herd size. A farmer who starts with five to ten healthy weaned bulls, feeds them correctly, manages disease strategically, times the market intelligently, and captures the by-product value most farmers discard will build a stronger livestock enterprise than someone with fifty poorly managed animals on the same budget.

That is not theory. That is what the numbers show, consistently, across farmers who have made that shift.

Tag a cattle farmer who is working hard but has not yet connected efficient management to the profit it actually produces.

26/05/2026

GROUNDNUT: OLD CROP, NEW SECRETS FOR BIGGER YIELDS

Many Benue groundnut farmers are working hard and still harvesting the same small yields they got five years ago. The land has not changed. The rainfall has not changed. What has not changed is the seed.

That is where the problem usually starts.

Most farmers here are still planting local varieties that produce 1,000 to 1,500 kilograms per hectare under good management. In April 2026, the Institute for Agricultural Research Zaria released SAMNUT 30, the newest improved groundnut variety developed specifically for Nigerian conditions. In field trials it produced 2,766 kilograms per hectare, 14 percent above the best farmer-preferred varieties currently in use. On real smallholder farms under rain-fed Benue conditions, honest expectations sit between 1,800 and 2,200 kilograms per hectare. That is still significantly above what most local varieties deliver, and the difference compounds when you multiply it across a full hectare at current market prices.

At NGN 800 to NGN 1,200 per kilogram for quality shelled groundnut, a well-managed hectare is generating NGN 1.8 million to NGN 2.2 million in gross revenue. That is the honest figure. Not the ceiling from a research station. The realistic on-farm number from farmers who get the basics right.

THE ONE INPUT MOST FARMERS HAVE NEVER TRIED
Here is something BEFTRA field teams have been sharing with farmers across Benue, and the results have been consistent.

Rhizobium inoculant. It is a powder containing beneficial bacteria that you mix with your groundnut seed before planting. Once in the soil, these bacteria attach to the plant roots and pull nitrogen directly from the air into the plant. Your crop feeds itself without expensive nitrogen fertiliser.

A small packet costs very little. The yield response pays for it many times over in the same season.

But there is a right way to use it. Store the inoculant away from heat and direct sunlight. Do not mix it with seeds that have been treated with chemical fungicide or insecticide because those chemicals kill the bacteria before they ever reach the soil. Inoculate your seed on the morning of planting and keep it in the shade until it goes into the ground. Farmers who skip these steps and observe no benefit usually conclude the product does not work. It works. The handling matters.

SPACING AND PLANTING DEPTH
Plant SAMNUT 30 and other bunch-type varieties at 75 centimetres between rows and 20 to 25 centimetres within the row. Depth should be three to five centimetres. Shallow planting exposes seed to surface drying. Deep planting delays emergence and reduces stand establishment.

Get the population right and you are using your land efficiently without plants competing against each other.

THE DISEASE THAT ARRIVES WITHOUT WARNING
Groundnut rosette is the disease I have seen destroy Benue groundnut farms faster than any pest. It is caused by a virus transmitted by the groundnut aphid and it can cause yield losses of 10 to 100 percent depending on how early infection occurs.

Two things reduce your risk significantly. Plant at the onset of rains rather than waiting. Early planting reduces aphid pressure during the critical early vegetative stage when infection causes the most damage. And use SAMNUT varieties, which carry built-in rosette resistance that most local varieties lack entirely.

Intercropping with one row of sorghum for every two rows of groundnut also disrupts aphid flight paths physically. IITA research confirms this reduces rosette incidence by 40 to 60 percent without any chemical input.

AFTER HARVEST: WHERE MOST PROFIT GETS LOST

Two things happen after harvest that determine whether your income matches your effort.

First, aflatoxin. Groundnut stored at high moisture develops aflatoxin contamination within weeks. Contaminated grain is rejected by processors and export buyers. Aflasafe GN01, a biocontrol product developed by IITA specifically for Nigerian groundnut, reduces aflatoxin contamination by 80 to 90 percent. It is commercially available in Nigeria and every serious groundnut farmer should know it exists.

Second, value addition. Farmers selling raw shelled groundnut are selling the cheapest form of the crop. Cold-pressed groundnut oil retails at NGN 3,000 to NGN 5,000 per litre in Lagos and Abuja markets. The cake remaining after oil extraction contains 45 to 50 percent crude protein and sells as premium livestock feed. Cooperatives with access to a simple cold press are capturing both revenue streams from the same harvest.

Even your groundnut shells have value. Several Nigerian agro-processors are purchasing dried shells at NGN 10,000 to NGN 20,000 per tonne for substrate and energy use. Bag them instead of burning them.

BEFTRA, the Benue Farmers and Traders Association, exists to make sure this kind of practical knowledge reaches farmers before planting season, not after they have already made the decisions that determine their yield.

Tag a groundnut farmer who is still planting the same variety their father planted.

Benue Farmers And Traders Association

03/06/2026

01/06/2026

29/05/2026

28/05/2026

27/05/2026

26/05/2026

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