The Chief Executive Officer of Green Harvest Foodstuff, Joshua Apeh, has said Benue South has the potential to become a global hub for carbohydrate production and processing if the region develops its agricultural value chain.
Apeh spoke with Idoma Television shortly after taking Chief Godwin Obla, SAN, on a tour of the Green Harvest Foodstuffs factory. According to him, agriculture remains a major part of the heritage of the people of Benue, particularly the production of cassava and yam.
“An average, a normal man is a cassava and yam farmer, and a farmer generally. And we, the Benue South people, or the Benue people, agriculture is our heritage. This is what our ancestors are known for,” he said.
Apeh said his investment was driven by the desire to create opportunities for farmers and young people in the region by providing a reliable market for agricultural produce. He explained that Green Harvest Foodstuffs processes cassava into food-grade ethanol, alcoholic ethanol, garri, cassava powder and cassava chips, while also producing groundnut oil, yam powder and livestock feed.
“I have a need to build a ray of hope for our people, where our people can have something they can rely on, where our people can go into agriculture, into farming, especially cassava and yam, and they will have where they can sell, who can off-take from them, who can encourage them to do more,” Apeh said.
He argued that Benue South should not remain primarily a producer of raw agricultural commodities but should develop the processing infrastructure required to maximise the economic benefits of its agricultural resources. “We are supposed to be on the global stage on food security. This Benue South that we are today is supposed to be a hub for carbohydrate where the world can come and source carbohydrate from,” he said.
Apeh expressed concern over the lack of sufficient processing capacity despite the region’s agricultural potential, particularly in cassava production. “Where is the factory? Where is the processing? Where is the added value?” he asked. He said Green Harvest Foodstuffs was established partly to address this gap and create opportunities for young people who have struggled to find sustainable employment.
The Green Harvest Foodstuffs CEO further said the development of a proper cassava value chain could have implications beyond Benue South, with the region potentially supplying processed carbohydrate products to markets across Nigeria, Africa and other parts of the world. “Because we are on this, we are sitting on the highest deposit of cassava, we are supposed to have a proper cassava value chain. And on this basis, we can sustain Nigeria, we can sustain West Africa, we can sustain Africa, we can become a carbohydrate hub for the world entirely, for Asia, for South America, for Europe and every part of the world,” Apeh said.
He noted that the location of Green Harvest Foodstuffs in Benue South was deliberate, given the area’s agricultural heritage and the need to connect farmers to processing and markets. Apeh’s vision centres on developing an integrated agricultural value chain that links farmers to processing facilities, creates employment opportunities and adds value to crops produced in Benue South.
