Plateau Brands Its Potatoes, Declares End of Selling Wealth Raw

By Timothy Alamba

The Plateau State Government has declared an end to the era of selling the state’s wealth raw, unveiling a distinct brand, “The Plateau Potatoes,” meant to move farmers from roadside sales to industrial-scale processing, packaging and export.

The Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Hon. Musa Ashoms, stated this at the Polo in Jos, during Plateau State Day at the 11th Jos National Trade Fair. Speaking on behalf of the Executive Governor, Caleb Mutfwang Esq, he said the potato value chain had been formalised under the Governor’s directive, with the aim of ending post-harvest losses.

He said government was deploying a shared cold storage facility across the state’s three agricultural zones to support farmers who grow vegetables, fruits and tubers. It was also rebuilding a modern livestock production system with capacity for up to 5,000 herds, which he said would position livestock as a driver of wealth, not conflict.

For investors, Ashoms said Plateau was now ranked among the top three states in Nigeria for ease of doing business, with land acquisition and titling made easier. He added that, following the Governor’s engagements in China, the state would host an International Trade Park and Exhibition Center. A committee headed by Nde Samila, with the Commissioner as secretary, is working to secure land for it.

On jobs, the Commissioner said the former MTI facility around Airport Road was being converted into a Business Process Outsourcing and service centre to train and deploy 1,842 youths for global remote jobs and IT employment. The Innovation Center at the Plateau State Polytechnic, he said, was already incubating tech talents.

The Special Day was anchored on the fair’s theme, “Harnessing Agricultural and Livestock Value Chains for Food Security, Job Creation and Shared Prosperity.” The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Pharm. Stephen Davou, said the theme was deliberate. He pointed to the ultra-modern abattoir at Heipang and to local processors such as Naraguta Leather Works, along with small businesses producing acha, coffee and dairy. He regretted, however, that livestock farmers were thinly represented at the fair, with rabbits and chickens on show but few large ruminants.

In an interview with journalists, Ashoms said the Heipang abattoir could slaughter 500 cows a day, and that the aim was to add value from the skin and meat to the bone. He urged residents to go into agriculture and livestock, and said young entrepreneurs he met in Abuja had recovered their investment in greenhouses around Heipang within a single farming season.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Culture and Creative Economy, Mr. Ephraim Dankyes, who represented the Commissioner for Tourism, Culture and Hospitality, Hon. Joyce Ramnap, said the fair gave special visibility to the creative economy, from fashion designers and visual artists to musicians and culinary experts. “Our culture is our economy,” he said.

The Executive Director of the Plateau Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PLACCIMA), Da Dauda Gashi, welcomed guests on behalf of the chamber’s President, Da Bulus Dareng, who had stepped out for another engagement.

The Commissioner also apologised to those who felt the fair was poorly organised, saying it took a series of meetings and sleepless nights to deliver. He promised exhibitors the right of first refusal next year, along with consideration for their take-off costs to make up for this year.

He said the Governor had assured that Plateau would have a permanent trade fair ground before the next fair, which has been proposed for October 12 to 25, 2027. A member of the PLACCIMA Executive Council, said marketing of the 2027 fair would begin at the Kaduna Trade Fair, the first in the year.

In a vote of thanks, the Director of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Luka Chetle, said the challenges encountered in organising the fair had been overcome. He recalled that Plateau was recognised among the best states at the Abuja trade fair, and promised a more befitting fair in 2027.