A’Ibom Agric Equipment Leasing Coy Soon To Take Off In Uyo – Gov. Eno
Akwa Ibom State has initiated practical steps towards boosting full-scale mechanised farming for enhanced agricultural production.
To this end, Akwa Ibom State has established the Agricultural Equipment Leasing Company, set to be commissioned soon in Uyo, the state capital.
State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, who announced this while fielding questions from Government House correspondents shortly after he inspected the progress of work at the company located at Ekpri Nsukara in Uyo, scored the contractor highly on the progress of work at the site.
“There is a lot of improvement on the work done here to get the company kick-started in earnest. The contractor, in fact, has given her word that the project will soon be inaugurated, and I hold her to that.”
According to the Governor, the essence of the project is to motivate farmers into large-scale farming for better productivity, earnings, and sufficiency of food in the State.
“The farming season is here again, and we are putting everything in place for this project to function optimally. There are over 25 tractors with tracking devices and two lowbeds in readiness for the agriculture programme.
“What we intend to do here is to lease this equipment to our farmers across the State at subsidised rates so that they can make use of it for improved farming productivity in the State. This farming equipment ranges from ploughs to harvesters to many others that will help them improve,” he said.
The Governor explained that his focus was to mechanise farming methods in the State in order to achieve large-scale benefits in crop production and profits for farmers.
Speaking on the government’s tree-crop revolution programme, Governor Eno assured that the programme will kick off immediately as the rainy season sets in, explaining that it is an endeavour that thrives well during the rainy season.
“The nursery of the palm tree crop seedlings has been put in place; the necessary enumeration of farmers has been done throughout the State, and in the next two weeks, the seedlings will be distributed to farmers for appropriate planting across the State”.
The Governor, therefore, enjoined farmers to embrace the various agricultural programmes put up by the government for the attainment of meaningful large-scale farming output and growth of individuals in particular and the State in general.
With the Governor at the inspection were the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Offiong Offor; Commissioner for Works and Fire Service, Prof. Eno Ibanga; Commissioner for Information, Hon. Aniekan Umanah, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Agribusiness, Pastor Godwin Ukwat; and other government officials.
