The Edo State Government has started tilling or ploughing the land in government-backed settlements ahead of the farming season.
This was disclosed in a statement from the state government on Thursday.
According to the statement made available by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Mr Crusoe Osagie, the preparation is part of efforts by the state governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, to attain food sufficiency in the state.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security Programme, Joe Okojie, was quoted as saying that ploughing of farms across the state was being carried out to assist farmers improve their yields this year.
“The support provided by the state government in the use of mechanised farm equipment under the Edo State Agripreneur programme will make farming attractive and less tedious for the farmers.
“This will also encourage farmers to scale from subsistence to commercial farming,” he noted.
According to him, in the first phase of the land preparation, over 180 hectares of land have been cleared in Usugbenu maize farm settlement, adding, “We are determined to clear more hectares before the boom sprayers will be deployed.”
The governor’s aide said similar steps had been taken at the Agenebode rice farm settlement ahead of the 2020 farming season.
He disclosed that in Illushi rice farm settlement, the state government had assisted the farmers in preparing over 142 hectares of land for cultivation.