Govt Set To Boost Full Scale Mechanised Farming Across A’Ibom 

By Bassey Nkponam 
UYO 
In its effort towards ensuring better productivity, good earnings for farmers and food sufficiency in the State, Akwa Ibom government is taking practical steps towards boosting full scale mechanised farming, as it plans to inaugurate the established Agric Equipment Leasing company.
The State governor, Pastor Umo Eno, who made this known, Thursday, while fielding questions from Government House correspondents shortly after inspecting the progress of work at the company located at Ekpri Nsukara in Uyo, said his administration was taking practical steps towards boosting full scale mechanized farming for enhanced agricultural production with the establishment of the company which, according to him, will be commissioned soon. 
Eno said the essence of the project was to motivate farmers into large-scale farming for better productivity, better earnings, and food sufficiency in the State, adding that what government intends to do in the company was to lease the equipment to farmers across the State at subsidised rates for improved farming productivity. 
According to him, government’s focus was to mechanise farming methods in the State to achieve large scale benefits in crop production and profits for farmers, adding that the farming equipment, ranging from ploughs, harvesters, over 25 tractors with tracking devices, two low-beds and lots of others that will help them improve their productivity, were intact in readiness for the agricultural programme.
   “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 low-beds in readiness for the agriculture programme.
“What we intend to do here is to lease these equipment to our farmers across the State at subsidised rates so that they can make use of them for improved farming productivity in the State. These farming equipment range from ploughs, harvesters, to lots of others that will help them improve,” he said.
The governor commended the contractor on the progress of work at the site, saying, “there’s 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”.
Highlighting on the government’s tree-crop revolution programme, Governor Eno said the programme will kick-off immediately the rainy season sets in, as it was 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”, he said and enjoined farmers to embrace the various agricultural programmes put up by his government for the attainment of meaningful large-scale farming output and growth of individuals and the State at large.