Nigeria's first mechanised farming equipment company to be floated in Akwa Ibom

NIGERIA could enjoy a dramatic boost in its farm produce output following the drawing up of plans by the Akwa Ibom State government to float an Agric Equipment Leasing Company aimed at enhancing large-scale mechanised farming.

Despite being a major agricultural producer, there is very little commercial farming in Nigeria, with most farming output coming from  smallholdings. This has hampered the use of heavy equipment and machinery, preventing output from matching that of other major agricultural producers like the US, China, Brazil, Australia, India, etc.

To combat this, the Akwa Ibom State government said it will soon inaugurate this new company as part of efforts to promote large-scale mechanised farming in the state. As part of the programme, Governor Umo Eno recently inspected the progress of work at the company’s facility located at Ekpri Nsukara in Uyo.

Governor Eno said: “There is a lot of improvement in the work done here to get the company kick-started in earnest. The contractor has given her word that the project will soon be inaugurated and I hold her to that.

“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-bed trucks 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 utilise it for improved farming productivity. These farming equipment range from ploughs to harvesters and other implements that will help improve farming output."

In addition, the governor noted that the initiative forms part of his administration’s strategy to mechanise farming methods in the state in order to achieve large-scale crop production and increase farmers’ profits. Speaking on the government’s tree-crop revolution programme, Governor Eno assured that the initiative would commence once the rainy season sets in, noting that such crops thrive better during the rainy season.

“The nursery for palm seedlings has already been established and the necessary enumeration of farmers has been conducted across the state. Within the next two weeks, the seedlings will be distributed to farmers for planting across the state,” Governor Eno added.

He urged farmers to take advantage of the various agricultural programmes introduced by the government to enhance large-scale farming output and improve economic growth in the state. Akwa Ibom is a major producer of cocoyam, yam and plantain, as well as being big in fishing and heliciculture.