Amidst the commencement of the rainy season, the Osun State Government has approved modalities for the operations of tractors across farmlands.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Tola Faseru, confirmed the development to the media on Monday in Osogbo, the state capital.
Faseru said interested farmers are to reach out to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry or the General Manager of Osun State Agricultural Development Corporation through virtual or physical applications.
He noted that the government is subsidising the operational rate per acre to lower the cost of farm operations, explaining further that the tractors will be domiciled at the OSSADEC farm centre located across the state.
He said some of the tractors are already in operation in some farmlands, noting that the ministry is working to set up technical centres at designated locations for maintenance of the tractors.
He narrated further that tractor drivers are being assembled, trained, and retrained for seamless operation, explaining that the administration adopted a public private partnership approach for the management of the tractors.
Faseru said: “We are happy to inform the public that the tractors are out for the rainy season.
“We are conscious of the question of sustainability, hence the careful approach to inject private sector practices.
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“In 14 or so years, this is the first time Osun has had a new fleet of tractors.
“We have learnt from what caused the failure of the past efforts.
“We won’t repeat the same mistakes.
“We know we are not there yet.
“But Governor Ademola Adeleke has blazed the trail by procuring the first set of tractors.
“We innovated also because of ongoing issues at the local government level.
“We don’t want it to be managed in an unsustainable manner.
“Hence, Mr. Governor insisted the tractors be managed like a business although with public subsidy.”
Faseru stated that the ministry is reaching out to stakeholders in the farming community to ensure accelerated access for users within the state.
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