1,500 Farmers Benefit From Land Clearing

To boost farming, the Osun State Agriculture Development Corporation (OSSADEC), has said that more than 1,500 farmers had benefitted from free land clearing services of government.

OSSADEC’s General Manager, Mr Lere Oriolowo, said this while briefing newsmen in Osogbo.

He said the free land clearing and hiring of tractors initiative for farmers by the Osun government in the current farming season would ensure food sufficiency in the state.

Oriolowo said the beneficiaries were made up of farm settlers, cooperative groups and individual farmers across the state.

“The planting season has just begun, so the exercise is ongoing as more farmers are still approaching the corporation for assistance.

“The gesture is to ensure and promote massive food production thereby improving tremendously the living standards of farmers,’’ he said.

He also said the disbursement of interest-free credit facility to benefiting farmers was in progress.

“In 2012, about 5,000 farmers benefited from the N500 million government guaranteed credit facility.

“It is apart from the N13 million being disbursed to some categories of farmers under the supervised loan facility meant for emergency occasions.

“There is possibility that the facility will be more than what was disbursed last year going by the number of farmers that have applied,’’ Oriolowo said.

He further said government had approved the construction of a 10-tonne capacity cribs for farmers across the nine federal constituencies in the state.

Oriolowo said the project was informed by the loss the farmers experienced in 2012 due to inadequate storage facilities.

He assured all practising farmers in the state of the corporation’s readiness to provide them with agriculture-support services.