By Fatima Muraina & Adekola Afolabi

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Ondo state Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has assured stakeholders in the agricultural sector of his readiness to provide adequate farm inputs to farmers during his second term in office.
The governor also said his administration would continue to improve infrastructural facilities such as good road network and agricultural equipment, to make it easier for the farmers to reach out and be reached.
He spoke on Thursday in Akure, during a Farmers’ Field Day and interactive session with stakeholders on National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation. NCAM developed agricultural mechanisation technologies.
At the event, no fewer than 26 new technology agricultural equipment developed by the NCAM were launched to ease farming activities.
The new equipments included, Cassava Tuber lifter, Cassava Peeling lifter, Mechanical Cassava Grater, Cassava Mash Sifter, Semi Automated Garrison fryer, Integrated Rice Mill, Melon Seed Sheller with separator, Mini Rice Thresher, Mechanical Maize Sheller, Integrated Palm Fruit Digester Screw Press, Integrated Oil Palm Processing Machine, Oil Palm Fiber Separator, Integrated Rice Parboiler, Cassava Harvester, Four Row Seed Planter, Three Row Seed Planter, 2-Row Motorized Seed Planter, Guided Grain Planter among others
Governor Akeredolu who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Tayo Oluwatuyi, disclosed that in spite of the dwindling financial resources available, he has maintained a reasonably high level of funding and support to the agricultural sector generally and the Agricultural Development Project, in particular.
He listed some of the achievements of his administration in the agricultural sector to include, establishment of 2,000 hectares cocoa plantation at Ijugbere, Owo Local Government Area; rehabilitation of the 1,744 hectares Oda Cocoa Estate; completion of the well-equipped Sunshine Cocoa Factory at Alade Idanre, and clearing of over 1,250 hectares of land for use by farmers across the state.
Others are distribution of over 1,500,000 hybrid Cocoa seedlings, 50,000 cashew seedlings forest reserve for planting; procurement of tractors and farm implements; procurement of 1,000 metric tons of fertilizers and distribution of soft loans to farmers at 6% interest rate to cushion the effect of COVID-19 pandemic, among several achievements.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Gboyega Adefarati, noted that the future of the country was in the agricultural sector since agriculture would continue to be one of the major mainstay of the people’s economy.
In his address, the Executive Director, National Center for Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM) Muyideen Yomi Kasali declared that Mechanization of agriculture would increase productivity and agriculture contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
This he noted could only be realised by deploying agricultural mechanization technology to the farms as the center to be opened in Akure would further improve agricultural development of the entire South-West.