The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority (O-ORBDA), Adedeji Ashiru, has flagged off the deployment of 16 tractors across 11 farm settlements in the South-West, assuring that an additional 60 units would arrive by 2026 to revolutionise the sector under President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda.
Speaking at the event held at the authority’s headquarters in Abeokuta on Thursday, Ashiru said the initiative is a direct response to the President’s charge on food security, noting that the current administration has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to ensuring that no Nigerian goes to bed hungry.
“President Bola Tinubu has consistently articulated his commitment to ensuring that our farmers are empowered with the tools and resources they need. At OORBDA, we have listened, and today we are acting as directed with this tractor deployment,” Ashiru stated.
He described the deployment as the first phase of a broader mechanisation drive, revealing that the Federal Government has approved the supply of 60 additional tractors by 2026 to further enhance agricultural productivity across Ogun, Oyo, Osun, and Lagos States.
“Today, we are reinvigorating our support through this coordinated tractor and farm implement deployment. This is just as we are expecting an additional 60 tractors from the Federal Government in 2026, which will also be distributed to farmers to further revolutionise mechanised farming in the South-West,” he added.
Beneficiaries of the first phase include farm settlements in Sepeteri, Iseyin, Ofiki, Asa, and Ogbomoso (Oyo State); Iwo and Oluku/Iba (Osun State); Igan Alade/Ijaka, Owiwi, Eyinwa, and Oke Odan (Ogun State); and Itokin in Lagos State.
Ashiru noted that the dry season farming programme would focus on high-yield crops such as maize, vegetables, tomatoes, pepper, and cassava, with extension officers deployed to guide farmers on best practices.
To ensure proper oversight, a seven-member task force committee was inaugurated to monitor the utilisation and maintenance of the equipment.
Earlier, the Executive Director of Agricultural Services, Engr Akeem Sulaiman, said the intervention aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration, aimed at boosting food production and improving farmer livelihoods.
In his remarks, the representative of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Ogun State, Pastor Ademuyiwa Atanbi, commended the Federal Government for the gesture, stating that it would significantly enhance food production and farmers’ incomes in the region.
