The Edo State Government has rolled out a fresh batch of agricultural equipment and inputs to farmers across the state as part of its aggressive push to strengthen food security and expand mechanised farming.
At multiple distribution events held this year, the government provided machinery, inputs, and financial support to thousands of farmers under various empowerment initiatives, marking one of the state’s most extensive agricultural drives in recent years.
In one major exercise, over 1,700 farmers received modern processing and farming tools, including cassava milling machines, motorised sprayers, grinding machines, and defeathering units. A separate programme under the FADAMA CARES initiative supported an additional 437 beneficiaries, supplying cassava cuttings, fertilisers, herbicides, motorised sprayers, milling equipment, and power tillers.
Governor Monday Okpebholo reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to transforming the agricultural value chain, noting that mechanisation and access to inputs are essential to reducing food prices and stimulating the rural economy. He emphasized that the government’s Back-to-Farm Initiative, launched earlier this year, will establish coordinated farm hubs across all three senatorial districts while providing fertilisers, machinery, and interest-free loans to farmers.
As part of the programme’s early rollout, Edo State has already commenced cultivation on 3,000 hectares allocated for the initiative.
In parallel, the government introduced a regenerative agriculture programme, making Edo one of the pilot states under the Green Climate Fund–backed Regenerative and Agro-ecological Landscape Acceleration Facility (RALAF). The initiative aims to promote climate-smart farming, sustainable forestry, and improved fisheries management anchoring the state’s long-term environmental and food-system resilience.
Women and youth also remain central to the state’s agricultural strategy. Through partnerships with development organisations and private firms including a collaboration with Amo Farm Sieberer Hatchery and Heifer International Edo plans to empower up to 500,000 poultry farmers with training and production support.
Government officials say these investments are designed not only to boost output but to create jobs, stabilise supply chains, and reposition Edo as a key agricultural hub in the southern region.
With mechanised farming, sustainability reforms, and mass-scale farmer empowerment all advancing simultaneously, Edo State appears poised for a significant expansion in food production capacity. Visit www.jocomms.com for more news.
