Rice farmers’ association in Delta has appealed to the state government to reduce the cost of hiring tractors to enhance rice cultivation.

Their chairman, Sylvanus Ejezie, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Asaba.

Mr. Ejezie said that currently, farmers in the state hire tractors for land preparation at N20,000 per day, in addition to other expenses borne during land preparation.

He said that if the state government reduced the price, it would ease the burden of land preparation this farming season.

He said that with a reduction in the cost of hiring tractors, farmers would be encouraged to cultivate more farmlands.

The chairman noted that rice farmers in the state enjoyed federal government loan facility under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers Scheme, adding that the only assistance rice farmers needed from the Delta government is the tractor service.

Mr. Ejezie said that his members had been directed to begin land preparation early this year to beat the challenge of flood that ravaged farmlands in the state, particularly toward the end of the rainy season.

He noted that no fewer than 1,000 rice farmers in the state were profiled to participate in the ongoing dry season farming.

The chairman said that the farmers had already begun to harvest the crops planted in November 2020.

He said he had started harvesting the rice he planted last year and by his calculation, each hectare would produce four tonnes of rice.

Mr. Ejezie said, “We expect that each of the 1,000 farmers in the state will produce four tonnes of rice per hectare.

“No fewer than 1,000 farmers have been profiled to benefit from the agricultural loan under the CBN anchor borrowers programme. All the materials were promptly supplied last year.

“Following our devastating experience last year when the flood washed away almost everything we planted, we took advantage of the dry season farming and are already harvesting.

“In order not to suffer the same fate we suffered last year, we have advised our members to commence land preparation for this year’s farming season early enough.’’