By Faridat Salifu
The Kwara State Government has deployed tractors and processing equipment to strengthen agricultural production, with 49,337 farmers benefiting from the latest phase of the FADAMA CARES programme.
The intervention, launched in Ilorin on Monday, October 19, 2026, covers rice, maize and soybean production and includes equipment to improve processing, reduce post-harvest losses and enhance market access.
The distribution brings the cumulative number of beneficiaries under FADAMA CARES 2.0 to 235,567, according to official figures.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said the programme is designed to address key challenges facing farmers, including rising input costs, unpredictable weather, inadequate equipment and difficulties in transporting and processing produce.
“Our duty is to remove these barriers and obstacles so that their labour pays,” the governor said.
Items distributed include knapsack sprayers, water pumps, power tillers, grinding machines, rice mills, cassava-processing equipment, fish-smoking kilns and commercial boats.
AbdulRazaq urged beneficiaries to use the support to improve productivity and build sustainable agribusinesses.
The state government said 54,332 beneficiaries had previously received inputs and services, while 131,898 others benefited from productive and processing assets across 10 agricultural value chains.
The Commissioner for Livestock, Olohuntoyosi Thomas, who supervises the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said 48 tractors and two D&R Caterpillar bulldozers have been deployed to support mechanised farming across the state’s 16 local government areas.
Thomas added that 2,016 farmers received 8,064 bags of NPK fertiliser through the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Farm Input Support Programme.
The Commissioner for Finance and Chairperson of the State NG-CARES Steering Committee, Hauwa Nuru, said the programme is intended to improve livelihoods, strengthen food security and stimulate economic growth.
The State FADAMA NG-CARES Project Coordinator, Busari Toyin Isiaka, said the intervention would help increase output, reduce post-harvest losses and raise incomes of beneficiaries.
