
About 4,000 farmers will have their farms tilled by Busia County Government tractors ahead of the planting season, County Executive Committee Member for Agriculture and Natural Resources Dr Moses Osia has revealed.
Speaking when he made a tour of the farms that are being tilled by County tractors in Matayos, Nambale and Teso South Sub Counties, Dr Osia said the county was offering better rates of Sh2,000 per acre compared to over Sh4,000 by private owners.
” There are 15 tractors which are functional after undergoing repairs. We are targeting at least 10 acres per tractor and 150 acres in total per day to meet the rising demand.
Teso South leads in the number of farmers seeking for tractor services followed by Teso North, Nambale and Butula. However, Nambale leads in the number of acreage set aside for farming followed by Teso North and Teso South,” he said.
The CEC said the number of farmers who till their land using hoes stands at 60 per cent while those using oxen stands at 20 per cent.
He urged farmers to make use of extension officers who are stationed in every sub county to be advised on better farming practices and how to access tractor services.
Dr Osia revealed the National Government will avail 29 tractors to the County by July, 2018 to bring to 44 the total number of tractors that will be available to agriculture farmers and excluding 11 that the County bought for rice farmers in Bunyala.Engineer Musa Otieno who is attached at the Agriculture department said Bukhayo West has bought one additional tractor from the Ward Fund which has boosted the number of acreage to be tilled by the County Government.He urged farmers to remove stones and logs from their farms to avoid tractor breakdowns, adding that they are ready work late to ensure they meet their target.A farmer from Buyosi village in Matayos Gertrude Nafula thanked the County Government for offering to till her 3 acre land at an affordable rate of Sh2,000 per acre and urged other farmers to follow suit.
