Henry Hofschneider, special assistant to the DLNR secretary, said the Division of Agriculture tractor service will be contracted to a private firm.
He said they have scheduled a meeting with local farmers to inform them about the intent to discontinue the government’s tractor service.
The government, he added, has been encouraging businesses engaged in tractor services to send proposals for the cultivation of Saipan’s agricultural lands particularly those being leased to local farmers.
The Division of Agriculture has two tractors for the Kagman commercial farm plots but farmers could not maximize their use because they break down most of time, Hofschneider said.
The farmers, he added, usually end up tilling their farm plots using their own small equipment and paying for their fuel costs.
Hofschneider said the two government-owned tractors are “already beyond their useful life span.”
Allowing a private firm to handle the tractor service, which involves manpower, maintenance and fuel, can save the government more than $15,000 a year, he said.
Acting Agriculture Division Director Ben Borja said they have already talked to some individuals who might be willing to provide commercial farm plots tractor service.
The services, he said, include plowing, mowing and disking.
Currently, farmers are charged $20 per hour for using the tractor.
This amount, Borja said, could increase slightly when the tractor service becomes privatized.
Once the service is privatized, the government can focus on providing technical assistance to the farmers, he said.
