From Kenechukwu Obiajuru, Yenagoa
Bayelsa State has procured modern milling equipment to increase the production and processing of rice in the state.
Governor Douye Diri, who disclosed this on Thursday at this year’s World Food Day celebration at the Peace Park in Yenagoa, said the equipment include automated dryer, boilers and colour separation machines.
Addressing farmers, who exhibited various produce, the Bayelsa governor said his administration has supported them with loans and trained them in modern farming skills.
His words: “We went into partnership with the Korean government and they supplied us equipment that can produce 40 tonnes of rice daily.
“We were however lacking three equipment, which were automated dryer, boilers and colour separation machines. When the Agriculture Commissioner brought it to my knowledge, immediately government approved the purchase of the equipment and they are on their way.”
According him, government trained about 700 youths at the CSS Farms in Nasarawa State as well as 200 in soiless farming in Abeokuta, Ogun State, noting that they were making impact in farming and fishing.
He expressed delight that his administration’s effort in the agricultural sector was yielding positive results as evidenced in the testimonies of the trainees and the reduction of prices of essential commodities such as garri and other staple food.
“We are happy to hear that prices of essential commodities are dropping. We encourage more people to go into cassava production so that the price of garri will be stable.”
He stated that as part of efforts to encourage farmers, government was rehabilitating the fish farms at Yenigue and Angalabiri and ensure that they become functional.
He also said government had approved construction of a road from the Glory Drive to link the Yenigue fish farm for easy evacuation of produce.
The governor urged the ljaw ethnic nationality to go into massive farming as it was a money-spinning business even as he condemned the use of chemicals in processing and preservation of agricultural produce.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Prof. Beke Sese, said another batch of 200 youths was approved for training at the CSS Farms in cassava and fish farming as well as cultivation of vegetables.
According to him, the trainees, in addition to the previous ones, were given starter packs and organised into clusters to position them as new generation of agric entrepreneurs.
Sese stated that during the 2024 dry farming season, government supported farmers with rice seedings, irrigation kits and distributed over 20,000 bundles of cassava stems across the eight local government areas, with a projected yield of 6,700 tonnes of cassava tubers.
He also said that over 5,000 bags of fertilisers were distributed to farmers and that the ministry partnered with the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research to support oil palm farmers in order to improve oil palm seedlings as well as offered funding support to 100 agric entrepreneurs.
In their goodwill messages, Mercy Igbani, Kingdom Obira, Itari Uwotu, Josephine Akari and Victory Ichie, on behalf of the Otuokpoti Rice Cluster, Agripreneurs, CSS Trainees, Cassava Farmers and LIFE-ND/IFAD respectively, thanked government for the grant they received to add value to the agric sector.
They appealed to government to provide a processing hub to be able to package and market their products and make Bayelsa one of the top food producers.
