Bayelsa State has taken a major step toward strengthening food security and agricultural productivity with the procurement of modern rice processing equipment to support local farmers and scale up production.
Governor Douye Diri announced the development on Thursday during the 2025 World Food Day celebration held at the Peace Park in Yenagoa.
Addressing farmers and stakeholders, the governor revealed that the newly acquired equipment included an automated dryer, boilers, and colour separation machines, which are expected to significantly enhance the efficiency and quality of rice processing in the state.
According to Governor Diri, the purchase of the machines was a direct response to a gap identified in the state’s rice processing chain.
While Bayelsa had earlier partnered with the Korean government to procure a rice milling facility capable of producing 40 tonnes per day, the absence of the three key machines had limited full-scale operations.
“When the Commissioner for Agriculture informed me that we were lacking the dryer, boilers and colour sorter, the state government immediately approved their purchase.
”The equipment is now on its way to Bayelsa,” the governor stated.
Diri said the state had also invested heavily in training young people in modern agriculture.
He noted that 700 youths had been trained at CSS Farms in Nasarawa State, while another 200 were trained in soil-less farming in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
These youth, he added, were already making an impact in farming and fisheries across the state.
“Our efforts are beginning to yield fruits. The testimonies from our trainees and the recent drop in prices of basic food items like garri are proof that we are making progress.
“We encourage more of our people to go into cassava farming to stabilize garri prices and strengthen food supply, ” he said.
The governor also disclosed that the state was rehabilitating major fish farms in Yenigue and Angalabiri, and had approved the construction of a road linking Glory Drive to the Yenigue fish farm to ease movement of produce and improve access for farmers.
Diri also used the occasion to encourage the Ijaw people to embrace farming as a sustainable and profitable venture, while warning against the use of harmful chemicals in food production and preservation.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Professor Beke Sese, outlined the state’s ongoing agricultural support initiatives.
He revealed that a new batch of 200 youths had been approved for training in cassava and fish farming, and vegetable cultivation at CSS Farms.
Sese said the trainees were given starter packs and organised into clusters to enable them function effectively as a new generation of agricultural entrepreneurs.
He highlighted several achievements during the 2024 dry farming season, including distribution of over 20,000 bundles of cassava stems across the eight LGAs, targeting a yield of 6,700 tonnes of cassava tubers, provision of over 5,000 bags of fertilisers to registered farmers, supply of rice seedlings and irrigation kits to boost dry season farming.
He added that the state was collaborating with the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) to improve oil palm production as well as funding support for 100 agricultural entrepreneurs
Farmers and beneficiaries present at the event expressed gratitude to the state government.
In separate goodwill messages, Mercy Igbani, Kingdom Obira, Itari Uwotu, Josephine Akari, and Victory Ichie, representing various clusters and programmes, lauded the administration for the grants and support received so far.
They, however, appealed for the establishment of a central agro-processing hub to enable better packaging, branding, and marketing of local produce, which they said would position Bayelsa as one of Nigeria’s top food-producing states.
The event showcased various agricultural products grown and processed in Bayelsa, and reaffirmed the state’s commitment to transforming its economy through agribusiness and rural empowerment.
