Bayelsa targets 300 tonnes of local rice by year-end

Bayelsa State Government is targeting 300,000 kilogrammes of locally produced rice by the end of 2026.

This effort aims to reduce dependence on external food supplies and turn agriculture into a source of jobs and wealth.

The state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Beke Sese, disclosed this on Friday during the 2026 World Food Day celebration in Yenagoa. He said the government’s rice milling plant was operational and its products were undergoing laboratory analysis for food and nutritional certification ahead of their market launch.

Mr Sese said the government was cultivating 106 hectares of rice and buying paddy from supplying communities to give farmers a guaranteed market for their produce.

The target comes as Governor Douye Diri’s administration urges young people to take up agriculture toward strengthening food security in a state whose riverine terrain, flooding and depleted fish stocks pose distinct challenges to food production.

Represented by the Deputy Governor, Peter Akpe, Mr Diri said agriculture should be viewed as a viable career rather than a punishment, charging young people to seize opportunities in farming instead of remaining idle while waiting for white-collar jobs.

The governor spoke at the celebration, held at the Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall in Yenagoa, under the theme, “Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow.”

The event also highlighted government-backed agricultural programmes and support for farmers across the state’s eight local government areas.

Rice production, farmers’ support

Mr Sese said more than 17,300 farmers had received direct support through various agricultural programmes since 2020, including the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme, Diri BOOST and the Prosperity Farmers Grant Scheme.

He said 2,106 farmers, fishers and processors received grants in 2026 alone, with beneficiaries expanding their production and processing activities.

According to the commissioner, the state’s rice milling plant has a processing capacity of 410 tonnes daily and is operating at optimal capacity.

“We are cultivating 106 hectares of rice and buying paddy from the communities we supply, so that while you plant, you know a buyer is waiting,” he said.

Mr Sese said the government was working toward the governor’s target of producing 300,000 kilogrammes of locally branded rice by the end of the year.

The stated target is equivalent to 300 tonnes of rice, although the government did not provide details of how much rice had already been produced toward meeting the target.

The administration’s immediate challenge is to translate its investment in farming, processing and grants into sufficient, affordable food for residents.

Mr Diri said the government had distributed seedlings and other farm inputs to thousands of farmers across the state and partnered with the Central Bank of Nigeria to install rice mills at Niger Delta University and the Federal University, Otuoke.

He said the government had also commenced its maiden dry-season farming programme at Otuasega Farm in Ogbia Local Government Area and partnered with CSS Integrated Farms to train young people in modern agricultural methods.

Flooding, pollution, food security

The governor charged young people to adopt farming methods suited to Bayelsa’s terrain, including flood-tolerant crop varieties, soilless farming and modern aquaculture.

He also called for investment in food processing, storage and cold-chain infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses.

The emphasis on aquaculture follows concerns about the state’s fisheries, which the governor attributed partly to pollution that has depleted wild fish stocks.

Mr Diri asked financial institutions to make credit more accessible to smallholder farmers and encouraged civil servants and households to practise backyard farming.

He said the government would continue to provide an enabling environment for agriculture, including access roads, bridges to farms, support for farming settlements and improved security for farmers and their crops.

“Let me be frank: government cannot do it alone, and it should not try to do so. Our role as a government is to create an enabling environment and provide access roads,” he said.

“Our focus on roads cannot be derailed. We must construct bridges to farms and support farming settlements. We must also continue to improve security for farmers and their crops.”

He urged young people to return to farming, noting that people from outside Bayelsa were already exploiting the state’s agricultural potential.

The governor also cautioned herders against attacking farmers, saying the state’s law criminalising open grazing remained in force.

He commended the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises in the Niger Delta programme for supporting young people to establish agribusinesses.

He also cited the Peremabiri Farmers Cluster as an example of what organised and innovative farmers could achieve.

At the event, the National President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Farouk Mudi, presented Mr Diri with an Award of Excellence, naming him the country’s best governor in agricultural connectivity and farmers’ support.

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Mr Mudi said the award was based on the association’s research and assessment of agricultural programmes across states. He said the initiative, launched in August, would recognise 12 governors, with two selected from each of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

The state government has set a deadline of the end of 2026 to produce 300 tonnes of locally branded rice, with Mr Diri directing the agriculture ministry to ensure the product is available to residents during the Christmas and New Year festivities.

Whether the target will be met will depend on the state’s ability to sustain production, secure reliable supplies from farmers and move processed rice from its mills to consumers.