Embrace agriculture, Diri urges Bayelsa youths at World Food Day

Bayelsa State governor, Senator Douye Diri, has urged youths in the state to embrace agriculture as a career and means of wealth creation, describing farming as a blessing, rather than a punishment.

Diri made the call at the World Food Day celebration, held at the Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall, Yenagoa, with the theme: ‘Innovate today, nourish tomorrow.’

Diri, represented by his deputy, Dr Peter Akpe, also encouraged civil servants and families to engage in backyard farming, and urged financial institutions to make credit accessible to smallholder farmers.

He described successful grant beneficiaries and agripreneurs as evidence that agriculture could generate employment and wealth.

He said Bayelsa’s fertile land and abundant water resources, alongside strategic partnerships, provided opportunities to strengthen food security.

The governor disclosed that the state had launched its maiden dry-season farming programme at Otuasega Farm in Ogbia Local Government Area.

He added that rice mills had been installed at Niger Delta University and the Federal University, Otuoke, in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He said the initiatives were aimed at moving Made-in-Bayelsa rice from farms to markets, adding that thousands of farmers in the local government areas had received seedlings and other farm inputs.

Through a partnership with CSS Integrated Farms, young people had also received training in modern farming techniques.

Diri urged youths to adopt innovative farming methods suited to Bayelsa’s terrain, including flood-tolerant crop varieties, modern aquaculture and soilless farming.

He also encouraged investment in agricultural processing, storage and cold-chain facilities to reduce food wastage.

He commended the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the LIFE-ND programme for supporting youth agribusinesses, while praising the Peremabiri Farmers Cluster for demonstrating the benefits of organised and innovative farming.

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On farmers’ security, the governor warned herders against attacking farmers, stressing that Bayelsa’s law prohibiting open grazing remained in force.

He urged the youths to return to agriculture, noting that people from outside the state were already taking advantage of its fertile soil and fishing opportunities.

He stated that greater youth participation would help expand the sector and strengthen the state’s agricultural programmes.

In his address, Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Professor Beke Sese, disclosed that more than 17,300 farmers had received direct support through various programmes since 2020, including the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme, Diri BOOST and the Prosperity Farmers Grant Scheme.

Sese said 2,106 farmers, fishers and processors in the local government areas received grants in 2026.

Meanwhile, national president of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Dr Farouk Rabiu Mudi, presented Diri with an Award of Excellence as the Best Governor in agricultural connectivity and farmers’ support in the country, citing the administration’s achievements in the sector.

He said the award, launched in August, was being presented to 12 governors, with two selected from each of the six geopolitical zones, following assessments of their agricultural programmes.

Mudi also presented the governor with a crown-shaped trophy reserved for six governors nationwide and urged unregistered farmers and community associations to join AFAN.