The Bayelsa State Government has set a target of producing 300 tonnes of locally branded rice by the end of 2026 as part of efforts to strengthen food security, create jobs and reduce dependence on food supplies from outside the state. The Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Beke Sese, disclosed this on Friday during the 2026 World Food Day celebration in Yenagoa, saying the state was cultivating 106 hectares of rice and buying paddy from local communities to guarantee farmers a market for their produce.
Sese said the government’s rice milling plant was operational, with its products undergoing laboratory analysis for food and nutritional certification ahead of their market launch. He added that the facility had a processing capacity of 410 tonnes daily. Represented by Deputy Governor Peter Akpe, Governor Douye Diri urged young people to embrace agriculture rather than wait endlessly for white-collar jobs, describing farming as a viable career under the event’s theme, “Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow.”
The commissioner said more than 17,300 farmers had received support through agricultural programmes since 2020, including the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme, Diri BOOST and the Prosperity Farmers Grant Scheme. In 2026 alone, 2,106 farmers, fishers and processors received grants to expand their activities. Diri also highlighted the distribution of seedlings and farm inputs, rice mills established at Niger Delta University and the Federal University, Otuoke, in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria, and a dry-season farming programme at Otuasega Farm in Ogbia Local Government Area.
To address the state’s agricultural challenges, Diri urged farmers to adopt flood-tolerant crops, soilless farming and modern aquaculture suited to Bayelsa’s riverine terrain. He called for more investment in food processing, storage and cold-chain infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses, while linking declining wild fish stocks partly to pollution. He also urged financial institutions to improve access to credit for smallholder farmers and encouraged households and civil servants to practise backyard farming.
The governor pledged continued investment in access roads, bridges to farms, farming settlements and security for farmers and their crops. He warned herders against attacking farmers, stressing that Bayelsa’s law prohibiting open grazing remained in force. Diri also commended the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises in the Niger Delta programme for supporting young people in agribusiness, citing the Peremabiri Farmers Cluster as an example of organised farming.
At the event, the National President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Farouk Mudi, presented Diri with an Award of Excellence, naming him the country’s best governor in agricultural connectivity and farmers’ support. The association said the recognition followed its assessment of agricultural programmes across states. The Bayelsa government aims to make its locally branded rice available during the Christmas and New Year festivities, but achieving the 300-tonne target will depend on sustained production, reliable paddy supplies and effective distribution to consumers.
