For many young people in Bayelsa State, the dream of a good job often means working in an office, earning a monthly salary and leaving the uncertainties of farming behind. But Governor Douye Diri believes agriculture could offer them another path to employment, financial independence and a more secure future.
At a World Food Day celebration in Yenagoa on Friday, the governor challenged youths to reconsider their perception of farming, insisting that agriculture should be seen as a viable career rather than a punishment for those who cannot secure white-collar jobs.
Represented by his deputy, Dr Peter Akpe, Diri said the state’s fertile land and abundant water resources offered opportunities for young people to build businesses, create jobs and contribute to food security.
His message came as the state intensified efforts to increase local food production, support farmers and develop a market for its emerging Made-in-Bayelsa rice.
The celebration, held at the Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall, Yenagoa, had the theme, “Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow.”
For the governor, the challenge was not simply to encourage people to cultivate the land, but to help them see agriculture as a business capable of generating sustainable income.
“The actual farming must be done by our people. I therefore call on our youths to see agriculture as a career, not a punishment,” he said.
Beyond subsistence farming
Diri urged young people to take advantage of available agricultural opportunities rather than remain idle while waiting for white-collar employment.
He also called on civil servants and families to embrace backyard farming, while appealing to financial institutions to make credit more accessible to smallholder farmers.
The governor said his administration had established partnerships and programmes aimed at improving agricultural productivity, including the maiden dry-season farming programme at Otuasega Farm in Ogbia Local Government Area.
He noted that rice mills had been installed at Niger Delta University and the Federal University, Otuoke, in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria, to support the processing and marketing of locally produced rice.
According to him, farmers across the state’s eight local government areas had received seedlings and other farm inputs, while young people had benefited from training in modern farming methods through a partnership with CSS Integrated Farms.
But in a state where flooding and difficult terrain can complicate cultivation, Diri said innovation must be central to agricultural development.
He encouraged farmers to adopt flood-tolerant seed varieties, explore soilless farming and modern aquaculture, and invest in processing, storage and cold-chain systems to reduce post-harvest losses.
He also called for better access roads and bridges to farming communities, alongside improved security for farmers and their produce.
The governor warned herders against attacks on farmers, stressing that Bayelsa’s law criminalising open grazing remained in force.
17,300 farmers receive support
Providing figures on the state’s agricultural interventions, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Prof. Beke Sese, said more than 17,300 farmers had received direct support through various programmes since 2020.
The programmes include the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme, Diri BOOST and the Prosperity Farmers Grant Scheme.
Sese disclosed that 2,106 farmers, fishers and processors across the eight local government areas received grants in 2026, with beneficiaries expanding their production activities.
He said the state’s 410-tonne-per-day rice milling plant was fully operational, processing paddy into polished rice.
“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.
The arrangement is intended to address a major concern for farmers: the uncertainty of finding buyers after investing time, money and labour in cultivation.
Sese added that the rice plant was undergoing laboratory analysis for food and nutritional certification ahead of its market launch.
He said the state government had set a target of producing 300,000 kilogrammes of Made-in-Bayelsa rice by the end of 2026, under its drive towards food sufficiency.
If achieved, the target would represent another step in the state’s effort to strengthen local food production and create opportunities across the agricultural value chain.
AFAN recognises Diri
The celebration also brought recognition for the governor, as the National President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Dr Farouk Rabiu Mudi, presented him with an Award of Excellence as the Best Governor in Agricultural Connectivity and Farmers’ Support in the country.
Mudi said the award followed research and assessment of agricultural programmes implemented by state governments.
He explained that AFAN planned to recognise 12 governors, with two drawn from each of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
A crown-shaped trophy was also presented to Diri, with Mudi saying the special recognition was reserved for only six governors nationwide.
He urged communities and farmers’ associations that had yet to register with AFAN to do so, stressing the importance of organised participation in advancing farmers’ interests.
The recognition placed the spotlight on the state’s agricultural programmes, but the larger test remains how effectively such interventions translate into better incomes for farmers, affordable food for households and sustainable employment for young people.
The real harvest
For Bayelsa, the promise of agriculture extends beyond planting rice or distributing farm inputs. It includes the opportunities that can emerge from fish farming, food processing, storage, transportation and marketing.
Diri said government could provide an enabling environment, access roads, partnerships and security, but the people must take the lead in actual production.
He specifically charged the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources to work towards ensuring that residents could buy locally produced rice during the Yuletide season.
The governor also praised the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the LIFE-ND programme and the Peremabiri Farmers Cluster for their contributions to agribusiness development.
As Bayelsa pursues its food sufficiency ambitions, the message to young people is clear: the farm should not be viewed merely as a place of hardship, but as a possible starting point for enterprise and economic independence.
Ultimately, the success of that message will depend on whether aspiring young farmers can access land, affordable finance, modern equipment, reliable markets and the infrastructure needed to turn their labour into profit.
For a state with abundant waterways and agricultural potential, the harvest the government seeks may therefore be measured not only in tonnes of rice, but also in the number of young people who can build viable livelihoods from the land.
