RIFAN acquires 6,000 hectares in Bayelsa for rice production

Disclosing this in an interview with Daily Trust in Yenagoa, the state capital, Ogbianko said the land was acquired to support the federal government’s effort towards rice sufficiency by 2015.He said the land is located in Okoroba Community in Nembe Local Government Area of the state, adding, “we are engaging in commercial rice farming and […]

Disclosing this in an interview with Daily Trust in Yenagoa, the state capital, Ogbianko said the land was acquired to support the federal government’s effort towards rice sufficiency by 2015.
He said the land is located in Okoroba Community in Nembe Local Government Area of the state, adding, “we are engaging in commercial rice farming and hopefully, the land will be prepared in readiness for the dry season farming. We prefer to start cultivating the land during the dry season because that is when it will absorb water before planting; we will first cultivate 300 hectares.
“This rice farming is a 50-year project and we hope to produce rice that can feed the entire nation and export to other countries,’’ Ogbianko said.
He urged farmers, especially the unemployed youth in Bayelsa, to key into agribusiness as a way of creating jobs for themselves.
Also speaking, Mr Morris Idamkpodi, an Okoroba community leader, said the community made the land available to RIFAN to support rice production in the state, saying the community was optimistic that the gesture would promote rice farming and other related agricultural businesses.
“With the land, our people will be fully engaged in agriculture because we have the manpower here in Okoroba community,’’ he said.