6 January 2009
Bayelsa — GOVERNOR Timipreye Sylva of Bayelsa on Monday said the state was targeting the production of 15 million tonnes of rice and 2.5 million tonnes of fish over the next three years.
Sylva said this during a courtesy visit to Dr Sayyadi Ruma, the Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, in Abuja, adding that the effort was aimed at reducing the state's dependence on oil as a revenue earner.
He said the government was working toward diversifying the base of the state's economy away from oil.
He said the goal was being pursued through direct promotion of agriculture through a market oriented, private sector driven economic development.
The governor identified fish and rice as strategic commodities due to their strong demand.
He, therefore, called for the Federal Government's assistance, noting that 85 per cent of Bayelsa was covered by water, which made the production of both commodities imperative.
Responding, Ruma said the government's commitment to agricultural development was irrevocable due to the volatile nature of the international oil market and the current global financial crisis.
He said that under the new agricultural programme, government was targeting the production of one billion naira worth of fish in the next three years in Bayelsa.
He said this would come under a Public Private Partnership arrangement whereby the Federal and state governments would each provide 25 per cent subsidy of the contract sum of the project.
Ruma said the beneficiaries would be expected to account for the remaining 50 per cent instalmentally over a three-year period with the payment of an initial deposit of 20 per cent.
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