Bayelsa State Governor Duoye Diri says rice was once a food for the rich and eaten once in a year by residents of the state.
Diri said this on Thursday while he was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily breakfast programme.
“Before now, rice here in Bayelsa, it was eaten once in a year. It was seen as food for the rich, today the story is different. Rice is like a daily thing at everybody’s table,” he said.
When asked if it was when he was a child that rice was such a scarce staple, he said, “I don’t know of other part of Nigeria but here in Bayelsa, rice was not a common food, rice was eaten once in Christmas, maybe for some average home, every Sunday.”
The governor added that his administration is working to encourage youths to go into farming.
According to him, farming is a priority and everyone in the state is encouraged to key into it.
“Agriculture is a priority for this government, we are working hard to have a change of mindset of our youths to key into Agriculture. Tomorrow, the Akwa Ibom governor is coming into Bayelsa to flag off the farming season. He will also superintend over the Made-in-Bayelsa Agriculture show.
“Oil is almost going; we cannot continue to live (be dependent) on oil. The focus of this government is agriculture. Let us all key into agriculture,” the governor said.
