Bayelsa govt diversify beyond oil and gas, set up Aqua-Culture Village

IN a bid to diversify the Bayelsa State economy beyond oil and Gas is on course, the Bayelsa State Government has established an aqua-culture village, accommodating over 500 fish ponds, situated at Igbogene in the outskirts of the state capital, Yenagoa.

The government averred that beyond job creation, it discourages youths from engaging in nefarious activities, as well as would improve the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) to complement allocation from the federation account, which will in turn enable government meet her obligation, such as recurrent and capital expenditure.

Speaking with newsmen, while inspecting some on-going projects, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State said, the agricultural policy was targeted at empowering young men and women, towards boosting fish production and wealth creation.

He urged the potential beneficiaries to take advantage of the opportunity provided by government by linking up to the Ministry of Agriculture and the team that is in charge of the project.

Commenting on the facilities at the fish farm, the Governor said, the farm was equipped with storage facilities, processing plants, hatchery and every necessary facility required to make the farm a success.

Dickson, who pointed out that the aqua-culture project would be replicated across the 8 local government areas of the state, said already the process of land acquisition is on in all the local governments, land clearing at Igeibiri for the one in Southern Ijaw local government area was ongoing.

The fish farm, he noted, is expected to be self-sustaining to boost the revenue of the state and expressed appreciation to the officials handling the project, particularly the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Doodei Week.

Dickson expressed optimism that, in the next 3 months the project would be put to use to complement other efforts in the agricultural sector to promote food sufficiency.

Other projects visited were the Bayelsa Bus Terminal and Agro Market all located at Igbogene.

Also on the Governor’s entourage were the commissioners of Information and Orientation, Hon Jonathan Obuebite, Lands and Survey, Hon Kuroakegha Dorgu among others.