Rice growers in Bayelsa are concerned about impending flooding and pest assaults.

Additionally, the rice farmers requested the government to take the required actions to prevent their lands from being washed away.

Bayelsa’s rice farmers have expressed anxiety over the state’s anticipated flooding as well as ongoing bug infestations on their properties.

The Federal Government has issued a warning, citing the potential for floods in 13 states, including Bayelsa. The farmers urged the government to take action to prevent the loss of their fields when they spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Yenogoa.

They assert that their immature rice crops are in danger from the rising water levels in the neighbourhood waterways because there are no nearby functional processing facilities.

Ovieya Sini, the managing director of Ovieya Rice Farm, told NAN that he had made significant investments in his 15 rice farm plots in the Famgbe Community of Yenagoa. The rising water level, which made it challenging for him to reach the property other than via canoe, was Sini’s main source of anxiety, he claimed.

Additionally, he claimed that Yenagoa’s lack of a functioning processing facility and the ongoing bug infestations made life tough for him and other rice farmers in Bayelsa.

In order to grow rice that might feed Bayelsa and other bordering states in the Niger-region, Sini urged the government to provide the farmers with pesticides and processing facilities.

I manage a rice farm in the Famgbe Community that spans more than 15 plots of land, however at the moment I am struggling with field floods.

“Pest assaults and the lack of a local processing plant are significant problems; as a result, I am requesting government assistance to save the farm and assist me in producing rice for use in the state.

“Transporting agricultural food to upland for a procession presents another issue here; as you know, our geography is riverine.

But if the government could give us boats and other palliative measures, we could grow enough rice to supply Bayelsa and other states because our land is suitable for growing rice.

The managing director requested money from the government to help the farmers expand their operations. He claimed that with such financial support, he would be able to increase the number of his plots from 15 to 30 or 50, helping to address the nation’s food shortfall.

“I have already put a lot of money into the farm, but if the government can help with pesticides and deal with flooding in our society, we will have a bumper crop,” she said.

“My vision is to produce rice that feeds Bayelsa and other bordering states, as well as acquire a processing machine that will help Bayelsa process our harvested rice,” he stated.

Bestman Ogbogi, a different rice farmer, bemoaned the fact that pest and flood attacks were already occurring on the plantations. He pleaded with the appropriate authorities to step in and save their crops, claiming that the water level had increased and was spilling into their farmland.

Ogbogi urged both the state and the federal governments to support farmers so that their crops would not be ruined by pests and flooding.