Akassa—The Bayelsa State Government through the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme, AADS has commenced the planting of Faro44 rice seedlings at Clarendon Island, near Gabon fishing camp, Akassa Kingdom, Brass Local Government Area.
The project, whose funding was provided by the Bayelsa State Government and managed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, through the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme, AADS sits on four hectares of land.
In a chat with our reporter, Mr. Raynus Ebiegberi, youth affairs coordinator of Akassa Development Foundation (ADF), whose organization is assisting beneficiaries of the project with resources, stated that farmers engaged in the project are mainly young people.
“The initiative was funded by the state government through the AADS, and ADF is assisting recipients in completing it.
He revealed that: “The ongoing farm belongs to 42 AADS beneficiaries grouped into four clusters.
“The money was given to young farmers who didn’t know how to farm rice and were often away from home as students.
“The ADF collaborated with these individuals and drew resources from them to help in farming.”
Ebiegberi called on corporate organisations to partner with the ADF and stated that the rice, which has a three months maturity period, will be harvested by October 2021.