By John Odhe, YENAGOA
Bayelsa State governor, Senator Douye Diri has described the oil rich State as one of the best destinations for profitable investments in the country and the entire West African subregion because of its strategic location and natural endowments.
The governor has also indicated the State’s readiness to partner the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA) to harness agricultural and other natural resources to promote economic development of the state.
According to a statement by the Media Assistant to the deputy governor, Mr. Doubara Atasin, Diri gave the indication when a delegation of the federal agency led by its Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Abdullahi Mustapha, paid him a courtesy visit in Government House, Yenagoa, on Wednesday.
Represented by his deputy, Mr. Peter Akpe, the governor equally noted that apart from crude oil and gas resources, the state possessed a lot of bioresources that could be developed to provide sustainable livelihoods and prosperity for the people.
He appreciated NBRDA for choosing Bayelsa for its maiden biotechnology conference at the Bio-resources Development Centre in Odi.
Diri assured the federal agency of effective collaboration to promote research, agricultural productivity and manufacturing of pharmaceutical products to improve healthcare and job creation in the state.
According to him, what Bayelsa needed most now to engender its bioeconomy, was the acquisition of requisite knowhow to translate its abundant resources into economic wealth, stressing that the impact of the bio-resources development center at Odi would be better felt by the people through knowledge transfer.
His words: “Bayelsa is the place to be. And I believe that you have made the right choice to begin your maiden conference in Bayelsa State. We don’t put ourselves here. God did, and in placing us here, He also endowed us with a lot of natural resources.
“As you already know, oil was first struck here in commercial quantities and we have been feeding Nigeria fat for some decades now, and facing the challenges of oil exploration and exploitation.
“Apart from oil, we also have several agricultural resources: cassava, oilpalm and many other economic crops. But somehow we have a gap between having these natural resources and the knowledge to translate them to proper use.
“But I believe that your agency is one that will drive us to fill that gap and achieve prosperity. Our government has a mantra, which is “Prosperity”. And so, we are ready to partner you to translate what we have to livelihoods, progress and sustainable prosperity.
In his presentation, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of NBRDA,
Abdullahi Mustapha, acknowledged the richness of Bayelsa in natural resources, noting that the state has the potential of becoming a leading producer of high quality fish and other aquatic resources in West Africa.
According to Mustapha, proper application of biotechnology will help provide practical solutions to some of the environmental challenges associated with oil production and support sustainable environmental management in the state.
He said: “Bayelsa occupies a unique position in Nigeria’s development landscape. It is blessed with vast aquatic resources, extensive mangrove ecosystem, fertile agricultural land, rich biodiversity and strategic access to the Atlantic Coastline.
“The state possesses enormous biological resources that can be harnessed through biotechnology for sustainable economic growth. For decades, Bayelsa has been recognised primarily for its contribution to Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
“However, the future belongs to knowledge-driven economies that derive value from biological resources, innovation and technology.
In the area of agriculture, he said the NBRDA was ready to work with the state government and the private sector to support the development of improved crop varieties that are disease resistant, tolerant to flooding and capable of delivering high yields.
