Image result for ge of Senator Heineken Lokpobiri,
Senator Heineken Lokpobiri
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has stressed the need for Nigeria to stop the importation of food items otherwise the price of rice would skyrocket to N40,000 per bag before December. Sen. Lokpobiri who made this known while speaking in Yenagoa during a town hall meeting, disclosed that Nigeria spends about $22B a year on the importation of food.

 
Lokpobiri noted that this development had led to the astronomical rise in price of rice and other commodities, saying that if Nigerians failed to produce some of the items being imported, before December the price of rice would skyrocket to N40,000 per bag.
 
He said that there was a projection that by 2050, Nigeria’s population would be 450 million, wondering what would happen by then if the people could not feed themselves now. He therefore implored residents of Bayelsa to embark on rice farming, because the soil and weather condition of Bayelsa supports rice farming.
 
Lokpobiri expressed displeasure that the Niger Delta states have not identified agriculture as a priority, rather, they are more focused on oil. He suggested they take a leaf from other states. He made reference to Anambra state which he said does not owe salaries despite the fact that it does not have oil but raking in money by exporting vegetables.