Women sell vegetables and other food in a market on World Food Day in Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012. The U.N.’s Food and Agricultural Organization is marking World Food Day on Tuesday, a day dedicated to highlighting the importance of global food security. The FAO said hunger is declining in Asia and Latin America but is rising in Africa. One in eight people around the world goes to bed hungry every night. AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)/NIN106/304796217810/1210161735
Following the floods that have ravaged farmlands in the northern part of Nigeria, agricultural experts and big-time players in the agro-allied industry have sounded the alarm over an impending food crisis across the country as agricultural fortunes dip in the North. The experts insist that unless urgent and very drastic steps are immediately taken, the crisis may worsen as floods continue to ravage farmlands in the northern states.
Ten states, namely Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Taraba, Bauchi, Zamfara, Yobe, Sokoto and Kebbi are highly affected, following heavy rainfall in the region. In an interview, an agricultural investor in Toro LGA of Bauchi State, Bello Yakazsi, urged the government to declare an emergency in the food sector across the country. Yakazsi, said, “While the situation we are currently experiencing in the North can be said to be a peculiar one, it is high time that the Federal Government declared a state of emergency in the country’s agricultural sector.
“We have limited powers over the strange and dynamic play of Mother Nature but the little efforts we can muster to save ourselves from hunger and starvation must be put in place by all the government agencies. This is not the time for politics.” Investigation showed that continuous rainfall across the region posed a threat to grains and farmlands, which could lead to a poor harvest and hunger as farmers battle the scourge of drought.
As a result of the effect of the twin threat of flood and drought, some farmers in Kano State, especially those within the 14 LGAs that are at a high risk of flooding as predicted by the National Emergency Management Agency, have continued to express fears about possible flooding in the state and have begun praying against flooding as rainfall persists across the 44 Local Government Areas.
One of the farmers in Rimin Gado, Mallam Musa Sani, told The Punch, “Since the beginning of August, we’ve been experiencing heavy rainfall, which lasts for long hours, on a daily basis. “As you know, too much rainfall does not allow crops to grow speedily. So, we fear that once flood occurs, farmers are at the risk of losing their crops.”
An official of the State Emergency Management Agency, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, confirmed to The PUNCH on Saturday that “even though the agency has yet to receive the comprehensive report on the flood from our assessment team, we are very worried about the situation but, we cannot act without any official report.”
Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Haruna Mairiga, told our correspondent in Dutse that over 2,744 hectares of farmlands had been washed away by flood in Jigawa State. The floods ravaged 12 LGAs, namely Buji, Kafin Hausa, Auyo, Hadejia, Birniwa, Malam Madori, Garki, Taura, Gwaram, Dutse, Kiyawa and Jahun.
“No fewer than 2,744 hectares of farmlands have been washed away by the flood across the 12 affected LGAs. From August 1 to 13, 2024, the state witnessed intermittent downpours leading to several incidences of flood and the death of 21 persons as well as the destruction of farmlands and houses,” Mairiga said.
He added that farmers in the state had lost over N1bn of farm produce and crops to flood. Mansur Musa, Chairman of Kiyawa LGA, one of the worst-hit LGAs, said many farmlands and villages, as well as the LGA secretariat, have been submerged by water. In Zamfara State, Shehu Shinkafi, a farmer on the outskirts of Shinkafi LGA said that many farmers were expecting a bumper harvest following the stability of water in their farms.
However, he expressed fears following the emergence of heavy rains in the state in recent times. SEMA said that the downpour, which started last Friday and destroyed many farmlands, towns, and villages, lasted for more than 12 hours in all parts of the state. According to a report by NEMA, more heavy rainfall is expected in the state. The agency had predicted that eight LGAs in the state - Bungudu, Gummi, Gusau, Bakura, Maradun, Talata-Mafara, Shinkafi, and Zurmi – would be affected by flooding during this year’s rainy season.
This was disclosed by the agency’s Director-General, Zubaida Umar, in Gusau during the sensitisation programme for the 2024 downscaling of flood early warning strategies for early actions.
Also, the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency predicted that in this year’s annual flooding outlook, 31 states with 148 LGAs would be within the high flood-risk areas, while 35 states, including the FCT and 249 LGAs, were considered within the moderate flood-risk areas. The remaining 377 LGAs were forecasted for the low flood-risk areas.
Last Friday’s downpour destroyed thousands of hectares of farmlands in Zamfara, while properties worth billions of naira were lost. On August 16, a devastating flood killed 11 people and over 500 houses affected in Gummi town, the headquarters of Gummi LGA of the state. Ahmed Bala Gusau, who confirmed the incident, said the agency had visited the affected communities.
“It’s really sad and unfortunate as we have on several occasions enlightened the people of the state of the measures, they were supposed to take to avoid flooding,” Gusau said. Gusau pointed out that, some of the reasons for the flooding included dumping refuse on waterways, building on waterways, heavy rainfall, and lack of drainages. Other factors according to him were, poor building structures, poor attitude to refuse disposal, drainage, and environmental laws.
