Mitigating Effects Of Flooding

Most natural disasters, like the recent floods that ravaged many states across the country, are unavoidable. What could be done at most is to put measures in place to mitigate the effects.

Early this year, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) gave warning signs about the impending disaster to enable the prone areas to take precautionary measures.

While some states and local governments took the warning seriously, others failed to give it the deserved attention.

The result was heavy damaging effects on personal effects, houses and farmlands, as well as loss of lives.

The destruction of farmlands across the country was devastating, giving rise to speculation that the country may likely experience food shortage..

Crops in farmlands in some of the affected states were washed away by the floods, some with no hope of harvests.

UNICEF expressed concern about the aftermath of the floods, as it predicted an impending nutritional danger that may affect many children in the country.

It linked it not only to the floods but also to inadequate rains in 2011 and conflicts and violence in 2012, which led to massive displacement of farming communities, resulting in low agricultural activities and poor harvests.

In Yobe State, many farmlands and more than 450 buildings were destroyed, while 3, 500 people were displaced by the floods in Gashua and Nguru.

Alhaji Mamman Majidadi, Secretary, Bade Emirate Council of Yobe said: “I have never seen such a disaster in my life, where crops were completely swept away and houses falling like packs of cards’’.

He explained that “the crops were uprooted by the flood and floated on the stagnant water, while the houses collapsed because the stagnant water had no route to empty its excess”.

Alhaji Wakil Sarki, Yobe Commissioner for Environment said “the ministry heeded the warning by NIMET and cleared drainage in major towns of the state. We also erected embankments along the water banks to check the floods.’’

He attributed the devastating effects of floods in Gashua and Nguru to inadequate drainage and discharge points.

Wakil Modu, a farmer in Nguru, said that farmers in the area had lost all their agricultural crops to the floods.

“The crops had been washed away. We are not expecting to harvest anything from the farms this year,’’ he observed.

The farmer, however, advised government to make arrangements for irrigation farming, to complement the expected poor yields.

Irrigation farmers in Yobe also joined in the appeal to local, state and federal governments to provide farmers inputs to enhance irrigation, to boost food production and to check any adverse effect of the floods.

Spokesman of the farmers, Alhaji Modu Gashua, said that the Nguru wetlands are suitable for crops and vegetables.

“The only alternative left for farmers after the floods are to embark on massive irrigation farming with assistance from government.

“With improved seedlings, fertiliser, water pumps and other necessary inputs, the Gashua and Nguru wetlands can produce 60 per cent food needs of the state and vegetable needs of the North-East geopolitical zone.

“The farmers have another chance of producing food crops and vegetables to make up for their losses in the floods,’’ he emphasised.

Another farmer, Malam Aliyu Umar, also said that farmers should be assisted and encouraged to take advantage of the wetlands which are still rich in moisture for irrigation farming.

Aliyu advised the government to harvest the rain water in subsequent seasons for agricultural purposes.

“It is an opportunity for government to harvest the rains, to boost irrigation farming because of the threats also posed by drought and desertification,” he noted.

Although the country is not experiencing any food shortages, UNICEF has stressed that children should be well feed.

It advocated exclusive breast-feeding, consumption of iodised salt and Vitamin A.

UNICEF reiterated the need for pregnant and nursing mothers to eat nutritious foods.

Mr Niyi Oyedokun, a UNICEF nutrition specialist, said Gombe, Jigawa, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi and Kano in the northern part of the country were under severe threat of nutrition.

Oyedokun advised the affected states to adopt the National Nutrition Policy as amended in 2002, and establish state ad-hoc committee on food and nutrition.

He explained that 216 Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition Centres were established across the seven states, while 59,093 infants were provided with food supplements in the first half of this year.

Although the country is not facing any food shortages and President Jonathan has also assured there will not be any, there is still the need to harness irrigation farming.

Government should also embark on water harvesting to boost agricultural production, especially in the Sahel region of the country, stakeholders suggest.