Don Cautions Governments On Flooding

With another flooding of hanging in the air, a universal lecturer, has called on governments and relevant  agencies to take pro-active measures to reduce the effects on plant life this time around.

Speaking with The Tide in an exclusive interview over the weekend, Prof. Ndowa Lale of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of  Port Harcourt said if a repeat of what happened last year comes to reality, plant life would adversely affected.

According to him, flooding  first affects the “erection” in the soil and disrupts the efficiency of micro organisms and smaller life which add richness to the soil.

The Professor of Animal and Environmental Biology said   the whole  process of nutrients  intake would be distorted.

He  expressed the fear that a lot of problems would arise from the expected flooding as crops that were on land would be affected.

One of the measures needed most before the flood eventually comes according to the don was the making of strategic stock.

“One of the measures  that ought to have been taken  before now would have been to make proper  arrangement  for what we call strategic stock” he said.

He explained the process to include the stock piling of food  items and crops both plant  and animal  for emergency.

According to Prof. Lale, every sensible  country does it even as he urged every region to do it.

He further explained that  the measure  was to ensure food sufficiency for the people in times of emergencies.

“If the flood comes and what we have in the market is sold out then it will become a serious matter. “Now government will  have to do this, of course it is an emergency thing” he said.

He further explained that the strategic stock measure  should  be prioritised  through the provision of infrastructure  and facilities for storage like silos.

“Now if we don’t have  silos and engage in massive  purchase,  of food were will  they store then” he said.

He decried the politicizing of the camps even as he condemned  the allegation that people were fed “gala” and satchet  water last year.