The Kwara State Government has initiated an investigation into the unusual flooding that submerged rice farmlands spanning thousands of hectares in Shonga, Edu Local Government Area.
A delegation led by the Deputy Chief of Staff, Princess Bukola Babalola, visited the affected community, Tada, on Sunday to assess the situation. The team also delivered relief materials worth millions of naira to the victims.
The flooding has raised concerns about food security and caused significant losses for farmers in the area.
Princess Babalola assured the farmers that the government is committed to addressing the damage caused by the flooding, both immediately and in the long term, to prevent further losses of lives and farmlands.
“We are here to see the damage done to the farms, especially the rice farms in Tada community. We have seen what happened and we are taking the message back to His Excellency Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to see what can be done to remedy the situation — immediate and future remedies — and avert loss of lives and farmlands.
A lot of farmers are crying here that they need a lot of support. We have heard their complaints, and help is on the way,” she said.
Northern farmers suffer massive losses
- Muhammad Abdulkadir, a leader in Tada, highlighted that farmers from various northern states, including Kebbi, Zamfara, Kano, and Niger, suffered significant financial losses due to the flooding, which destroyed rice farms worth millions of naira.
“Our farmers here came from different states in the north. We have farmers from Kebbi, Zamfara, Kano, and Niger State, and they have lost millions of naira worth of rice farms to this flooding,” he said
Abdulkadir called for a permanent solution to the flooding problem, suggesting the dredging of the River Niger.
“When there was no flooding, we realised over 3m metric tonnes of rice here annually. We thank the government for coming to our aid immediately. This should not end here. We want the government to find the permanent solution to perennial flooding in this axis.”
- The Emir of Shonga, Dr. Haliru Yahya Ndanusa, expressed concern about the impact of the flooding on food security in the state. He emphasized the need for a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the flooding, describing it as “unusual.”
“From here up to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, Niger Republic, and Mali, there was no rain. The Sahel is dry. How can there be a flood here? The source of this flood must be local,” the Emir said.
- He noted that inquiries to the Kainji Dam confirmed it was not the source of the flooding, but Jebba Dam officials acknowledged releasing water.
“We have asked from Kainji Dam, and they said it wasn’t from them. But Jebba Dam could not deny it. In fact, they said they would soon close it,” he said.
What you should know
As of November 2024, Nigeria is facing a severe hunger crisis, with an estimated 33.1 million people expected to be food insecure by August 2025.
This situation is exacerbated by economic hardships, high inflation, and the devastating effects of flooding on agricultural production.
The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) estimates that the floods have destroyed enough crops to feed up to 8.5 million people. Farmers who had been expecting bumper harvests in rice, groundnuts, and vegetables have seen their crops wiped out, leaving many communities struggling to recover.
- The FAO reports that approximately 856,000 tons of crops have been lost, based on an average yield of 1.5 tons per hectare of waterlogged land.
In addition to the crop losses, the floods have also caused significant damage to infrastructure, including market enclosures, which allowed animals to escape, and storage units containing fodder and machinery.
