Farmers in tale of woes over flooding
By Cynthia Alo
There are indications that farmers may have suffered huge losses following recent heavy rains that created flooding of farmlands across the country.
Vanguard AgroBiz findings reveal that many farmers across the country are now battling with the impact on survival of their farming businesses.
The situation may worsen as the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NiHSA) warned that about 17 states, including Bauchi, Edo, Imo, Kaduna, Plateau and Benue, as well as 11 others, will experience flooding between July 21 and July 27.
Giving an account of the situation in Rivers State, Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Rivers State Chapter, Mr. Akandu Nwagwuagwu, said the flooding across Tai, Eleme, Oyigbo, Etche and other parts of the state left many crop and livestock farmers with losses running into billions of naira.
He stated: “The recent flooding in Tai, Eleme, Oyigbo, Etche and other local government areas destroyed not only crops but also poultry, fish, goats and other livestock worth billions of naira.
In a video he did and shared with Vanguard, showing the submerged Elema farm road in Rivers State, Nwagwuagwu said that as of July 16, farmers had witnessed massive flooding that eroded farmlands and destroyed crops, lives and property.
In the video, one of the farmers could be heard appealing for assistance, saying, “We are pleading with the Rivers State Government and organisations such as the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, to assist Elema and other affected communities in finding a lasting solution to this situation. An 18-year-old boy lost his life on the Elema farm road.”
Also confirming the plight of farmers across Rivers, Anambra, Bayelsa and other affected states, the National President of the Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria (POFAN) and Deputy National President of AFAN said reports of the devastating impact of the flooding had continued to reach the association.
He said:”The reports on our desk show that our farmers have been badly affected by flooding this year in Rivers, Anambra and Bayelsa states”.
“We need to do the needful to prevent future occurrences. Major interventions should include early warning systems, insurance and financial support from the federal government down to the local government level. Awareness must also be intensified.
Also confirming the situation of the Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), the acting National President of the organisation, Mrs. Ojo Florence, said report got to the group’s whatsapp group that farms belonging to their members in Rivers State were badly affected by the flooding.
Narrating his own ordeal in a radio programe monitored fom Lagos, Ajose Oluwaseun, a vegetable farmer at the Igbonla Farm Settlement in Epe, Lagos State, said the flooding on June 25, 2026 submerged his entire farmland.
Oluwaseun said he lost his entire life investment of about N40 million, which had been invested in tomato and habanero pepper cultivation.
He said: “On June 29, my workers sent me a video of what was happening on the farm after rain fell overnight. The flood swept away about half of our farms while we were in the middle of harvest for our tomatoes. Some were fruiting while others were yet to fruit. “When I got there, I realised that about three out of the seven sections of the farm had been swept away by the flood. Unfortunately, the rain that fell non-stop from July 12 to 15 submerged over 95 per cent of my farm”.
He added: “We have about eight sections of corn. In one section, we harvested only 650kg out of the expected 1.2 tonnes because the excess water reduced the yield.
He noted that as of July 16, he had not been able to return to the farm because no means of transportation could access it as flood had taken over the road about four kilometres from the farm.
Speaking recently in a television interview monitored from Lagos, Governor Umar Bago of Niger State said that farms have been damaged by the overflow of the Kainji, Jebba, Shiroro and Zungeru dams which he said, had destroyed farmlands across the state. He attributed the overflow of the dams to heavy rainfall during the period.
He said: “The overflow from these dams has continued to ravage communities and farmlands”.
Different strokes …
Providing a different perspective, the National President of the National Onion Producers Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NOPPMAN), Aliyu Isah, said onion farmers in major producing states had not recorded any flooding incidents so far this season, attributing the situation to early precautionary measures based on weather forecasts.
He said onion production remained unaffected in states such as Plateau, Bauchi and Kaduna, where the association has significant operations, adding that farmers had taken steps to minimise the impact of rainfall following previous flood experiences.
The post Farmers in tale of woes over flooding appeared first on Vanguard News.