By Ahmed ‘Lateef
About 5000 hectares of rice plantation estimated at N11.5billion ravaged in the flooding that submerged farmlands in some communities in Moro, Edu and Patigi Local Government Areas of Kwara State.
This was revealed when a member representing Edu/Moro/Patigi Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Dr Ahmed Adamu Saba, visited the scenes of the disaster in Edu at the weekend.
Some of the communities where flood affected rice plantation include Fonga and Jebba in Moro; Lade, Patigi and Kpada Districts in Patigi and Shonga, Bacita and Lafiagi in Edu local government areas of the state.
Over 5000 rice farmers were reportedly affected in the incident arising from the alleged opening of dams in Jebba and Kanji, Niger State.
Saba, during his tour of the farmlands, regretted the degree of the destruction, describing it as a threat to food security.
He noted that the victims, who engaged in dry season farming were taken aback that their farmlands could be flooded when it wasn’t rainy season that usually comes with heavy waterfall.
The legislator identified the rice produced in Moro, Edu and Patigi as one of the best in the country, saying that many Nigerians are being fed from the ravaged rice plantation.
“What happened to my people in this area are the destroyed farmlands for rice. We are always affected by the flood during the rainy season. That is why you see a lot of people coming to farm during the dry season. This type of flood that took place recently has not been witnessed in the past, especially during the dry season.
“A lot of farmlands have been submerged by the water as a result of the opening of river in Kanji and Jebba. That affected us seriously as billions of naira have been wasted. There are farmers that had established themselves here for the past three months. This flood came as a surprise, virtually to everyone. And this is a threat to food security in the country because large number of people can be fed from this place.
“And the type of rice that comes out from Moro, Edu and Patigi is one of the good quality that we produce in Nigeria. The opening of the water is suspicious and that is why we have to conduct a finding and ask why did they open water because we don’t expect any water coming to this place this time around, for we are in a dry season”, Saba said.
He, however, expressed his readiness to raise the matter on the floor of the House of Representatives as soon as it reconvenes from the recess and called on the federal government agencies to probe the flood disaster.
The legislator distributed 150 bags of NPK fertilizer, 50 knapsack sprayers, 50 bags of rice seeds, 170 litres of pesticide and chemical and 10 pieces of solar water pumping machines to the victims to mitigate the effects of the loss incurred.
Saba said, “The House of Representatives is on recess. By the time the House reconvenes, we are going to come up with a motion for the House to look into the matter while the necessary agencies should also investigate why there is flood this time around. We cannot say there is flood during rainy season and there is flood during dry season. It means something is wrong somewhere.
“All of us must be on the same page because we are talking about food security in the country. So, we have to let the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources be aware of what has happened, to see the measures they can employ to assist the farmers so that they will be able to come back to farm.
“At our own level as representative of the people in the National Assembly, we are also supporting them with items like fertilizer, water pumping machines. With this gesture, people that incurred loss will be able to start on time to meet up. We are also going to discuss with the federal government to see what the federal government can do for them.
“The Kwara State government has also shown its concern when it sent a delegation to this place with presentation of some items to farmers so that they can go back to the farm”.
Also speaking, a member of the state House of Assembly for Edu Constituency, Gideon Saba Yisa, said the affected farmers were caught unawares and urged the federal government to assist them to cushion their troubled moment.
He said the incident is capable of dampening the morale of the farmers, adding that many of them obtained bank loans and cooperative funds to be able to cultivate in large scale.
“It is an unfortunate incident because by the rainy season we have more than 5000 hectares of land, which are usually flooded in Edu local government down to Patigi local government. But because of the flood, farmers were unable to farm on the land. They left it till the dry season.
“So, the victims were caught unawares by this occurrence. The people in charge of dams did not inform the farmers that they are releasing water by this time. This has affected the farmers and the economy, and it is even a threat to food security.
“We are calling on the federal government to act fast because of the love of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the farmers. If nothing is done, this is a recipe for hunger. And this usually brings about security threat. Most of these insurgents and bandits you are seeing is because people are jobless.
“Our people have taken it upon themselves to maintain peace and be hard working farmers. And that is why thousands of them engage in dry season farming. This incident will discourage them because most of them took loans and cooperative funds, and water has washed away their investment.
“So, we are calling on the federal government to come to our aid on this issue. The state government has done its part and we are still compiling the names of the affected farmers. More than 5000 farmers have been affected. We are appealing to President Bola Ahmed to come to our aid and do something”, Yisa said.
The National Assembly member, who visited other communities where the flood also ravaged rice plantation, urged the victims to not to be discouraged as plans are ongoing to ascertain the truth of the matter.
Saba and his team visited the Palace of the Emir of Shonga, Dr Haliru Ndanusa Yahaya, for a homage and to seek royal blessing.
