Some have called it flood of fury; others have called it flood of devastation; however the direct victims, who are majorly rice farmers in Kogi, who have invested their all and watched the flood sweep all their expectations away, have no words to describe it. Gboyega Alaka, who worked closely with Khadijat Saidu in Birnin Kebbi, reports.
Imagine losing the whole of your expected two-hectare rice farm yield to unexpected flood? Well, that is the lot of Rilwan Maccido, a poor rice farmer based in Danchiana, Birnin Kebbi, as we speak. The implication is that the whole of Maccido’s expectation from efforts put into this year’s wet season rice planting has come to nought. It also means that Maccido, with his wife and 12 children, faces a hazy present, and perhaps a bleak future – unless he gets some positive interventions.
Maccido’s expected yield is about 60 bags of rice; and going by the current farm price of N17,000, he may have lost something in the region of a million naira. Needless to say, this would have gone a long way in taking care of his needs and that of his large family.
How about the case of Abubakar Ahmed, whose approximately 10-hectare rice farmlands, scattered in five different locations across Makiran gandu, Birnin Kebbi, all got washed away by this same deluge? Ahmed, who is chairman of a segment of Rice Farmers Association in Makiran gandu is bitter and puts the blame for his loss at the doorstep of managers of two dams in the region: Goranyo and Bakolori, who released the waters in their dams unexpectedly.
In Ahmed’s rough calculation, he lost about 200 bags of rice, which would have amounted to around N4million, had things turned out right or the dam managers waited a bit before releasing the monstrous water.
“We had only gone mid-way into the wet season planting; maybe 50 percent growth level, and looking forward to seeing our effort bloom, when suddenly we experienced this devastating flood.” Ahmed told this reporter.
Alternatively, picture a whole 35-hectare rice farm of a barrister at law, doing his best to key into the federal government’s drive for national food sufficiency, all gone to waste; swept away by unexpected flood. Barrister Abubakar Umar’s 30 hectares of rice farm in Ghanti, Bagudo local government and another five in Birnin Kebbi, all got washed away, without as much a prior sign. Umar’s case, especially underlines the fact that the flood that assailed Kebbi State about a month ago, cut across most part of the state, going by the fact that his farms are located in different local councils.
For Umar’s efforts, he lost a massive 3,000 bags of rice to the flood. Yes, 3,000 bags. You can do the calculation, using the farm price of N17,000.
According to a source, the flood swept across six local governments, notably Bagudo, Birnin Kebbi and Argungu; submerging even the globally-renowned Argungu fishing river and ravaging over 50,000 farms, covering over 450,000 kilometres.
Not to forget, the flood also submerged houses; rendering thousands homeless and condemning them to IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) camps.
Aside individual farmer losses, the implication also portends a grave situation for an already beleaguered nation grappling with rising prices of food against the background of shut borders, poor minimum wage, unemployment and stifling recession occasioned by COVID-19.
According to the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Attahiru Maccido, Kebbi as a whole produces about 3.6million tonnes of rice, which is about 40 percent of the nation’s over eight million tonnes annual requirement. His declaration (See interview) that the state may have lost about 80 per cent of the wet season yields, may therefore mean that about a third of that 3.6 million-tonne contribution may have been lost – given the fact that rice can be harvested thrice in a year, all things being equal.
Speaking to media men during an inspection of the flooded areas last month, Attahiru Maccido said the state may have lost about N1billion worth of rice and other farm produce to the devastating flood.
Frustration across the land
Describing the effect of the flood on the farms, Abubakar Ahmed simply let out four weighty words: “Very devastating, very devastating.”
He then added: “If you see the size of the farms that were flooded, you will pity the farmers. Not only rice farms; some of us farm millets, some grains and some lost their houses and properties – everything was washed away or submerged. If you ask me, about 1,000 farmers were affected, and most of us are poor farmers, who were looking forward to the harvest to make some money to take care of our family. Honestly, you don’t want to imagine the devastation. And to think that the damage was not directly a result of rain, but due to the release of two government-owned dams! The released water overflowed the nearby River Rima and flooded the whole of the rice planes in the area.”
Asked why the dam authorities didn’t inform the farmers ahead, knowing the kind of damage their action was going to cause, Ahmed said, “That is how they have always done. They always release the water whenever they feel like, without informing or considering the damaging effect on the farms. Every three or four years, they do the same thing, causing the same devastation. And they are not taking any measures.”
When reminded that such action amount to insensitivity, a clearly annoyed and frustrated Ahmed retorted that “Well, those are your words, not mine.”
To rob salt on the injury, Ahmed said the dam authorities have not as much as paid a visit or offered any apology or sympathy. He however said the governor has shown concern and gone round; even purchasing canoes to convey affected people across the water.
He maintained that the flood was still present, even after one whole month, stressing that it depends on how soon the authorities stop releasing water from the dams.
He admitted however that the authorities have little choice at the time they opened the dam: “The water became too much for the dams to hold; hence, they really could not have waited until harvest time.”
He also admitted that he and indeed the farmers would not have been able to do anything to salvage the situation, even if they were informed ahead, since the crops were not yet matured enough for harvesting.
What, then, could the authorities have done differently?
To this, Ahmed said, “There was an option, which is releasing the water gradually from the beginning of the year. If they had been awake to their duties and releasing the water little by little; the dam would not have become full to the brim and our farms would not have been ravaged.”
He said part of the problem is that the dams, constructed over 30 years ago, have not been rehabilitated, and that the accumulated residue is what is causing it to fill up.
Of those who have been rendered homeless, Ahmed said, “They are staying in IDP camps.” He regretted that the state has to be saddled with the issue of IDP camps, even though it is not one of the hotbeds of banditry and kidnapping. He also said the state has mandated local governments to take care of people in the camps.
Married with two wives and 25 children, Ahmed, however, said his situation is better than most of the other farmers’, because, in his words, “I don’t cultivate rice alone. I cultivate millet and some other grains. They are not affected because they are upland.”
As for Rilwan Maccido, the situation is indeed grim. Aside the havoc on his farm, he revealed that a section of his house also collapsed under the flood water, stressing that he and his family now manage to cohabit in the unaffected part of the building.
He revealed that the only means of livelihood left for him is his raw energy, with which he now does menial labour work to make money to care for his large family, pending when the flood water would recede and he can start transplanting for the dry season.
At the moment, he looks forward to possible assistance from government and non government organisations, possibly to access good seeds.
The graduate of Federal Polytechnic, Birnin Kebbi, also disclosed that he has plans to expand his farm going forward.
We’ve been reduced to far poorer level
Describing his loss, Barrister Abubakar Umar said, “Honestly, what I can say is that we have been reduced to far poorer level than we ever imagined. Unlike when people saw us as millionaire farmers, we have practically been impoverished because we don’t even know where to start from. We have lost all our investment; all that we have accumulated and invested in the farmlands.”
He said the situation is worsened by the fact that not a farthing is coming as reward for all their effort. “It’s so painful to see that nothing is forthcoming despite all our effort. Government has been mouthing assistance, but up till now, we have seen nothing.”
Like his namesake, Abubakar Ahmed, Barrister Abubakar Umar also blames the devastating flood on the unexpected release of water from the Goranyo and Bakolori dams, even as he acknowledged the heavy rains witnessed in the year as the remote cause.
“I think the reason we have so much flooding this year is because the dams at Goranyo and Bakolori were not dredged for so long. Because the dams could no longer hold the accumulated water from the heavy rains, they had to release them without notice. In all, I think the federal government is the major cause of all this flooding. The dams are owned by the federal government and are supposed to be dredged and controlled, but this has not been done for years.”
As a result, Barrister Umar, who claims to be a modest farmer despite his whopping 35 hectare rice farms, said there is a plan to sue the federal government for this huge loss. “There is no doubt that the flood is due to the negligence of federal government-owned dams. So, we are planning with other lawyers to see how we can assist fellow farmers to sue the federal government and get some compensation.”
Asked if the dam managers could have done something differently to avert the sudden emptying of the dams, Umar said, “Yes; if there is control of the dams, something could really have been done. Initially when Goranyo Dam was constructed, there were plans to construct some further project to accumulate the water so that flood can be minimised and controlled. But up till now, nothing to that effect has been done.”
One month after the deluge, Umar admitted that, “The water is beginning to go down and as such, transplanting could begin by middle or end of October.”
He added that farmers may have to buy seeds on their own, since nothing seems to be forthcoming from the government yet. “I don’t know any farmer who has received anything from the government as we speak,” he emphasised.
Asked to speak on the popular Anchor Borrowers’ Programme of the Federal Government/Central Bank of Nigeria and if he benefitted, Umar said, “O yes, we have benefitted. Usually they give loans according to hectares; about N300,000 per hectares of land, but they give it in piecemeal: fertilisers, engine and sometimes, little money.”
He is however not happy that some farmers have been taken to court for defaulting in repayment at Bagudo in spite of the flood and the damages and loss it has inflicted on them.
“We think that is insensitive and we have organised a team of farmers and arranged with the court to shift the repayment until after the rain season.”
Umar also made a special appeal to the government: “We are appealing to the government to come to the aid of the farmers, particularly in the area of fertiliser and good seeds.”
Saved by the dike
In the midst of this massive destruction, one farm –or to be more precise – scheme, stands unaffected and flourishing. That is the 100-hectare Zauro Polder Project, located around NEPA, GRA in Birnin Kebbi.
According to the project director, Hajia Mariat Suleman, the scheme, which is under the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, farms 75 per cent rice and 25 per cent vegetable and others, and is about the only farm that stands unaffected by the flood in the whole area.
The secret, Suleman said, is the 7.5 kilometer dike constructed to protect the farm over 40 years ago.
“We have not been affected by the flood because we have a protective dike, which stopped the flood water from coming into our farm. The dike has been there for over 40 years, constructed by the Federal Government as a protective measure for the farm.”
Had other farms put in place such measures, Suleman said, “Not much; they’re not likely to have been affected.”
Is she recommending that the government construct such dikes around other farms?
“Yes, why not?” Suleman said. “And I’m sure they can. The length of our dike is 7.5 km and the water just goes out to the river; it doesn’t come into our scheme. We have an outlet that we can control if we don’t need much water in our scheme. You need to see it, it is specially designed. Basically, that’s what saved our scheme. So I’m recommending that the government do more of it. I think they should do so many things. They should construct storages, there should also be desilting of the river and the dams too. The content of the water in the river is not much. It’s more of silt. Two years ago, there was no water. The whole thing was just silt. Only small amount of water. So I can tell you that the silt is more than the water.”
Suleman said dams and dam waters are not nuisances as the current flood situation is making out if well managed. “Dams are for farming and consumption. They are also like storages. If we dam rain waters, we can release them later for farming. What we have are earth dams. We don’t really have big dams here. The real issue therefore is with the maintenance.”
Reacting to the allegation that the released dam water caused the flood, Suleman said, “It’s not the dam that cause the flood, it was heavy downpour, which led to runoffs. The more rain you have, the more runoffs you have. A dam does not form its own water; it is rainfall that goes into it. Let’s say 10 litres goes into the dam, 10 litres will come out of it.”
She therefore reiterated that, “This is just a natural disaster. Why didn’t we have such flooding last year or two years ago? I think the last time we had this kind of thing was in 2010. There is something we call return period; something should be done now, otherwise it might even be worse next time. We should look for future solutions, not immediate solution. It is not for us to just shout and lament over what we have lost and then pretend that all is well, when the water is gone.”
On the way forwards, Suleman recommends: “There should be storages; then plantation, like trees; we should also dredge the rivers and dams across the country. That way, they’ll have more space to retain water. Also, there should be flood alert; so that our farmers could be aware and plan ahead.”
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