(Abuja) Usman Musa had invested all his savings, $1,750, in his 10-hectare rice farm in central Nigeria. It is now submerged by the worst floods in a decade in Africa’s most populous country.
Posted at 10:47 a.m.
In a wooden canoe, the 38-year-old father of four made his way through the murky waters, passing what was once his home, the neighborhood hospital and school.
Today in Kogi State, only the roofs stick out.
Across much of Nigeria, crops of sorghum, maize, rice and vegetables are inundated and farmers and aid workers are warning of a possible food crisis.
The country, which has some 215 million people, was already struggling with high inflation and worrying levels of food insecurity.
With the floods, the situation is likely to worsen: 110,000 hectares of agricultural land have already been completely destroyed since August, according to the government.
“The floods are still ongoing, but we can easily say that between 60 and 75% of the expected harvest will be lost,” laments Kabir Ibrahim, president of the Farmers’ Association of Nigeria.
” This is very serious. So many people are crying. »
The rising waters have left more than 600 dead and 1.3 million displaced, according to the latest data released by Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Sadiya Umar Farouq.
race against hunger
In Nigeria, floods are frequent during the rainy season, but this year they are on a rare scale.
Climate change as well as poor planning and the discharge of water from dams are singled out by residents and officials.
Notifying farmers in advance was not enough.
“We followed predictions and avoided planting in flood-prone areas,” adds Mr. Ibrahim, “but the devastation is everywhere.”
The difficulties will be felt more “at the end of the year or the beginning of the next”, warns Mr. Ibrahim, whose association represents 20 million farmers.
Nigeria, a country highly dependent on imports, recorded food inflation of 23.3% last month, in part due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Faced with criminal gangs ravaging rural areas, many farmers have been forced to leave their fields.
According to the World Food Program (WFP) and the World Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Nigeria is already among six countries in the world facing a high risk of catastrophic levels of famine.
Today, “the consequences of the floods on food production are a real threat to the country and could cause a major food crisis”, worries Hussaini Abdu, director for Nigeria of the NGO Care.
Preventive measures
Floods destroy much more than agricultural land: they also damage roads and bridges, further limiting food supplies.
“We hoped that inflation would calm down with the [prochaines] crops, but now, with the floods, it’s a big question mark” for the future, insists Ari Aisen, IMF representative in Nigeria.
There is an “upside risk to inflation”, he however estimated to AFP.
In 2012, particularly deadly floods in Nigeria cost nearly $17 billion, according to the World Bank.
Immediate help is needed, but the IMF says it would be cheaper to invest in preventive measures.
Countries should invest in “helping people adapt to these types of events” rather than reacting “after the fact”, says Mr. Aisen.
In the meantime, the government has announced that it will redouble its efforts to provide assistance to the populations.
President Muhammadu Buhari thus approved the release of 12,000 tons of cereals. But farmers do not know if this will be enough.
Mr. Buhari banned the import of rice in 2015 to encourage local production and self-reliance.
But for Kabir Ibrahim, reauthorizing these imports “should not be excluded, if the situation becomes critical”.
Meteorological agencies have warned that there could be further flooding until the end of November.