Farmers say they lost everything in the September 10 flood and will not recover without intervention – they are pleading with the government not to forget them in their time of need.

Farmers in Borno State have been looking forward to the harvest period this year – good rains and thriving crops meant a bumper season, full tummies and money in the bank.

That was until Tuesday, September 10.
In the early hours of that day, the Alau Dam – 16km from Maiduguri – began to overflow.

No one expected so much water … no one expected such devastation.
Much of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State and a bustling city, and its environs were soon under water.

Thousands of houses in the metropolis and surrounding areas were submerged and destroyed, along with infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools, markets, businesses and hospitals. Property and belongings worth billions of naira were lost.

The flood affected two million people, displacing more than 400,000. The death toll has not been released.
Residents said it was the worst flood in three decades.

Donations – from wealthy individuals, philanthropists, international humanitarian aid agencies, other Nigerian states – have poured in.

Emergency agency personnel were sent to assess the damage – and Borno State governor Babagana Umara Zulum established a relief disbursement committee to ensure funds and aid were distributed to vulnerable victims of the flood.
It has taken weeks for the water to subside.

Now, as farmers return to their lands, they have been forced to look disaster in the face.

Across Maiduguri and the local government areas of Jere and Mafa there is widespread damage.

Thousands of hectares have been destroyed. Crops have been washed away or lie rotting and waterlogged.

Many have lost everything and they have no idea how – or if – they will ever recover.
The flood could not have occurred at a worse time. Apart from missing out on a bumper harvest, residents of Borno State – along with the rest of Nigeria – are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis.

The economy was not great before President Bola Tinubu came into office last year. But his announcement at his inauguration that he was removing the fuel subsidy sent the price of petrol soaring.

With the fuel hikes, the cost of all commodities – in particular food, even basic staples, and transport – increased.
In June, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate accelerated to 34.19%, the highest since March 1996. The naira is in freefall, depreciating more than 50% since Olayemi “Yemi” Cardosa assumed the governorship of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) a year ago.

A study by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition and the German development agency, GIZ, says more than 31.8 million Nigerians are acutely short of food.

The Borno State government has warned that the devasting flood could have severe consequences, including seriously affecting food security.

Grain and vegetable depots were submerged in the flood, leading to a shortage of food items and skyrocketing prices for the limited supplies available.

Farmers are calling on Zulum and the government to form a committee to assess the damage to their lands and crops and to come to their aid. Without help, they say, they face starvation and ruin.

Modu Mustapha is one of thousands of farmers who was left with nothing after the flood.

The farmer, from the agrarian community of Fariya in the Jere Local Government Area, said: “I was shocked when I got to my farm. It was gone. No crops. Everything was washed away. The water came in one day and on that day I lost everything. Everything I invested is gone.

“This year I planted tomatoes, peppers and cabbages. They were growing well and I was looking forward to a bumper harvest. But look! They have all gone. The money I invested in seeds, fertiliser and labour is lost. The flood washed everything away. Months of hard work … all gone.

“Now that the water has subsided, I want to replant some vegetables but I have nothing left. This farm was my only means of making a living. If the flood had happened a week or two later, I would have already harvested my crops.”

Mohammed Isa farms on the outskirts of Maiduguri.

“As the floodwaters subsided, I was one of the farmers who wanted to start replanting seeds. But, since the flood, the cost of seeds, fertiliser, fuel, pesticides and chemicals have shot up.

“We do not have money. I do not know if we will ever recover from this disaster. Farmers have lost property worth millions of naira.

“We are begging the Borno State government not to forget us in our time of need.”
Farmer Abubakar Yazami said the government should form a committee to assess the damage caused by the flood.

“My onion and rice farm was completely washed away. Right now, I don’t know what to do because I do not have enough money to recover from this massive loss. Just weeks from harvesting, I have lost everything.
“Some of us sold our assets – such as cars and valuables – so that we could invest millions on large-scale farming. We thought we would make a huge profit. And it was looking extremely promising – until the flood washed all our hopes and dreams away.
“The flood has affected most farmers. It doesn’t matter what you grew – rice, onions, maize, millet, or peppers, cabbages and tomatoes – everything was lost.

“I can’t describe how I felt when I saw my land and crops destroyed by floodwater. We were about a week away from harvesting. Now there is nothing left. Just waste and rubbish that we have to clear.

“The government has already set up a committee to oversee the renovations and reconstruction of homes and infrastructure and the disbursement of relief materials to households that were affected by the flood.
“It must do the same for farmers. We have lost our livelihoods. We have lost everything.”

Al’amin Umara Lawan, the chairman of the Borno State Farmers’ Association, told RNI that the government had still not collected data to assess the devastation suffered by farmers.

“A committee must be established to analyse and assess the damage caused on farmlands.
“It is evident that most farms were destroyed and washed away.

“The association is deeply concern about the fate of farmers in the state. We realise that the government has been overwhelmed and the flood disaster management still has a lot to do.

“I am calling on farmers who lost their lands and crops in the flood to report to the association. They must provide details such as their names, the location and size of the farm, what produce was grown and the name of the village or ward head, so that we can document and compile the data and present it to the Borno State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
“This is the best way to get the support farmers need. Affected farmers should drop off their details at the association’s head office here in Maiduguri as soon as possible. The sooner we get the ball rolling, the sooner they will get the assistance they need.”

Local food vendors told RNI they could not operate their businesses because their supplies were exhausted and they were unable to restock. Even the markets were short of supplies.

Muhammad Nur, the chairman of the Borno State chapter of the Tomato Growers’ Association of Nigeria, said he was concerned about the extensive losses incurred by thousands of farmers.

He urged the government to provide support, saying farmers’ livelihoods had been destroyed and they were in urgent need of assistance. He said they would not recover without government intervention.

SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO