Jigawa loses 125,000 tons of rice to flood

About 40 percent of rice farms in Jigawa State have been washed away by the recent flood disaster. This was revealed yesterday by the chairman of the state chapter of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Alhaji Yandutse, while speaking with Daily Trust on phone. “40 percent of rice farms have been destroyed by flood […]

About 40 percent of rice farms in Jigawa State have been washed away by the recent flood disaster.
This was revealed yesterday by the chairman of the state chapter of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Alhaji Yandutse, while speaking with Daily Trust on phone.
“40 percent of rice farms have been destroyed by flood in the state. The most disturbing aspect about the flood disaster is by implication rice yield will drop by same percentage in the state,” he said.
He added that though rice production was next to sorghum and millet, which are the staple crops in the state, other staple crops were not affected like rice.
Yandutse explained that rice farmers suffered the most because the farms were mostly located along the river banks.
The AFAN chairman also stated that the staple crop too, suffered a certain level of damage by the flood as a result of heavy down pour experienced recently in the state adding that about 20 percent of the staple crops farms were also destroyed.
He lamented over the lack of distribution of fertilizer in this year’s farming season, saying it was another problem that added to farmers’ woes in the state.
Also speaking to Daily Trust, the chairman of the state chapter of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Adamu Maigoro Haruna, said owing to the disaster as a result of this year’s flood, rice farmers would lose over 125,000 tons of rice in the state.
“This year’s rice faming season has been devastated by the flood experienced in the state. Farmers’ yield from the 15 local government areas that were most hit by the flood will drop by over 125,000 tons.
According to him, in last year’s farming season, the state was able to produce about 600,000 tons of rice, the highest in the entire North West zone of the country.
“You know, Jigawa occupies a first or second position in the league of rice producing states in the country.
“Over 450,000 people from Jigawa State are fully engaged in rice production. Rice farmers alone are engaged in about 300,000 hectares of farmland across the 21 rice producing local government areas of the state,” he said.
Speaking to one of the farmers from Hadejia zone, who simply gave his name as Haruna, he said the flood destroyed his only rice farm, adding that as a small farmer he harvests not less than 50 bags of rice annually.