Flood Submerges Olam Rice Farm, Destroys Crops in Nasarawa

Over $15 million worth of planted crops are under water as flood submerged 4,500 hectares of Olam rice farm land in Nassarawa state. Other  infrastructure such as dykes, canals, drainage worth $8 million were equally destroyed. 

Counting the losses, the  Business Head and Vice President, Olam Rice Farm, Anil Nair, said in a statement that the losses are huge but can only be accurately estimated once the water recedes.

Olam Rice Farm, which is  in Rukubi Doma Local Government Area of Nassarawa State, is seated on a 13,500 hectares land and operates a crop area of four 4,500 hectares.  It is the largest rice farm with the state of the art equipment in Africa.

The company recently upgraded its milling capacity from 120 metic tonnes to 240 metric tonnes annually as part of the company’s efforts to ensure food availability and security in Nigeria.

Olam also has consistently supported its host communities as part of its social cooperate responsibility (CSR) initiatives. 

Hundreds of people from the six host communities where Olam Rice Farm is located  have benefited from these gestures by the company as part of its CSR programme.

The farm also provided  instructional facilities for primary and junior secondary pupils in the communities to enhance learning.

With these numerous supports both for the Nigeria’s agriculture sector and humanitarian support to the host communities, it won’t be overboard to say that government’s urgent interventions are necessary to mitigate the effects of the disaster, reduce hunger and encourage development of adapting climate change technologies to enhance food security.

Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule  visited  the farm  to commiserate with the board, management and staff when he led the Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency (NASEMA) and cabinet members on an assessment visit to the flood ravaged areas.

The governor  expressed sympathy to the management of Olam Integrated Rice Farm  and Mills whose crops were completely submerged.