2020 Flood: Niger Worse Hit, Says NEMA

Laleye Dipo

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has disclosed that Niger State was the worse hit by the 2020 flood which ravaged most parts of the country with 32,557 farmers affected by the disaster.

The Director General of the Agency, Alhaji Mustapha Ahmed, who disclosed this in Minna on Thursday during his courtesy visit to Governor Abubakar Sani Bello before the flag-off of distribution of farm inputs to those affected by the flood, did not give details of other states affected by the flood.

“You will recall that during the 2020 flood disaster, NEMA staff were deployed to the field including to communities in Niger State affected by flood and other secondary hazards to undertake damage and loss assessment in collaboration with the Niger State Emergency Management Agency.

“A total of 32,557 farmers were verified and are slated to benefit from the federal government agricultural inputs intervention for Niger State,” Ahmed said.

The Director General said it was as a result of the huge number of people affected by flood in the state that the Agency decided to commence the distribution of the materials for the North-central zone from Niger State.

He, however, lauded the “doggedness and unflinching commitment” of President Muhammadu Buhari for placing priority and supporting small scale farmers.

According to him, “The unprecedented green revolution ignited by the president has no doubt spread across the nooks and crannies of the country because Nigerians are no longer under the illusion of consuming imported food.”

In his remarks, Governor Bello commended President Buhari for the gesture to give farmers the needed support in the state, saying that government will set up a committee to monitor the distribution of the materials to ensure they judiciously utilise it.

Commenting, the Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Inga, commended the federal government for the intervention which he said will help to address issues of food security and complement the state government’s efforts.

Some of the items to be distributed are 81,390 litres herbicides, 48,834 litres of pesticides, 68,944 litres of growth enhancer, 16,278 bags of 12.5 kg of rice and 16,278 12.5 kg bags of maize.

Others are 2,252 units of water pumps, 8,139 units of sprayers, 22,450 50kg bags of NPK brand of fertilizers and 16,278 bags of 10kg cowpea.