2020 Flood: Niger Worse Hit, Says NEMA

2020 Flood: Niger Worse Hit, Says NEMA

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has disclosed that Niger State was the worst 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 NEMA, Mr. Mustapha Ahmed, disclosed this in Minna yesterday when he paid a courtesy visit to Governor Abubakar Sani Bello before the flag -off of distribution of farm inputs to those affected by the flood.

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

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

He said that the NEMA decided to commence the distribution of the materials for the North Central Zone from Niger state because of the level of impact the state suffered from flood.

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 Abubakar Sani Bello, commended President Muhammadu Buhari, for the support he has given farmers in the state, saying that government would set up a committee to monitor the distribution of the materials to ensure they judiciously utilise it.

Commenting, the Director General of the NSEMA, Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim Inga, commended the federal government for the intervention, which he said would help to address issues of food security and complement state government’s efforts.

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

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