Before the flooding, the prices of paddy rice and maize had been on the decline. However, they spiked sharply after the calamity. A 100kg bag of maize, which sold for between N25,000 and N27,000 days before the floods, now costs up to N40,000. Similarly, the price of a 100kg bag of paddy rice rose from N34,000 to N40,000, Daily Lens gathered.
This year’s flooding which has been described as the worst in recent years also damaged residential buildings in several communities. The worst-hit areas include Kunini in Lau LGA, Mayoreniyo in Ardo-Kola LGA, parts of Mutum Biyu in Gassol LGA, and several communities in Karim-Lamido LGA.
Umar Muhammad Lawal, a farmer in Mayoreniyo, said more than 800 rice and maize farms were destroyed in villages such as Jiro Kufayi, Jiro Kiriga, Jiro Sabongari, Jiro Dauda, Jiro Nabari, Kiriga Boya, Bendo Tugge, and Fataki. Others include Gurbi Zangai, Salo Bani, and Mayoreniyo, all in Ardo-Kola LGA
He explained that most of the farms were located close to the River Benue. “I lost four farms to the flood, while other farmers lost rice and maize worth millions of naira,” he said.
According to him, the flood came earlier than expected. “Each year, flooding usually occurs around late September, after most farmers have harvested their crops. But this year, it came too soon. Days before the disaster, a bag of maize was N20,000. A few days after the flood destroyed nearly 80 percent of rice and maize farms, the price jumped to N40,000,” he lamented
In Karim-Lamido LGA, Sale Binnari told Daily Trust that hundreds of farms were submerged. The worst-hit areas include Binnari, Gorowa, Didango, Shimiyel, Nahuta, Belengo, and Mariyo.
Similarly, in Gassol LGA, farming communities affected include Baranda, Maigoro Kwatan Nanido, Mutum Biyu, Sheka, Hassan Kwatan Ibrahim Kiriga Jen, Zip, Kambari, Amar, and Sansani.
