#FloodAlertNigeria: Effect of Flooding on Agricultural Production — By @ElJuwairiya
By: Iccdi Africa
Tags: Food Security, Agriculture, Climate Change, Production, Flooding

Agriculture in Nigeria is a huge industry. It contributes a substantial amount to the national GDP, about 26.09% of Nigeria’s National Statistical Agency, 2019.

The sector is also the largest direct employer of labour 36% of the total labour force. That being said, there is an ever-increasing need for smallholder farmer in Nigeria and Sub-Sahara Africa to adopt climate-smart practices to improve their chances of weathering the impacts of the changing climate and reduce their carbon footprint most importantly methane gas from livestock and paddy rice fields and CO2 from bush burning.

Corn field under 4 feet of flood water

Flooding affects several aspects of agricultural production and productivity. There are losses in crops washed down by inundation. In many instances, the crops are unrecoverable after a flood occurs. In areas that are often hit by a flash flood or riverine floods, livestock are lost or displaced including fish in water bodies or in ponds whose structures are not strong and grazing lands for livestock are lost as well. Most times when livestock is not completely lost, they get affected by a number of diseases due to exposure to flood water which is unclean and naturally likely to be contaminated with disease pathogens. The relationship is clear, when farmers are displaced it is almost impossible for them to grow crops and animals. In 2019, flash floods had affected many homes and farmlands in 36 states in Nigeria. Read the full report https://bit.ly/3hP22Q2. An important impact is the siltation of water bodies and could increase in the deposition of silt material in water bodies. When flooding occurs, water carries silt & sediments down the lowlands which could be valleys, rivers or dams. The silt and sediments would settle and accumulate a significant part of that water body thereby reducing the storage capacity of that body leading to a positive feedback loop. Continuous siltation caused by the flood would eventually lead the reservoir to overflow, with more heavy rains, this would lead to the increased frequency of inundation and so the cycle continues.

The impact of heavy rainfall and flooding is rather significant. It is important to know that crops need “water” to grow and not rainfall. Heavy rains or floods are detrimental to crop growth and the ecosystem in general. Water is just the right quantity and timing is necessary for crops’ survival. It is needed for general metabolism, growth, photosynthesis in crops and primarily for absorption and transport of nutrients and metabolites. Flood washes away the topsoil which is the richest part of the soil and contains organic matter and other crop nutrients and deposits elsewhere. This eventually leads to a reduction in the soil’s fertility and its sustainable use. Under water-logged conditions caused by flooding, crops’ roots fail to respire as anaerobic conditions set in. Beneficial microbes in the soils die and anaerobic organisms take over and produce toxic byproducts that may further kill the crops or result in chemical reactions that may be detrimental to the crops and the soil fauna. So in general, heavy rainfalls and flooding are detrimental to agricultural production. Too much rain and floods damage crops in the fields and may drown livestock, destroy farmlands and damage stored agricultural products.

Farmers could do a lot on their part. Farming systems like zero tillage should be adopted by farmers. Soil disturbance during farming or grazing should be greatly minimized to keep the soils particles in place to a large extent. Another measure is to adopt the mulching of farmlands. This is of great benefit to both crops and the soil as well. Impact of floods on mulched crop fields will be significantly reduced, thus protecting the soil structure.

There are financial tools that can be employed to respond to and mitigate the impacts of flood and other extreme weather conditions in general, for example, weather-index based micro-agricultural insurance can be used to cover #SHF when floods or and other weather-based disasters struck. Subsidized crop policy of The Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation is an apt example. Both farmers and the government contribute to the premium to cover for crop losses, livestock included. There are other national and international insurance companies that cover agricultural losses, make flood forecasts and offer advisory services in relation to flooding. Climate financing and taxing could be used by governments to off-set for the loss incurred by #SHF during and after floods. Similar financial tools can be employed to put in place infrastructures that could minimise the risk of floods occurring in most agricultural settlements.

Solving the issue of climate related catastrophes is a very daunting task largely due to their enormity and spatial variation. Different approaches and tools could be employed at different levels right from smallholder farmer to international organisations. Solving weather-based events requires first an analysis of the causal factor, then the planning for prevention and mitigation follows. There are diff techs and mitigation strategies that can be adopted to curb the impact of flooding. Some of the techs are used in climate modelling and forecasting as well as flood detection. See examples https://bit.ly/3gahXHT. Alongside these technologies like risk assessment and emergency planning, similar technologies like flood proofing but wet and dry flood forecasting and flood insurance as mentioned earlier could greatly reduce the impacts of flooding on smallholder farmer and agriculture.

Recommendations for the government.

To achieve control over floods especially in urban areas and large cities, the government should enforce regulations on single-use plastic which clogs drainage and waterways and lead to flooding. Deforestation which surges Climate Change should be controlled. Trees, shrubs and hedges should be planted around farmlands to help protect crops from the heavy impact of flooding and trap soils washed by flowing water. Local knowledge and resources should be highly considered to ensure sustainability and cost-effectiveness. More effort should be put in sensitising the public on the dangers of flooding and flood management. The Nigeria Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) are doing great reaching out to the public, their work is commendable. Infrastructure in rural areas should be enhanced. Land use planning, designated floodways, reservoirs and barriers such as canals, dams, levees or floodwalls should be solidly built and maintained by agencies responsible. Federal Ministry of Water Resources and The River Basin Development Authority. Finally, citizens and smallholder farmer should be made aware of the dangers and risks of flooding and other climate-related events. They should be sensitised on what role they are expected to play in mitigating and reducing the impacts of flooding.

We are all neck-deep in this plight; we shall all be responsible for playing our parts diligently.