By Iyakale Yakubu
Jos (Nigeria) — Plateau State Government in NorthCentral Nigeria is seeking assistance from international agencies, the Federal Government and non governmental organisations, especially those with programmes on agriculture, to avert flood disaster in prone areas of the State.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Linda Barau, made the call at an assessment tour of the flood prone areas in communities of Shimankar and Kalong in Shendam Local Government Area, as efforts to boost agriculture in the State.
She said the Plateau government does not have the capacity to address flood caused by the expansion of the Kalong River due to dwindling resources.
“Taking into cognizance the magnitude and technicalities involved to address the flood and the dwindling resources available, this project is bigger than the State Government.
“The Flood whose major source is the Kalong river especially during the rains has encroached village settlements in the areas thus the risk of wiping them off, their farmlands have also been destroyed.
“Lives have been lost, we really cannot do this alone, we need the intervention of donors agencies, the federal Government and NGOs amongst others to address this.
“We are here with the State Water Board and officials of the Fadama III Project in Plateau to make an assessment and find temporary modalities that can be taken to address Flood before a permanent measure,’’ she explained.
She said 600 hectares of land are at risk of being eroded by the flood saying if the land is cultivated, it will not only address food consumption but such farm produce can be exported for more economic benefits.
Coordinator, Fadama III project in Plateau State, Gideon Dadam, explained that the tour was also to assess the level of damage done by the Kalong River in Shimankar, which was chosen for the Fadama project III targeted to cultivate rice in 200 hectares of land.
He said the farmland will distort the project target of giving one hectare to one farmer, he said more than N200 million worth of rice was lost by farmers who cultivated the land in 2014, he said if the River is not being checked, it will defeat the aim of the project.
A farmer in the community, Mr Tobias Kwanmen has said the flood has destroyed their farmlands of crops such as rice, banana, sugarcane and guinea corn he said not only were plants lost but lives were lost in the process of crossing the Kalong River using the local canoes.
He said diverting the River Kalong to its original source seems impossible but would help in forestalling subsequent flood disasters and called on government to help farmers reduce the hardship faced by the Flood.
