No fewer than 2, 000 hectares of rice farms in Majin Gari village in Lavun local government area of Niger State are on the verge of being washed away by flood.
This is a result of the constant heavy downpour in the last few days which has left the farmers in the communities around the local government areas to have been counting their losses.
Majin Gari village is one of the largest producers of rice in Niger state with thousands of hectares of rice farmlands by the inhabitants of the community.
Rice cultivation in the area is so important that farmers harvest it three times in a year, both during the rainy and dry seasons.
Nigerian Tribune investigation gathered that it serves the immediate markets in the state with Paddy rice while off-takers across the country were said to have been visiting the village during harvest periods to buy from the farmers.
It was however gathered that unfortunately, this strategic rice-producing community is presently on the verge of experiencing a bad year with the havoc wreaked by floods.
Further checks revealed that presently, the majority of the hectares are already submerged by floods while others are at the mercy of the nearest future floods.
Some of the farmers expressed worries that this may lead to scarcity of rice in the market and an eventual increase in the price of the commodity.
To further worsen the situation, the Badeggi irrigation system that would have supported the farmers during dry season farming is allegedly in bad shape as its canal can no longer accommodate the large scale of water coming into the community from the rivers in Bida.
Nigerian Tribune further learnt that the irrigation system was constructed during the colonial era and the only time it was renovated was during the former Military administration of erstwhile Col.David Mark in 1984.
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