Rice farmers lost farmlands to flood in Kebbi

Hundreds of rice farmers in Yauri, Ngaski and Shanga Local Government Areas of Kebbi State have lost their farmlands to flood as a result of torrential rains across the state in the past few days.

 The rice farms, worth several millions of naira, have been washed away due to the floods that ravaged their farms.

The farmers have appealed to the state government to come to their aid, as the situation has left them in a critical condition because many of them had invested heavily in their farms with the hope of a good harvest.

Shuaibu Gidanbindigawa, one of the affected farmers, described the situation as strange and unprecedented.

“The water from the River Niger first took over our farms, and now the rains have washed away everything.’ God has brought this challenge, and we have already lost everything. For the farmers of Shanga, Yauri and Ngaski, all I can say is may God intervene in our situation,’’ he said.

He also appealed to political leaders to take urgent action. “I’m calling on our politicians and political-office holders to come to our aid. Some farmers who used to harvest over 100 bags of rice now have nothing. The water has taken over everything.

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“This is not about coming to sympathise with us, we need real support. Some of us invested all our wealth in these farms. Please, our able governor, your people are in desperate need of help,” he pleaded.

Yauri, Ngaski and Shanga are among the key rice-producing areas in Kebbi State and have been major contributors to the state’s rice value chain. The flood has now put their livelihoods and food production in serious jeopardy.