Nigeria: Floods cause food insecurity

Nigeria experiences floods every year, mainly due to poor water infrastructure. Recurrent floods in Nigeria significantly exacerbate food insecurity, a problem already present in the country due to conflict and poverty.

Recurrent floods in Nigeria are significantly worsening food insecurity, a problem already present in the country due to conflict and poverty.

Every year, these floods affect millions of people, destroying vital farmland, infrastructure and homes.

Heavy rains and devastating flooding have killed nearly 200 people and washed away homes and farmlands, further threatening food supplies, especially in the hard-hit northern region. According to the National Emergency Management Agency, the floods blamed on poor infrastructure and badly maintained dams have lately killed 185 people and displaced 208,000 in 28 of Nigeria’s 36 states, triggering frantic efforts to evacuate hundreds of thousands to makeshift shelters.

Nigeria records flooding every year mostly as a result of failure to the poor quality of water infrastructure. In 2018, heavy rains were experienced in Nigeria, which affected 2,321,592 people, based on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) situation report. An estimated 722,741 people were internally displaced, and 351,236 people had immediate humanitarian needs in food, shelter, water, sanitation, hygiene, and health.

The 2020 devastating floods also displaced 1.5 million people across the region, left thousands injured and damaged huge areas of both urban and rural land. As shown by research, the region’s rainy season was 20% wetter than normal because of climate change, among other factors such oil exploration.

According to Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency, the 2022 floods in 27 of Nigeria’s 36 states and capital city also affected half a million people including 100,000 displaced, while more than 500 were injured. The disaster also destroyed thousands of hectares of farmland, worsening fears of a disruption of food supply in Africa’s most populous country.

However, unlike in 2022 when the floods were blamed on heavier rainfall, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency predicted delayed or normal rains in most parts of the country this year and said the current floods were more a result of human activities.

The floods have so far destroyed 107,000 hectares of farmland, especially in northern states, among the most affected and where most of Nigeria’s harvests come from. Many farmers in the region have been already unable to farm as much as they would like either because of decreasing inputs as families struggle amid Nigeria’s economic or due to violent attacks that have forced them to flee.

In Jigawa, the worst-hit state, with 37 recorded deaths, the floods have had devastating effects, forcing authorities to convert public buildings and schools as shelters for those displaced, according to Nura Abdullahi, head of emergency services in the state. These floods seem to be beyond control, raising concerns about serious future consequences.

As a result of excessive rainfalls and contributions from external flows, Nigeria has the highest number of hungry people in the world, with 32 million, 10% of the global burden, facing acute hunger in the country, according to the U.N. food agency.

References
https://www.africanews.com/2024/08/31/floods-in-nigeria-kill-scores-and-wash-away-farmland-raising-food-insecurity/
https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/nigeria-flood-response-emergency-plan-action-final-report-emergency-appeal-n-mdrng025
https://apnews.com/article/floods-science-africa-nigeria-climate-and-environment-7972ff1cba1134cc80219acff1a51d42
https://apnews.com/article/floods-africa-emergency-management-abuja-519f64dbd4a2f2456d61b77e4f5d2628