In 2023, the federal government stated about 26.5 million people would be grappling with high levels of food insecurity with approximately 9 million children at risk of suffering from acute malnutrition. Findings reveal that several factors are driving this trend, including conflicts and climate change impacts. In Bauchi State, the 2024 flooding incidents have compounded the issue as many farmers say flooding hindered food availability and access.

With the flooding incident that submerged Katagum Local Government Area (LGA) in September 2024, farmers like Azumi Ali, a woman in Maluri, Buskuri Ward, could only look into the sky, hoping for a miracle to restore her already lost farm products.

It was the period of seasonal farming and Ali’s farm, along with those of her husband, and children, was affected by the devastating flood that washed away countless hectares of farmland. On separate plots, the family had cultivated sesame, beans, rice, and sorghum that would have been sold for income and also stored as foodstuff for their families. 

Their hopes had been strained by delayed rainfall and an unusually hot season. But their predicament worsened with the flood, which not only submerged Ali’s farmland but also destroyed the produce that would had sustained her family until the next rainy season.

“All are now gone to the flood. Where we used to get 20 bags, we now barely manage two. We’re just managing what we will eat from now until the rainy season. We are in a very difficult situation, praying for God’s intervention,” he said.

Year after year, Ali took loan from a microfinance bank to invest in the farming, which in turn turned profitable for the family. But now not only does she battle with her family’s sustenance, but she also has to think of means to sort out her loan before next season.

For Babangida Shuaibu, another farmer in Maluri, the story is no different. Shuaibu, a father of 11, had cultivated rice, and millet on his three-hectare farmland. However, the August flood turned his fields into an expanse of muddy water. The flood left nothing salvageable.

Standing in his waterlogged farm, he described the flood’s impact as a pathetic situation, adding that he lost all his farm produce in a blink of an eye. Shuaibu had worked tirelessly alongside his wife and eldest son during the cultivating season. The family invested their savings and took a loan to purchase fertilisers and improved seeds, hoping to maximise their yield. But the floodwaters swept away the crops and weakened the family’s financial stability.

“Honestly, we are in a pathetic situation due to the flood. Our farmlands have been destroyed, and our farm produce has been lost. This difficulty is what makes us devise a means to survive by planting potatoes, and cassava. Without government intervention, we will not be able to compensate for the losses. In my farm, I expected 15 bags but ended up having 2 bags which cannot sustain me and my extended family,” he said.

The 50-year-old Shuaibu and Ali are just a few out of an estimated 1.15 million people, many of them small subsistence farmers, across the country who have seen their crops decimated by what has now become annual flooding.

This season’s harvest across the country has been ruined by floods, with thousands of hectares of farmland submerged and vital soil nutrients washed away, paving the way for an even more challenging planting season ahead.

Bauchi accounts for a significant part of the agricultural produce in the country. The state’s vast fertile soil is an added advantage for agricultural produce, which include maize, rice, millet, groundnut, and guinea corn. 

The state also spans two distinct vegetation zones: the Sudan savannah and the Sahel savannah. The southern part of the state is covered by the Sudan savannah, where the vegetation becomes denser and greener, especially near rivers and other water sources. However, the plants and grasses in this area are generally less dense and shorter compared to the lush vegetation found farther south in the forest zones of the Middle Belt.

The Sahel Savannah, also called semi-desert vegetation, becomes noticeable from the middle of the state as you move northward. This vegetation consists of scattered thorny shrubs. In contrast, the southwestern part of the state is hilly due to the extension of the Jos Plateau, while the northern region is predominantly sandy.

Backstory

In August 2024, a heavy flood swept through many farmlands in Katagum LGA after a torrential rainfall. The flooding inundated roads destroyed homes and beyond that was the farm produce, livestock, and farmland destroyed.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Federal Government report in September, 2024, estimated that about 31 states, including Bauchi and 180 local government areas (LGAs), were severely affected, with over a million individuals affected, leading to widespread displacement, loss of lives, and destruction of homes and livelihoods. 

In these states, the floods left at least 641,598 persons displaced, 285 people dead, and 2,504 injured. Houses, farmlands, and critical infrastructure were devastated, with 98,242 homes affected.

Bauchi has 94,022 affected persons, following Borno, which has 414,000 affected persons while Sokoto follows Bauchi closely with 83,000 persons affected.

In terms of displacement, Borno, Sokoto and Bauchi are also among the hardest hit, with 389,267, 48,000 and 36,000 displaced persons respectively. 

According to the United Nations, Nigeria and other West Africa countries have experienced some of its worst flooding in decades, with more than 2.3 million people affected so far in 2024, a threefold increase from 2023.

Africa nations are losing up to 5 per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP) every year as they bear a heavier burden than the rest of the world from climate change, a report said on Monday, September 2, 2024, after one of the continent’s hottest years on record.

Nigerians at risk as food crisis worsen

During a visit to Bauchi State, many farmers who spoke to The ICIR, bemoaned the unavailability of food and humanitarian crisis in the state.

The rice and other produce harvest this year, which is mostly expected around November-December, would no longer be feasible for most farmers and thus, increase rice importation.

Like Babangida Shuaibu, local farmers revealed extensive crop losses, with many fearing they will be unable to recover in time for the next planting season. The destruction of infrastructure, including irrigation systems and storage facilities, further compounds the challenges for the smallholder farmers.

The floods in Bauchi are part of a larger pattern of climate-induced shocks that have placed millions of Nigerians at risk of hunger. About 26.5 million people were already projected for high levels of food insecurity with approximately 9 million children at risk of suffering from acute malnutrition or wasting in 2023, by the Nigerian government, according to a joint statement from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Federal Government. 

The projection was due to conflicts, inflation, and declining agricultural productivity. Flooding, combined with these factors, worsens food availability and accessibility, particularly in northern states like Bauchi, which are already grappling with poverty and child malnutrition.

Amid the worsening food crisis, the government in July 2023, declared state of emergency on food insecurity to tackle rising food prices and shortages. But its impact has barely been noticed by many Nigerians with soaring inflation and food prices.

The ICIR reports that Nigeria’s headline inflation increased to 34.19 per cent in June 2024 from 22.8 per cent in June 2023 and 33.95 percent in May 2024. Food inflation remains the primary driver of headline inflation, rising to 40.87 per cent on a year-on-year basis, compared to the 25.25 per cent rate recorded in June 2023. 

On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in June 2024 also rose to 2.55 per cent compared to the 2.28 per cent recorded in May 2024.

The situation began to stabilise in July this year as the effects of the naira devaluation waned. However, the devastating floods that destroyed crops, along with petrol price hike, reignited price pressures, with Nigeria’s inflation rising for the second straight month in October, advancing to 33.88 per cent.

A National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report said that food inflation climbed to 39.16 percent year-on-year in October. This shows an increase from 37.77 percent in the previous month, driven by rising prices of staples such as rice, maize, bread, potatoes, and cooking oil.

The World Bank, in its food security report for September 2024, ranked Nigeria as the fifth country most hard hit by food inflation globally and the third in Africa only trailing Malawi and Liberia. The report identified Nigeria as one of the nations facing worsening food security conditions due to conflicts in food-producing areas, environmental challenges from climate change, and other contributing factors.

This assessment is evident in the 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI), where Nigeria ranks 110th out of 127 countries. Scoring 28.8 points on the index, Nigeria falls within the category of countries experiencing “serious” hunger levels.

‘Our lives are drowning too’

A 22-years-old farmer, Muhammad Bappa, stood in front of his flood-ravaged land, still reeling from the devastation caused by this year’s flood. While four months have passed, the view of his farmland is still a source of sadness to him. 

The farmland, which he had tilled and cultivated on, is now hard and cracked, its structure permanently altered by the inundation. The floodwaters, which had submerged the farm during the flooding, wiped out his entire harvest. 

What seems to be left of the crops has long been withered. Left were only the remnants of uprooted plants scattered across the land. He was still sad, devastated and confused. But he is not alone. Across Zindi, Misau LGA, and other flood-affected areas in the state, countless farmers shared similar stories of severe loss.

For Aminu Muhammad, who relocated from Kano to Zindi to work on an irrigation farm, the situation is even more dire. 

“We hoped for a bumper harvest this year,” he lamented, “but we ended up with little or nothing. We are now facing food scarcity due to low harvest. We expected to be free from last year’s suffering, but this was what happened to us; another endless suffering to look for food.

“Some of us cannot even face our creditors due to inability to pay the debt. We are in a pathetic condition. We didn’t even make enough to feed ourselves let alone having enough to pay back the loans. We have borrowed money and now have no means to repay.

“There are farms that we used to harvest ten bags but not a single bag was harvested. Some farms have nothing left and we don’t have other farms aside from the ones flooded. With a single farm which has been flooded and family to cater for, we are in a difficult situation and need urgent support. Just put yourself in the position,” he said.

Over N50 billion Kano-Maiduguri highway torn apart by floods

Beyond the washing away of farmlands, the 2024 flooding was particularly damaging, as it split a portion of the newly built Kano-Maiduguri highway in two. 

The highway, built at a cost of N51.99 billion, was designed to improve transport across the region. However, its collapse in August has only worsened the already dire food insecurity in the area.

According to the 2019 fourth quarter and consolidated budget implementation document, the road, constructed for N51.99 billion, was meant to bolster transport in the region but its collapse in August compounded food insecurity.

The project was intended to involve the construction of a 177.78 km two-lane road and the rehabilitation of the existing road between Shuwarin and Azare towns. The scope of work also included a 200mm laterite sub-base, a 200mm stone base, 60mm asphalt binder, and 40mm wearing courses, with an additional 24.4 km stretch of dualisation from Dutse to Kwanar-Huguma in Jigawa State. 

Also, the road was designed to be paved to a width of 7.30 meters on both sides, with 2.75 meters of surface-dressed outer shoulders and 1.5 meters of inner shoulders.

Originally awarded to Messrs Setraco Nigeria Limited in October 2006 for N35.84 billion with a completion date set for February 2010, the project saw its cost revised to N65.31 billion, with the completion timeline pushed to December 2020 due to the added 24.4 km dualization in Jigawa State. 

By 2019, N1.77 billion had been allocated to the project, with N300 million released and utilized. While only 78.63 per cent of the project was completed at the time of the the report, The ICIR gathered that road has been put to use since 2021.

For Bauchi’s farmers and consumers across the nation, the destruction of the road further driven up food prices and limited access to markets, deepening the region’s food crisis. 

Residents who spoke to The ICIR, noted that the lack of proper drainage system on the road side leading to the community might not be unconnected to the the flood that ravaged the road and the surrounding farmland.

More woes

Down in his farm, clearing the remnant of the ravaged crops, Abubakar Sama’ila, 55, a farmer with nine children and two wives, said he’s left with nothing after the torrent flooding.

The flood has left nothing but destruction,” Sama’ila said, referring to his devastated crops of sorghum, millet, and rice. “As you can see the places are just deserted after the flood. You can’t find a farmer here that harvested five bags. Had it been there was no flood, ten or more bags can be harvested in any farm here, but this is what Allah has destined us with. We are just praying and hoping that next year it will not occur.”

Last year’s flood was devastating blow to Muazu Zindi, a 45-year-old farmer from Misau Local Government Area. A father of eight, with two wives and three grandchildren, Adamu’s life revolved around his crops, which he grew to feed his family.

“But the flood came at the time when we were about to harvest our millet,” Muazu recalled. 

“But instead of collecting it from the fields, we had to pluck the millet heads while standing in the flooded water. It was that bad. The sorghum, rice, and beans – all was washed away from here to here,” he said.

Muazu’s harvest was cut drastically short. He managed to salvage just 13 bags of millet, but the sorghum, a major part of his income, was gone. “I’ve lost about two-thirds of my sorghum. If the flood hadn’t come, I would have gotten as much as I did with the millet. But now, there’s nothing.”

Like Muazu, Abdulkadir, Alhassan’s hopes were also dashed by the relentless flooding that swept across his farms. 

“Had the farm not been flooded, I would have harvested 15 or more bags of sorghum,” he lamented. Instead, he was left with only seven bags. “I planted 49 measures of rice seeds, but after harvest, I only had two measures left. I had to eat them right there in the field. I didn’t even take them home,” he added.

Nearly 31.8m Nigerians at risk of hunger – FAO

In its December 9th report, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned that nearly 31.8 million Nigerians were at risk of acute food insecurity, with the ongoing floods affecting nearly every region. 

It noted that in September 2024, the floodwaters submerged more than 1.3 million hectares of land, including over 558,000 hectares of cropland, compounding the crisis and displacing thousands of people.

According to FAO, as of early September, over 2.5 million people had been impacted by the floods, with approximately 200,000 displaced. The FAO expressed deep concern over the long-term impact on food security, with vulnerable communities being pushed deeper into poverty as their livelihoods were washed away.

“The floods continue to push vulnerable communities deeper into poverty, and the widespread loss of farmland will severely affect food security. Urgent coordinated action is needed to avert a worsening humanitarian disaster,” said FAO’s representative ad interim, Koffy Dominique Kouacou. 

“Enhanced infrastructure improved early warning systems and rapid response mechanisms are crucial to addressing the crisis and building long-term resilience,” he adds.

Victims seek urgent action, lament negligence by government

Some of the farmers who spoke to The ICIR noted that, while the government showed an interest in empowering them, the promises have not yet been actualised. 

The Maluri community leader in Katagum LGA, Jauro Abdulkadir, explained that the damages caused by the flooding in the are too extensive for residents to handle on their own. 

According to him, some farmers secured fertilisers through loan while some cultivated their farmlands with loan but all were washed away by the flood.

“There are some farmers here who secured fertiliser loans from some individuals, to repay after harvest. There are some who had nothing and went to ‘well to do’ individuals to collect money and food items such as three or four bags loans with the hope of repaying. But all their farmlands have been ravaged by the flood, and they are now in a difficult situation. 

“The flood is not peculiar to one place, and this brings about food shortage and the increase in price. Some of the farmers have not transported their farm produce to the markets due to the flood,” Abdulkadir said.

He further stated that the government had promised to provide care for the farmers during their visitation to the community but noted that they have gotten nothing from that. 

Similarly, Alhassan Abdulkadir, head of a family of 14, said while there was relief package given to those whose houses were destroyed, the farmers were left to grapple with the aftermath of the crisis themselves.

Abdulkadir who had taken loan to cultivate his corn farm said: “We have not been supported but there was a relief package given to those whose houses have been destroyed by flood in Buskuri Ward but not farmers whose farmlands were affected.

The farmers also expressed concerns over the lack of proper flood warning systems, which they believe could have helped them prepare better and reduce losses.

Assessing the future implications and solutions

The influence of global warming on weather patterns, marked by heatwaves, heavy rainfall, and drought, contributes to this crisis. In regions already contending with water constraints, climate change exacerbates adverse effects on agricultural production.

An Environmentalist and Disaster Risk expert, Mayokun Iyaomolere, said: “The consequences of flooding in the region, as already mentioned, leading to food insecurity, affecting plants and animal conservation, and also already affecting the quality of soil. So, persistent flooding can continue to wash away soil, topsoil that has all the nutrients for cultivation. When erosion occurs, it changes the configuration of the soil, and the process nutrients is lost and debris from floodwaters is deposited on soil. All of this generally impacts agricultural activities, whether it’s for cultivating plants or even for cultivating food for animals to eat.

“And if animals are resident or positioned in such flooded lands, they can also get washed away, or less land become available for them to even be reared on.”

The expert also highlighted how recurring flooding contributes to water pollution. He noted that the ecological consequences extend further, with significant impacts on wildlife and biodiversity

“Floods contribute to global warming, that leads to climate change, and then the whole cycle continues, climate change leading to affecting rainfall patterns, could lead to flooding, and it could be a vicious cycle of flooding contributing to gas emissions that lead to climate change, and all of that process just continue.”

While linking the environmental and agricultural impact to food insecurity, he emphasised on the strong connection between food insecurity and flooding.

“Flooding affects crop and animal production, and when that’s affected, it impacts the quantity of food that becomes available to purchase.

To mitigate the impacts of flooding and its ripple effects on food security and the environment, the expert recommended investing in climate-resilient agricultural practices, such as improved irrigation systems and flood-resistant crop varieties, to safeguard food production.

Bauchi government ignores ICIR’s request for comment

The ICIR reached out to the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, through his spokesperson, Muktar Gidado, on Tuesday, January 2, via phone calls and messages, but his phone line was not reachable. He also failed to respond to the messages.

Reminders were sent to his line, but as of press time, he has not responded.