Fresh food crisis looms as flood sweeps Nigeria’s food zone

The recent devastating flood disaster that has submerged about 70 per cent of Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, may further pile pressure on Nigeria’s already strained food crisis.

This is according to a report by SB Morgen, a Lagos-based data-driven intelligence, market and security firm on Tuesday, noting that like Nigeria, many African countries are grappling with severe flooding crises.

SBM Intel said, “The long-term risk includes a significant challenge to Nigeria’s food security, which is already strained by violence, insecurity, and crises related to storage and foreign exchange”.

Nigeria is combating elevated prices, especially with food and energy. Though Africa’s most populous nation saw its consumer prices drop to a six-month low of 32.15 per cent in August, the realities at the market is still a far cry.

Food inflation, which accounts for over 50 per cent of Nigeria’s headline inflation, also decelerated to 37.52 per cent on the seasonal harvest. But prices of rice, beans, bread and other processed staples are still relatively high.

In Borno state, agriculture is mainly subsistence with over 70 percent of her population relying on it for their day-to-day living. And it contributes up to 65 per cent of the state’s gross domestic product.

Major cash crops produced in the region are cotton, sesame and groundnuts while food crops include maize, yam, cassava, sorghum, cowpea, sorghum, millet, sweet potato and rice.

Cattle and other livestock also have enormous value chain growth opportunities in the little above 4 million people state.

But with a sweeping flood disaster in the region, many residents have been displaced, farmlands destroyed and farmers fled off their farms due to incessant security crisis.

This may have over-arching consequences on Nigeria’s struggle to shake off rising food inflation.

“With the recent insecurity that has worst hit Borno state, food production (crop/animal and fishing) contributes to only 5.9 % of the food needs of the state.

“Virtually, 94% of food consumed in Borno is imported either in the form of credit or gift from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), world food program (WFP), and civil societies among others,” Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a report.

Borno State has experienced its most devastating flood in 30 years, largely due to the Alau Dam’s inability to manage overflow.

This has led to the displacement of almost half a million residents and the death of 37 people.

The now one-week-old disaster resulted in the breaking of many inmates and the death of about 80 per cent of the animals at the Sanda Kyarimi Park Zoo.

“Despite the warnings, there is little evidence of proactive measures to prevent or mitigate the damage.

“It has become a pattern: floods arrive, displace thousands, destroy homes and farmlands, and leave survivors at risk of disease and hunger. Then, the cycle repeats the following year,” SBM Intel said.

SBM Intel said breaking the cycle means there must be a fundamental shift in policy and culture, adding that flood risk management must become a national priority, focusing on prevention rather than reaction.

“This includes developing reliable early warning systems, implementing robust urban planning regulations, and ensuring flood-prone areas are adequately equipped to handle excess water,” the research firm said.