Flood: Gombe farmers count losses, seek govt aid

Fin Gombe State, who were affected by the flood that ravaged their communities, have started counting their losses, saying they were “devastated and helpless.”

The farmers, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) in Gombe, yesterday, are from Billiri, Kaltungo, Balanga, Yamaltu/ Deba, Nafada and Akko local councils, where several hundreds of hectares farmland got submerged.

Abubakar Ibrahim, a soya beans farmer from Panguru community in Billiri, said he cultivated over four hectares of soya beans but harvested less than two bags of the grain.

Ibrahim said he was expecting between 160 and 180 bags of the legume, but due to heavy downpour, which flooded his farm, he could not get the expected yield.

He said: “I lost over N6.7 million worth of produce to this flood. We were close to harvesting and then the rains came and submerged our farms. I borrowed N650,000 to buy improved seedlings, but now I am indebted with no hope of paying back.

“There are farmers in my community, who cultivated many hectares of soya beans, were expecting at least 500 bags, which is about N22 million worth of produce. Many of those farmers are left with nothing; many of them are having mental issues because of the shock.”

According to him, government’s intervention will help reduce farmers’ hardship, so they can return to the farm for dry seasoning farming. “Without support, many farmers may not return to farms for a while,” he added.