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From Tony John, Port Harcourt
The fear of losing their farm produce to another flooding has resulted in harvesting of premature food crops in communities of Odual kingdom in Abua/Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Sunday Sun gathered that the premature harvesting was as a result of the warning recently released by the Nigeria Metrological Agency (NiMet), that waters from the Lagdo Dam would soon be released by the Cameroonian government.
Odual, a minority groups sit at the belt of Orashi River, a tributary of the River Niger; it suffers severe losses and damages during the flooding season.
During the 2022 floods, people in the area lost both food crops and property worth millions of naira as the area was completely submerged.
The Odual people are predominantly farmers, and mainly produce cassava (garri), plantain, banana, vegetables, potatoes, pepper, okra and yams.
Sunday Sun learn that most of the farm produce being harvested, especially cassava, yam and potatoes were not yet mature.
Some of the natives said they were yet to recover from the hunger and loss they suffered after the 2022 floods.
According to them, losing their farm produce to yet another flooding would cause more harm to the economic wellbeing of the people.
A native, Tulanaami Wariboko, from Okolomade community, lamented that the yearly flooding had increased poverty and hunger in the area.
Tulanaami who is a widow and mother of six lamented that “the crops are not yet mature. But, we have to harvest because it will be worse if in waiting, the floods come and consume them.
“Last year, I lost more than a half of my farm to the floods because as you may know, the water flows in high speed. I am not willing to suffer another hunger. That is why I’m harvesting now to see what I can get out of my produce.
Another farmer, Ikpoki Gospel, lamented that because the crops were not yet mature, farmers could not make as much money as they would.
Another farmer, Miasighiani Ishmael, blamed the low harvest on the high level of flood. She reasoned that the flood might have washed away the nutrients in their farms.
