EFFECT OF 2012 FLOOD DISASTER ON THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF CASSAVA FARMERS IN ETSAKO EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, EDO STATE
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The world at large has suffered natural disasters (flood) throughout its long history. They displace and disrupt thousands of families, and having more traumatic effect in the poorest of nations, crippling what are often already woefully inadequate economic development efforts, and destroying infrastructure (Delaney et al, 2004). Natural disasters are happening more often and having an ever more dramatic effect on the world in terms of both their agricultural, human and economic costs. Floods are dangerous to peoples’ lives and their aftermath results to death, destruction, misery and trauma. One of the major repercussions that flood disasters have is on agriculture especially food crops like cassava production.
Unlike other investment activities, cassava is exposed to a large variety of risks and uncertainties from the vagaries of nature such as bad weather conditions, pests and diseases, flood, erosion and fire outbreaks. According to Jafia (1988) examples of such risks and uncertainties that have occurred in Nigeria include, the Cassava Bacteria Blight (CBB) of 1973)/74 cropping season which caused the loss of about 162.500 tons of cassava tubers in the east, and frequent flooding and drought problems. Also the serious drought years of 1982-1984 seasons and even the poor rainfall situations in 1987/88 seasons affected agricultural productivity as well. According to Taylor (1977), he identified crop losses in Nigeria as due to pest and diseases Okoye (1987) showed among others a pre-harvest loss of 10% on cassava partly due to pest and diseases..
Also after experiencing a devastating flood that resulted in displacing several hundred of thousands of people in 1998 the Kumadugu Yobe Ualley (northern Nigeria) was flooded again in 2001, Madiodio et al. (2004).
A substantial part of the population depends on agriculture for its livelihood. These substantial parts of the population are the rural farmers causing a vicious circle of poverty and adding to the risk, damage and stress of disasters. These rural farmers are exposed to natural disasters because they tend to live in marginal areas and depend on high-risk, low return livelihood systems such as rain-fed agriculture and face many sources of vulnerability including little physical infrastructure.
Today, Nigeria is suffering from low agricultural output and this could be due to t he effect of natural disasters on the rural farmers. The rural farmers have suffered seriously during the occurrence of these disasters in the past and present. Not only do these disasters destroy crops and disrupt food supplies, they also affect land quality and production potentials (Stephenson 1994). Farmlands and houses have been washed off by erosion in the northern and southern parts of the country and these rural farmers have more or less been rendered jobless too because of the effects of these natural disasters causing rural-urban migration (Nyong, 2005). Pest and diseases migrate in response to climatic variation and will potentially pose a threat to livestock when they move to areas where there is flood to areas of drier regions. It can also lead to aberration in the animal mating habits.
The purpose of this study is to identify the effect of the 2012 flood disaster on the socio-economic characteristics of cassava farmers in Etsako East Local Government area of Edo State. According to Saldana-Zorrilla (2003) economic vulnerability makes presence through decrease in the income of rural farmers. The study will analyse the level of change of the rural farmers income caused by the flood and how this will affect the rural farmers and cassava production.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Natural disasters, such as the occurrence of flood, cause much misery, especially in developing countries where low-income earners undergo great stress. Losses due to floods reduce the asset base of households, communities and societies through the destruction of standing crops, dwellings, infrastructure, machinery and buildings in addition to tragic loss of life.
Occurrence of flood have led to crop failure, famine, loss of property, mass migration and negative economic growth and this in turn affects the household income of the rural farmers that depend on agriculture as their means of livelihood (Adedipe et al, 1997). The occurrence of flood disasters are becoming destructive to the rural farmers as they drive these rural farmers out of business and possibly increase the migration from rural areas (Chukuezi 2008). Because of this, the need for re-orienting resulting in agricultural decision making and insulation of the rural farmers from adverse impacts of flood disasters has become more pressing.
Thus the catastrophic result of the extreme global flood has greatly deteriorated the lands and production of cassava. This has therefore resulted to low productivity and high cost of purchasing the produce and it calls for a careful study for the rescue of cassava production. All these may not be ruled out in the areas affected by the 2012 flood disasters especially in Etsako Local Government Area. The questions therefore are as follows
What are the levels of effects of these natural disasters on the income of the rural farmers in Etsako East?
To what extent does the flood affect the farmers?
What is the present state of the farmers?
What are the implications of the flood on the farmers?
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