Flood Disasters in Nigeria: Farmers and Governments’ Mitigation Efforts

Abstract

The 2012 floods was one of the worst in Nigeria leading to loss of lives and property worth millions of naira. The floods were unprecedented and despite the fact that floods are a yearly occurrence in the country, the government lacked capacity to handle disaster of such magnitude. Individuals and several agencies joined hands with the government to assist flood victims by donating relief materials as well as providing temporary accommodation to alleviate plight of victims. Due to climate change, floods and natural disasters are expected to increase in coming years and there is need to ascertain flood management approaches employed by farmers and the government in the wake of the 2012 floods. Materials for this review were from newspapers, internet, books etc. The study revealed that farmers adopt practices such as planting of resistant trees/varieties, building of manual embankments and use of indigenous knowledge. The Nigerian government has also established the early warning systems to alert farmers on impending floods. There is the need to do more in the area of educating and encouraging farmers to heed to early warning systems, relocating farmers from flood prone areas and encouraging farmers to insure their crops.

Keywords: Flood disaster, Farmers, Government, Mitigation efforts