First Rain: Flood destroys farm lands, crops in Imo community

Victor Duruamaku, Owerri

Flooding, emanating from the first Rain of the year devastated farm lands and crops in Obiakpo community in Ohaji/Egbema local government area of Imo State

The rain which lasted several hours was said to have been aided by construction work of pipeline laying by some oil companies operating in the area

Some of the community members whose farm lands and crops were affected, claimed that they lost cash crops worth millions of Naira to the flood

Mrs. Agnes Ikwuegbu, a vegetable farmer said that the flood submerged her farmland, where she said she planted vegetables.

According to her, “The flood in the month of March is suprising to me, because since I started farming on this farmland, I have never experienced such before. So, when I saw this last week Thursday, I was shocked”.

Furthermore, she said that there she had nothing doing than farming and that the incident meant that she had lost her means of livelihood and income.

She lamented, ” I borrowed some money to invest in the farmland, a loan I was expected to pay back after harvest.”

Ikwuegbu stressed that with the present situation, she would not be able to repay the loan, let alone feed her family.

In the same development, Mr. Ikechukwu Osuji stated that he would be losing close to N40million being his annual income from farming of cucumbers.

Osuji claimed that he harvests 20 bags of cucumbers, which he usually sold at the rate of N20,000 per bag, pointing out that he had been weakened by the destruction caused by the flood on his farmland.

Adding his voice, Jude Isikogu said that their family fishpond had been dislodged.

Isikogu stated that they usually harvest fish in the said pond every five years, having been owned by the family.

He said, “I regret that they (family) are expecting to harvest fish from the pond this year, only for a man- made flood disaster to devastate the pond”.