(Ecofin Agency) - In Nigeria, floods caused by heavy rains have washed away nearly 450,000 ha of rice in the state of Kebbi, the country’s first rice production basin.

The area destroyed is equivalent to 2 tons of the grain, or a quarter of the total production expected for the 2020-21 campaign. According to Mohammed Sahabi, the state chairman of the rice farmers association of Nigeria, the state of Kebbi would now deliver about 500,000 tons of rice, making only 20% of what was expected (2.5 million tons).

“Although we heard the forecast of flooding this year, we didn’t expect that the damage will be of this magnitude,” he said. The unfavorable weather also affected the state of Kano, Enugu, Jigawa, and Nasarawa. Other crops such as sorghum, millet, and corn were also affected.

Rice importations in Nigeria are forecasted to drop to 1.9 million in 2020-21 against 2.3 million the previous year, according to the Observatory of International Rice Statistics (Osiriz).

Espoir Olodo