THOUGHTS ON DISASTER RELIEF FUND

In the aftermath of the 2012 flooding that was blamed on heavy rains and discharge of water from the Lagdo lake in neighbouring Republic of Cameroon, the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan initiated a Flood Recovery Food Production Programme (FRFPP).

The flooding caused the deaths of hundreds of Nigerians, destroyed crops in over 300,000 hectares of farms and killed more than one million  livestock; displaced some 1.3 million families from at least 500,000 destroyed homes. The flooding caused losses estimated by government at more than two  trillion Naira.

As a staff  in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, I saw how the Minister Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Minister of State, Bukar Tijani and the Permanent Secretary led the implementation of multiple measures which alleviated the pains and destructive effects of the floods.

The flooding affected 34 states and threatened our national food output and security. But it did not  overwhelm the Ministry.  Its management calmly thought out solutions for the disastrous effects of the incident.  

The federal government released more than N9.7 billion to implement the Flood Recovery Food Production Programme and rehabilitate its victims.  The  Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development implemented the programme in conjunction with a few appropriate sister agencies.

An element of the FRFPP was immediate delivery of foodstuff to those who lost their crops and homes along with  building materials to enable them rebuild or renovate their houses. More than 7,000,000 people were affected  by the flood nationwide.

Communities most severely affected along the courses of Rivers Niger and Benue were advised to relocate to higher grounds.  Medical care was provided by the Federal Ministry of Health in coordination with its counterparts in the states.

The Ministry of Agriculture educated residents of the banks of  streams. rivers and dams that most of the debris deposited by the flood contained vital micronutrients for healthy plant growth.  The farmers used that knowledge and planted crops in such areas.

Part of the money was used in supplying high-yielding, early-maturing certified maize and rice seeds for sowing, improved cassava seedlings, fingerlings and fish food  to farmers who lost their crops and fish ponds respectively. The farmers also benefitted from extension service.

These efforts gingered the resilience of affected farming households who went back to land vigorously, leading to massive food production in the communities that were harmed by the flooding. This translated into availability of relatively cheap food within four months after the flooding.

The Department of Rural Development in the Ministry of Agriculture rehabilitated many feeder roads damaged by the flood to facilitate the movements of inputs to farmers and harvested food to markets. Many of those roads were constructed by the IBB-era Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFFRI) more than a decade earlier.

The FRFPP, one of the ways for mitigating disasters, was implemented successfully. This makes it a model for the extant authorities.

The Disaster Relief Fund which the extant authorities are considering is probably akin to the one initiated  by the General Gowon administration after the 1972/73 drought. President Jonathan also established a Flood Relief Fund co-chaired by Aliko Dangote in 2012.  

Will the proposed Disaster Relief Fund fly high given the current economic situation and donour fatique? Possible large contributors to the Fund, like Alhaji Aiko Dangote, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata and Alhaji AbdulSamad Isiyaku Rabiu have already donated billions of Naira to Borno State.

In pursuit of its constitutional responsibility, the federal government may initiate its own version of Flood Recovery Food Production Programme and finance it fully from its resources.

The EFCC which reportedly released N50 billion  to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) should contribute to the proposed Disaster Relief Fund or the more practical Flood Recovery Food Production Programme.

Salisu Na’inna Dambatta, former

 Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture