An Examination of the Impact of Floods on Food Production and Socioeconomic Development of Benue and Kogi States
Abstract
As a paradox of sorts, while the adequacy of water supply is a remedy for bumper harvest; the overflow of water has always left communities with devastating effects, especially the destruction and shortage of supply of food which has invoked further review or studies. Of the various approaches that exist to the study of flooding, this study focuses not only on the cause-effect, but the responses thereto. Data for this research was generated from primary and chiefly secondary sources, through surveys based on the administration of questionnaires and oral interviews on stakeholders. A cross-section of actors from the National Emergency Agency (NEMA), Kogi State Emergency Management Agency (KOSEMA), The sampled 300 participants used for collection of data on flood incidences, response and effects included direct victims, community leaders, Civil Society Organisations and staff of the stated agencies. What could not be measured easily due to the scarcity of the actual data was the impact of response regimes on the level of destruction. Data was analysed using the SPSS to determine the correlation between efforts put in and the impact on flooding. Findings indicate that flooding is caused by natural and human factors; and it was also realized that the overflow which was infrequent, is now becoming a recurring decimal. Whether it can be minimized, controlled or averted remains a concern on which this research cannot exhaustively discuss, beyond recommending establishment of more dams for irrigation.
Keywords
FloodsFood ProductionSocioeconomic DevelopmentRural livelihoodsFlood Vulnerability
References
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