1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
The world at large has suffered natural disasters (flood) throughout its long history. They displace and disrupt thousands of families, and having more traumatic effects in the poorest of nations, crippling what are often already woefully inadequate economic development efforts, and destroying the infrastructure (Delaney et al, 2004). Natural disasters are happening more often and having an even more dramatic effect on the world in terms of both their agricultural, human and economic costs. Floods are dangerous to peoples' lives and their aftermath results to death, destruction, misery, and trauma. One of the major repercussions that flood disasters have is on agriculture especially food crops like cassava production.
Unlike other investment activities, cassava is exposed to a large variety of risks and uncertainties from the vagaries of nature such as bad weather conditions, pests, and diseases, flood, erosion and fire outbreaks. According to Jafia (1988) examples of such risks and uncertainties that have occurred in Nigeria include, the Cassava Bacterial Blight (CBB) of 1973)/74 cropping season which caused the loss of about 162.500 tons of cassava tubers in the east, and frequent flooding and drought problems. Also, the serious drought years of 1982-1984 seasons and even the poor rainfall situations in 1987/88 seasons affected agricultural productivity as well. According to Taylor (1977), he identified crop losses in Nigeria as due to pest and diseases Okoye (1987) showed among others a pre-harvest loss of 10% on cassava partly due to pest and diseases.
Also after experiencing a devastating flood that resulted in displacing several hundred of thousands of people in 1998 The Kumadugu Yobe Valley (northern Nigeria) was flooded again in 2001, Madiodio et al. (2004).
A substantial part of the population depends on agriculture for its livelihood. These substantial parts of the population are the rural farmers causing a vicious circle of poverty and adding to the risk, damage, and stress of disasters. These rural farmers are exposed to natural disasters because they tend to live in marginal areas and depend on high-risk, low return livelihood systems such as rain-fed agriculture and face many sources of vulnerability including little physical infrastructure.
Today, Nigeria is suffering from low agricultural output and this could be due to the effect of natural disasters on the rural farmers. The rural farmers have suffered seriously during the occurrence of these disasters in the past and present. Not only do these disasters destroy crops and disrupt food supplies, they also affect land quality and production potentials (Stephenson 1994). Farmlands and houses have been washed off by erosion in the northern and southern parts of the country and these rural farmers have more or less been rendered jobless too because of the effects of these natural disasters causing rural-urban migration (Nyong, 2005). Pest and diseases migrate in response to climatic variation and will potentially pose a threat to livestock when they move to areas where there is flood to areas of drier regions. It can also lead to aberration in the animal mating habits.
The purpose of this study is to identify the effect of the 2012 flood disaster on the socio-economic characteristics of cassava farmers in Etsako East Local Government area of Edo State. According to Saldana-Zorrilla (2003) economic vulnerability makes presence through decrease in the income of rural farmers. The study will analyse the level of change of the rural farmers income caused by the flood and how this will affect the rural farmers and cassava production.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Natural disasters, such as the occurrence of flood, cause much misery, especially in developing countries where low-income earners undergo great stress. Losses due to floods reduce the asset base of households, communities and societies through the destruction of standing crops, dwellings, infrastructure, machinery and buildings in addition to tragic loss of life.
Occurrence of flood have led to crop failure, famine, loss of property, mass migration and negative economic growth and this in turn affects the household income of the rural farmers that depend on agriculture as their means of livelihood (Adedipe et al, 1997). The occurrence of flood disasters are becoming destructive to the rural farmers as they drive these rural farmers out of business and possibly increase the migration from rural areas (Chukuezi 2008). Because of this, the need for re-orienting resulting in agricultural decision making and insulation of the rural farmers from adverse impacts of flood disasters has become more pressing.
Thus the catastrophic result of the extreme global flood has greatly deteriorated the lands and production of cassava. This has therefore resulted to low productivity and high cost of purchasing the produce and it calls for a careful study for the rescue of cassava production. All these may not be ruled out in the areas affected by the 2012 flood disasters, especially in Etsako Local Government Area.
The questions, therefore, are as follows:
- What are the levels of effects of these natural disasters on the income of the rural farmers in Etsako East?
- To what extent does the flood affect the farmers?
- What is the present state of the farmers?
- What are the implications of the flood on the farmers?
Objectives of the Study
The broad objective is to study the effect of flood disaster on socio-economic characteristics of cassava farmers in Etsako East Local Government area of Edo State.
Specific objectives:
- To determine the socio-economic characteristics of cassava farmers
- To determine the effect of flood on their income generation
- To determine the effect of flood on their environment.
1.4 Hypothesis of the Study
The following null hypothesis were tested.
- The income of the farmers is not significantly influenced by the flood.
1.5 The Need for the Study
The purpose of this study is to examine how the 2012 flood affected the agricultural livelihood and the implications of the flood upon the rural farmers in cassava production. Being that the flood occurred recently not much has been done to examine its effects especially on cassava farmers in the study area.
The results from this study will assist the government in policy-making especially in the agricultural sector which will help increase farmers' productivity. This has been found to be critically linked to long-term economic growth, food security and environmental renewal. Similarly, it will make a case for cassava production and development relief, which can serve to meet the immediate relief needs of the affected community. It also shows how new agricultural and environmental technologies will play a key role in the promotion of long-term development strategies that continue to reduce the vulnerability of poor, rural populations and marginalized groups to the menace of natural disasters.
