Flood has destroyed 280 hectares of rice farm in Iguoriakhi and Iguomo in Ovia North-East and Ovia South-West local government areas of Edo.
The state Chairman of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Mr Dirisu Abdulsalam, who disclosed this to Ziti News said that farmers close to the riverine areas in the state were worst hit by the flood.
Abdulsalam who appealed to government to assist the farmers who had been devastated following the destruction their rice farmlands noted that the flooding would negatively affect government’s drive at sufficiency in rice production in the country.
He said that the association was evolving modalities to ensure the farmers were ready for dry season farming, to make up for the destruction.
He, also urged the state government to make tractors available to rice farmers, noting that the state had no single tractor yet the State was one of the major rice producing states in the country.
Abdulsalam expressed regrets that the state government was not giving priority to rice farmers in terms of provision of certified seedlings and funding.