ABSTRACT
This study evaluated the effect of flood on farm families in
Delta State. It specifically described the socioeconomic characteristics of
smallholder crop farmers in the study area, identified the causes of floods in
the study area, evaluated the economic effects of flood hazards on smallholder
crop farmers, examined the vulnerability of smallholder crop farmers’ families
to floods in the study area and identified adaptive strategies for mitigating
the negative effects of floods on smallholder farm households. 180 smallholder
famers were randomly drawn from 12 communities that covered six local
government areas including; Oshimili South, Ndokwa East, Ughelli North, Udu,
Isoko North and Patani local government areas. Data were collected from both
primary and secondary sources and analysed through the use of both descriptive
and inferential statistical tools. The result shows that over 51% of the
respondents were females while majority (57,78%) of them were within the age
bracket of 20 to 59 years and 70.56% were married.Over 87% of the respondents
had one form of formal education or the other while themean household size was
8 persons with most of the farmers (76.66%) having farm sizes of 1.0 hectare
and bellow. The identified causes of flooding in the area included long hours
of rainfall, type of land use pattern, dumping of refuse into water channels,
lack of and poor drainage networks, topography, nature of urban land surface
and building types, and stream basin parameters. Lack of drainage network in
the disposal of flood water is believed to be a major factor substantially
worsening flooding in the study area. More than 27% of houses of sampled
respondents collapsed during the 2012 flood in the study area while about (43%)
suffered health problems. The results of the regression analysis of the effects
of socioeconomic variables on vulnerability to flood hazards showed that
savings, membership of ROSCAS, farm output and income had negative and
statistically significant effect on vulnerability while Dependency Ratio is
positively signed and statistically significant at the 5% level. Thus,
vulnerability to flood event is highly reduced as savings, membership of ROSCAS,
farm output and level of income of the smallholder farmers increase while the
opposite is the case when the dependency ratio increases. Measures to reduce
the risks of flooding in their area were identified as river re-channelisation,
raising foundation of houses flood water level the use of sand bags as levees
to keep away flood water. It is recommended that early warning of flooding
based on climatic variability will help people in flood prone areas to prepare
ahead of time. Also construction and improvement of drainage networks to
effectively dispose flood water will go a long way in reducing the risks of
flooding.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Information
Today, global climate change is one of humanity’s greatest
challenges. According to the International Resource Group (2008) global warming
will increase within the next fifty (50) years to the detriment of the world’s
population. Weather extremities such as droughts, floods and cyclones will
occur more frequently and forcefully, causing insecure living conditions, food
shortage and forced migration. The current cycle of rising temperatures is
unique. For the first time, the actions of human beings are responsible for
decisively changing a cycle that is typically a natural phenomenon.
Apart from mitigation, adaption represents the second
insurance strategy to first, protect vulnerable populations already
experiencing adverse effects of climate change and secondly, protect all people
in the future. Therefore, adaptation to existing climate change is essential
for all countries. Political scientists and the policy-making community have
begun to explore potential consequences of climate change, especially for
developing countries, describing it as a stress factor with the potential to
add to existing development, security and health problems (International
Resource Group, 2008).
Inequality in capacity to adapt to climate change is
emerging as a potential force widening disparities in wealth, security and
opportunities for human development. While developed countries with adequate
resources are in the process of adapting to climate change, it is the countries
in the developing world that are facing extreme and more immediate burdens and
adverse impacts of changes in global climate. According to research, developing
countries in tropical and subtropical regions will face some of the strongest
negative consequences of climate change, thus primarily and adversely impacting
the most vulnerable people globally (International Resource Group, 2008).
Flood is unusual accumulation of water. A disaster might be
caused by a natural or man-made phenomenon resulting in a significant physical
damage or destruction, loss of life or drastic change to the environment. It is
a terrible occurrence that is capable of being harmful to life, property,
economic and social welfare of people (Cherdpong and Thiengkamol, 2013). The
coastal plains or flood belt are often more vulnerable to flood disaster in
Delta State. With the advent of climate change phenomenon, the effect of floods
has been devastating in the flood belt of Delta State, Nigeria. The 2012 flood
disaster in some parts of Nigeria, including Delta State is a case worthy of
reference.
The dimensions of the effect of flood can broadly be grouped
into direct and indirect. Social effect of flood may manifest in the forms of
loss of homes, loss of social status, education of children/wards and
psychological trauma of the victims. Other direct effects are loss of farm
income, social infrastructures (schools, markets, roads, and health
facilities), loss of means of livelihood, loss of farm lands and
crops/livestock’s. Indirect effects of flood may reflect in the form of burden
on safe communities in the hinterland and food shortages, increase in prices of
food stuff. Other dimensions of effects of flood disaster include: food
insecurity, poverty, psychological trauma, loss of human capital, political
unrest and a drain on government budget (Cherdpong and Thiengkamol, 2013).
The overall effect of flood disaster is that it retards and
reverses development. It may hinder productive investment. A key issue for
developing countries including Nigeria is the lack of capacity of farming
households to mitigate flood disaster (Abaje and Giwa, 2007).
The smallholder farmers that dominate the population of
Delta State, produce small output, with scanty resources, earn low income and
low purchasing power. About 70% of the
whole population depends on their aggregate output. According to Cruz (2010)
majority (more than 80%) of the small holder farmers in the world depend on
farming as their primary source of livelihoods. Three out of every four poor
people leave in rural areas and depend on agriculture, either directly or
indirectly for their livelihood (World Bank, 2008). Consequently, flood hazards
on farming households will have spillover effect on those that depend on them.
In most parts of the world, and particularly in the
developing countries such as Nigeria, food security and its related issues are
vital welfare issues that occupy central focus in global economic debates.
Attainment of food security is core problem confronting rural farming
households due to low productivity. The changing climate pattern and its effect
on agriculture pose a serious food security and livelihood challenges to the
rural farm families in Delta State, Nigeria. The United Nations estimate has
projected that over the next 20 years the demand for food will increase
astronomically. Ash, et al. (2007) reported that yields from Africa’s rain-fed
farm production may decrease by 50% due to climate change hazards such as
flood, by 2020.
Previous studies demonstrating correlations between flood
hazards and poverty status among vulnerable rural farm families have generated
considerable interest (Meza et al, 2008). The body of literature has
accordingly pursued three main directions with respect to climate hazards and
livelihood status of vulnerable rural farm families:
* close link
between flood and farm output (Meinke and Stone, 2005)
* vulnerability
of rural communities, which lack economic resources and capacity to mitigate
flood hazards, and
* the need
for agronomic
and economic models that can capture relevant variables for
adaptation policies and practices (Maza, et al, 2008).
Agronomic and economic models of flood hazards indicate
that, over time, adaptive use of seasonal climate forecast could provide some
benefits (Ash, et al. 2007), especially with respect to vulnerable farmers (Letson et al, 2005). Hansen et al.
(2009) demonstrated that high value could be attained from accurate
predictability of flood hazards.
The main purpose of estimating flood response model is to
integrate the relevant variables in flood hazards management decision making.
It is important to investigate how vulnerable rural farm families and others in
the flood belt make use of flood hazards forecast information in their
livelihood decision making (Roncoli, 2006).