West Africa floods destroy crops, worsening hunger fears
West and Central African countries are battling deadly floods that have upended lives and livelihoods, raising fears of further disruption of food supplies in many areas battling armed conflict
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Ocheiga Enoch isn't expecting much of a rice harvest from north-central Nigeria after floodwaters submerged his fields and those of so many other farmers this season.
Many in Benue state — known as the country's “food basket” — now find themselves in the unusual position of looking for seedlings in preparation for next year's farming season at a time when they should be harvesting the current crop.
“The kind of suffering we are passing through now is terrible,” Enoch said of the floods, now Nigeria's worst in more than a decade after killing more than 600 people and forcing 1.3 million to flee their homes.
Above-average rainfall and devastating flooding have affected 5 million people this year in 19 countries across West and Central Africa, according to a new U.N. World Food Program situation report.
