The Nigeria Association of Hydrological Sciences (NAHS) has sought for more collaboration with the Federal Government in tackling flood and drought in order to boost food production in the country.
Prof. Philip Oguntade, a guest speaker, made this appeal at the 14th Annual Conference and Annual General Meeting of NAHS held on Thursday, November 7, 2024, at the Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH), Okitipupa, Ondo State.
Theme of the conference is: “Managing Floods and Droughts for Food Security.”
Oguntade, a professor of Environmental Hydrology and Water Engineering, said that the disaster caused by floods and droughts to agriculture and food production was enormous with it’s harrowing effect of food shortages.
Oguntade, a former Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), said that NAHS has experts from diverse fields who are capable to give technical solution to flooding and droughts, saying the association only needed robust partnership with government to foster.
According to the don, globally, foods hazards have led to crop damages and loss of livestock especially in the low-income countries with about 63 percent of damages and loses between 2008 and 2018.
“In Nigeria, flood is fast becoming a yearly event and despite all historical negative impacts on agricultural production and potential future increases, there seems to be a wide gap in understanding of the potential impacts of extreme floods events on agriculture, lands and crops.
“Most of the time, we only react to the situation when incident and damages occur, we should be more proactive, let there be a ‘think tank’ of experts that will predict the future and know what to do to arrest the situation before damages occur.
“NAHS is a Non Government Organisation (NGO) who can do less, but government are suited to collaborate and harness experts from this association, who will give scientific and technical advice to tackle flooding and droughts in the country,” Oguntade said.
Similarly, David Jimoh, a professor of Water Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Minna, said that flood and droughts are two climate extremes affecting availability and accessibility of foods as well as utilisation and stability.
Jimoh, the National President of NAHS, added that Nigeria was experiencing the extremes with negative impacts on the welfare of millions of people, adding that in 2023 alone, devastating floods affected 159,157 individuals, caused lost of 25 lives and displaced 48,168 with economic damage of about $9 billion.
According to him, unfortunately, research in Africa, and Nigeria inclusive, is relatively low, less than one percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is committed to research.
“Government must strive for more funding of research and engage more experts in order to forestall the great damages and effects of flooding and droughts on agriculture and food production.
“NAHS have lots of experts from different fields of Agric Engineering, Water Engineering, Biology, Geology, Geography, Applied Sciences among others who can offer their expertise to government agencies to give scientific and technical advise to forestall future floods and droughts damages,” Jimoh added
Earlier, Prof. Temi Ologunorisa, Vice-Chancellor, OAUSTECH, while welcoming the experts to the annual conference, described it as a good development for the institution, state and country at large.
Ologunorisa, who was represented by Prof. David Aworinde, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, OAUSTECH, also added that the coming together of the revered experts would bring about possible solutions for major floods and droughts challenges bedevilling the country.
The conference was attended by experts, scholars, educationists and others from different walks of life.
By Aderemi Bamgbose
