The Cross River State Government has intensified efforts to protect food security in flood-prone communities, warning that recurring flooding continues to threaten agriculture, nutrition and rural livelihoods across the state.
Through the Ministry of Environment, the government has conducted a one-day flood prevention and management sensitisation exercise in Okurike community, Biase Local Government Area, highlighting the growing link between environmental degradation, flooding and food insecurity.
Speaking at the palace of the Clan Head of Okurike, the Head of Department, Food and Nutrition, Mrs Eme Ante, stated that flooding has continued to undermine food systems by destroying farmlands, depleting soil nutrients and disrupting livelihoods.
She explained that, beyond natural causes, human activities such as deforestation, indiscriminate waste disposal and blocked drainage channels have worsened flood incidents in rural communities.
According to her, flooding poses a direct threat to nutrition sustainability, as it affects food production, storage and access, particularly among vulnerable households.
She urged residents in flood-prone areas to adopt mitigation practices that reduce environmental damage and protect food systems.
Mrs Ante noted that the Okurike community has been identified as highly vulnerable to flooding, making sustained sensitisation and awareness campaigns essential.
She described food as central to human survival and stressed that protecting the environment is critical to sustaining agricultural productivity.
Responding, the Clan Head of Okurike, His Royal Highness Onun Emmanuel Nkanu Ogbor, commended the state government for its intervention, noting that the community has suffered repeated flood disasters over the years.
He called for year-round dredging of the river as a long-term solution, explaining that residents rely on both upland and riverbank farming which is closely tied to river flow patterns.
The Vice Chairman of Biase Local Government Council and Head of the Food and Nutrition Committee, Hon Ekuma Ngwu JP, also pledged the council’s support towards flood mitigation efforts, describing the sensitisation exercise as timely and necessary.
Community members, in separate interviews, welcomed the initiative, recounting losses of homes, farmlands and livelihoods caused by flooding.
The sensitisation team later carried out a community-wide outreach, distributing flyers and engaging residents on environmental sanitation, food safety, proper waste disposal, food storage and safer farming practices.
The exercise brought together local government officials, representatives of the State Emergency Management Agency, climate change experts, WASH officers, traditional rulers, youths, women and children, reinforcing a collective approach to safeguarding agriculture, nutrition and livelihoods in flood-affected communities.
Source: Cross River Govt
