Floods Destroy Crops in Burdhubo town

After weeks of flood fears in regions along River Jubba and River Shabelle, River Jubba bursted its banks, flooded to several villages and destroyed crops, with farmers increasingly concerned about the possibility of more floods because the new rain that raised the river’s water levels.

The Floods sweeping across Burdhubo town have destroyed thousands of hectares of crops, elders said, warning that hundreds of farmers in the town could face a severe food shortage in the coming months.

The flooding has mainly affected cereals, notably corn as well as grains, raising concerns about the next harvest.

Burdhubo is a major producer of cereals and grains, which are consumed.

“All crops in low lying areas have been submerged,” said one of the farmers in that town. “At the moment, we are doing all we can to help the displaced, but the numbers keep increasing.”

Mumin Abdi’s simsim farm which is about 20 meters from the River Jubba has submerged and he suffered great loss as he has been planting his farm for last two months and was about to harvest.

According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization some 20 million people in eastern and central Africa are facing acute food insecurity this year, up from the 15.3 million last year, with most of them being at emergency levels. While conflicts in countries such as South Sudan, Central African Republic, Congo and Somalia continue to hamper farming and harvests.