Standing in knee-deep floodwater, Viviane Tavershima gazed over her farm in Agada, Benue State. Her farm manager had called, earlier that morning in September 2021, to inform her that the farm was deluged.
She had planted the 12-hectare land with hibiscus, melon, groundnut, rice, maize, soybeans and tubers.
“I didn’t know that place was prone to flooding until the previous year,” she said.
It is not easy wading through a flooded farmland. For Ms Tavershima, it is even more complicated. Due to a spinal condition that affects her mobility, she walks with the aid of crutches and wears specially adapted sandals. In a muddy terrain, movement becomes even more difficult for her.
Ms Tavershima said she begged the villagers to help salvage the crops.
