Rainfall destroys fish farm in Abuja, Nigeria

Fish farmers in Dutsen Alhaji, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT), last week, suffered losses as heavy rainfall, which
lasted from Wednesday till Thursday morning, flooded many farms and
swept away thousands of fishes.
The heavy and prolonged rain caught the farmers unprepared as it has
been irregular this season.
Recounting his ordeal, one of the farmers, Mallam Bala, said, "I went to
the farm after the heavy rain that lasted throughout the night, only to
discover that some ponds were seriously affected, especially those
located along the bank of waterways.
Another farmer, Alhaji B.S. Abubakar, who already negotiated with a
buyer, said he woke up to discover that his 1, 000 fishes were reduced
to just 80 kilograms.
"I had already negotiated with a buyer who even went to the farm to
assess the fishes a day before the disaster happened, only for me to
wake up in the morning with the sad news of what happened the
previous night," he lamented.
Another farmer in the area, who lost over 5,000 fishes due for harvest,
was forced to harvest the remaining ponds due to the fear of what
might happen again.
When Daily Trust visited the area, some farmers were seen taking
preventive measures to protect their farms from being washed away by
flood.
"I have widened the water-releasing channel in my ponds so that water
can easily flow out," Mr. Bitrus Yusuf, one of them said.