By Our Reporter
Men and women farmers including tesidents of Okoro-Utip, an agrarian community in Akwa Ibom State are by now agonizing over the endless devastating effect of oil exploration in the area which causes poor farm yield and erosions NatureNews can report.
The people have over the years lamented the negative impact of oil exploration and spills due to the activities of the multinational oil company, Exxon Mobil, in their lbeno local government area of the state.
The incessant oil spills and gas flares had no doubt affected their terrestrial and aquatic agriculture, as well as their environment, as no meaningful yield is witnessed at every harvest season.
Pastor AbasiUbong John, a resident of Okoro-Utip, Pastor Abasi in his reaction to the effect of oil exploration and gas flaring in the area, complained that cassava stems planted over one year ago, were yet to bear tubers.
A woman farmer and women leader in Upenekang community, Rhoda Peters, on her part said despite applying fertilisers to her crops, the yields were always heartbreaking “due to the texture of the soil which has been impacted by oil spills”.
She added that such had caused food scarcity and hunger in the community which made the prices of few available food stuffs to be jerked up.
Expressing her worries, she said: “Things are so difficult in our area. Imagine a cup of garri is sold at N300 and a bag of sachet water N500. We have no choice but to go back to our farms. I have five girls in my house and how much garri can I buy to feed them? The challenge is that despite the fact that I apply chemical fertiliser, the harvest is nothing to write home about. I cry each time I harvest my crops.”
Chief Philip Atanwa, the Chairman, Okoro-Utip village council, corroborated the effects of oil exploration in the area noting poor farm yield and persistent erosion in his community are as a result of the oil companies activities in Ibeno.
The Octogenarian recalled that before the coming of the oil companies, the farm produce and aquatic animals from the community were the cynosure of all eyes due to their natural heritage.
He, however, expressed hope that things would change for better soon following the training our farmers on the communities on Agroecology.
Said the Octogenarian: “We know we’ve been so cheated by the company producing oil in Ibeno.We have lost so much to oil exploration; our environment, our land have been taken away by erosion through the activities of this oil producing company.
“I believe that this is the time for us to start rebuilding our broken and degraded environment by putting what we are taught into practice,” adding that his community would “set aside a large portion of land for this planting season where everyone will apply what they learnt.”