Environmental and Infrastructural Impacts of the 2024 Flood on the Food Supply Chain in Bauchi State, Nigeria: A Mixed-Methods Assessment

Abstract

Background: Flooding is Nigeria’s most frequent environmental disaster and a recurrent threat to food security in agrarian regions. This study examined how the August 2024 floods disrupted the food supply chain — from farm to market to household plate — across six Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Bauchi State, Nigeria. Methods: An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design combined a structured household survey (n=411) across Katagum, Jama’are, Itas/Gadau, Gamawa, Zaki, and Shira Local Government Areas with a thematic synthesis of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) conducted in flood-affected communities within these LGAs (including Buskuri, Kujuru Madangala, Itas Gadau, Sambo Bakatami, Kafin Romi, Sabon Gari, and Katagum (Zaki)). Quantitative data were analysed descriptively and with chi-square tests of association; qualitative data were analysed thematically. Results: Crop destruction was almost universal (95.9% rated “extremely” destroyed) and 96.4% of respondents reported farm settlements extremely destroyed. Bridge collapse (86.4%) and road erosion (92.5%) were strongly associated with an inability to buy or sell food items (83.9%; χ²=262.9, p<0.001 for bridge collapse vs. market access). Price rises were reported by 94.4% of households, availability of food variety was affected for 96.6%, and 94.2% had substituted nutritious foods for less nutritious but more filling alternatives. Food-security impacts varied significantly by LGA for dietary substitution (χ²=24.0, p<0.001) and reduced agricultural productivity (χ²=20.5, p=0.001). Qualitative findings from the same communities described a cascading failure — from catastrophic crop and granary loss, through bridge- and road-driven market isolation, to household-level dietary retrenchment — compounded by aid perceived as inadequate and unevenly, sometimes politically, distributed. Conclusion: The 2024 flood dismantled the food supply chain in Bauchi State at multiple linked nodes — production, storage, transport, and market access — rather than through crop loss alone. Restoring food security requires repairing the specific infrastructural chokepoints (bridges, roads) that convert localized crop loss into community-wide market failure, alongside transparent, needs-based livelihood support.