Left to waste: How Ogun farmers suffer economic loss over bad road

Six agrarian communities in Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun state are suffering heavy losses due to the deplorable roads linking them to major markets where their products are needed. In this report, Seun Akioye and Olugbenga Toki, writes about the situation.

For most of his life, Baba Jacob has been a farmer, actively engaged in the farming and production of cassava flour in his Emulu village in Odeda local government area of Ogun state. And for most part of his life, he has been at the losing end of the bargain. The last few years, Baba Jacob said, have been the worst.

“The roads to our farms are not motorable,” he said as he moved around the cassava processing factory where the flakes would be fried into garri, a staple food in Nigeria.

“Because of this road, we have to carry the basket of cassava from our various farms to the village which do take many trips before we get the harvested cassavas to the processing site,” he said. 

Emulu village, where Jacob resides is about five miles to Odeda market which is the next big town.

However, because of the deplorable road network, it is hard to find a transporter willing to risk the five mile journey. “We use motorcycles to carry our goods to the market,” Baba Jacob said.

There is however another way, sell to middle-men. This is not a pleasant option for the farmers in Emulu as the middle-men usually called ‘Alajapa’ prey on the misery of the farmers to buy goods below the production cost, while they make the huge profits off the backs of the poor farmers.

“They are the one's raking in larger percentage of our profit,” Baba Jacob said.

 A Recurring Decimal

Baba Jacob would not be passing down the farming profession to his children just as his own parents have done. One of his sons, Sanjo already made plans to leave the village for the city soon, bidding farewell to his home and farming.

“If I farm again, it will be on a small scale to feed my family, not in the large scale like my father is doing,” Sanjo said.

Another farmer whose farm is located at Aderupoko village identified as David Olugbenga shared his experience about the deplorable road condition in his village: “We go through a lot before we can get our products to the nearest market due to the fact that commercial vehicles hardly comes to this village. 

"We always ask motorcycle riders to help us transport our farm produce to the markets on market days of which what they can carry is limited compared to using a vehicle.

"I had to stop planting tomatoes in this village because the money I spent on buying fuel and fixing my vehicle at the end of each planting season is not commensurate to the stress that I go through in cultivating the farm. 

“The amount we farmers in this axis spend on transportation when coming to the farm or transporting our goods is not a child’s play and the deplorable condition of this road is not only affecting us the farmers, it cuts across everybody using the route including teachers, health workers, rural dwellers and missionaries, Olugbenga said.

Farmers in Edila village who are mostly cassava, vegetables and pepper planters are also suffering especially during the raining season when the roads become impassable as mud prevents the movement of vehicles.

The case is almost similar in Itoko Oloroode village, the farmers here decried how the deplorable road condition has made them to spend heavily on transporting their products to the nearest market to the village which is Osiele market.

A farmer residing in the village who identified himself as Mr. Gabriel shared how they will trek many kilometres daily before getting to their respective farmlands and during harvest, they will have to carry their harvested farm produce on their heads to the road before reaching out to those with motorcycles around to help carry the produce home or the nearest market..

“We pay between N1,000 and N1,500 to motorcycle riders per bag of processed cassava (Garri) from our village here (Itoko Olorode) to Osiele market which also affect our profit margin,” Gabriel said.

A pepper farmer in Toba village, Seun Ogunbo, said if the road linking the village with major market is fixed it will help in reducing the travel time spent on the roads and will help in bringing down the cost of transportation since the drivers always complain about bad roads as the reason for charging exorbitant rate.

Lemomu village under Osiele ward in Odeda Local government is also groaning under the yoke of bad road as farmers spend nearly all their profits on transportation.  

“We pay the motorcycle riders between N700 and N1,200 per bag of processed cassava (Garri) from our village to Osiele market which happens to be closest market to us,” a farmer lamented.

It’s 100-year old problem- Ogun Government

The Ogun state government has continued to promise to rehabilitate more rural roads across the state to ease the burden of farmers and lessen food shortages. Special Adviser to the governor on Public Works, Babatunde Adeshina said the government is ready to embark on  the rehabilitation of 100 roads in the state.

“100-year problems cannot be solved in one day, I appeal for your patience; the roads are many and we have to start somewhere.

“Once we’ve started and continued at this pace, in the next few years, we will have covered a lot of grounds,” Adeshina said.

 In the end, redemption may not reach the farmers when they need it, they will continue to cultivate at loss, while prices of food will continue to skyrocket.

“The road linking this village to Obafemi Owode local government was last graded in 2011, we just need a little help from government, just a little help,” says Ogunbo.