Farm produce rotting on farms as bad roads cut off farmers from markets at Akusu

Large tracts of harvested farm produce are wasting away in Akusu and Awoso which are farming and fishing communities in the Upper Manya Krobo district in the Eastern Region. This is because bad roads have completely cut off farmers from the market.

The situation is usually worsened by heavy rains as maize and potato farmers, the mainstay of local farmers in these two communities are hit by severe losses from the bad nature of the roads as farmers are deprived of market opportunities.

Their prayer for rain which usually brings great harvests is usually bedevilled by rotting away of the produce on their farms because the roads become unmotorable with the rains.

Akusu, a community of about five thousand inhabitants and Awoso with an estimated population of 2000 people are major maize and potato growing communities in the Upper Manya Krobo district where heavy quantities of maize and potatoes are conveyed daily to various parts of the district and beyond. This number is however reducing.

Tetteh Gideon from Akusu is a maize farmer and supplier to customers in various markets in the Eastern region and other parts of the country. However, he is unable to convey the harvested crops to its destinations because of the bad roads.

Women who also are also unable to send the fish to the Akateng market due to the nature of the road are forced to risk the uncertainties of transportation on the Volta Lake to the market center at Akateng.

The situation, Gideon maintains has resulted in market women from other parts of the district and beyond abandoning the produce from the farms since they find transportation to Akusu, Awoso and surrounding communities unfavourable. “Market women are not coming to buy our produce and so when we farm, we find it difficult to sell our produce,” Gideon averred adding that the market women took advantage of the lack of ready market for the farmers to buy their produce at ‘giveaway’ prices.

“The market women who come here and are aware of our transportation challenges to Asesewa exploit us by buying our produce at ridiculously low prices,” he said.

Assemblymember for the Akusu-Awoso electoral area who disclosed that the roads have been it their respective sorry states ‘for the past thirty years,’ described Akusu as a major farming enclave in Upper Manya.

Mr. Kwame Ebenezer Kenetey corroborated the lamentations of farmers and decried the bad nature of the roads.

The assembly member while decrying the bad shape of other roads linking Akusu and satellite communities said the situation has affected the status of the once vibrant Akusu market as a major market hub in Upper Manya Krobo.

The transportation challenges does not only affect local farmers in the affected communities. Conveying pregnant women in labour as well as other emergency medical cases in the absence of reliable medical facilities and personnel to nearby facilities has always been a difficult adventure.

While the assembly member disclosed that the situation was severally brought to the attention of the district assembly and the office of the Member of Parliament, the situation has remained unchanged in spite of persistent assurances of a speedy resolution of the problem.

Mr. Kenetey said the latest assurance by the District Chief Executive of the area, honourable Felix Odjao that the road has been awarded for contract pending its construction should finally come as some relief for inhabitants of Akusu and Awoso.

He was confident that assurances of the road being fully fixed by the end of 2019 would be fulfilled and save farmers the nightmare of post-harvest losses and low markets.

He chastised politicians who he said ‘deceived’ the electorate into voting for them to address these pertinent challenges only for them to win power and renege on their promises.

Another farm cut off from the community belongs to Tamatey Asare, a young hardworking maize farmer who cultivates acres of the crop.

Despite several bumper harvests ready for transportation to the nearest markets including Asesewa, that is usually not possible.

Gideon has invested substantial amounts of money on the cultivation of his farmland as he targets the supply of the crop to markets in Asesewa and surrounding towns but who is unable to convey the harvested crops to its destinations because of the bad roads.

”we face a lot of challenges in our farming activities due to the deplorable nature of the roads,” he lamented bitterly to Rite news’ correspondent David Ayertey in an interview at Akusu. “Look at the rocky nature of the road which makes transportation of our farm produce very difficult.”

According to Gideon, the situation gets so bad sometimes that passengers are forced to alight and push vehicles that get stuck either in the muddy roads or on rocky roads.

Deep gullies are visible in most of the roads, making it difficult for trucks to ply. Some farmers are forced to fix portions of the road with shovels and rudimentary tools en route to their farms.

They cut down trees, trim them, and then fix them in the places where the flood is ankle to facilitate their movement.

The farmers, after spending huge sums of monies on tilling, harvesting and gathering are challenged by and transportation difficulties.

“We spend a lot to get our produce ready for sale. Unfortunately, the roads are bad. We’ll benefit greatly if government construct our roads for us,” he said.

Currently, a sack of maize is GHS180, however, the current situation if not addressed means, farmers may be forced to sell at a lower price.

Those who are unable to sell will watch their maize rot on their farms.

This trend is evident in many farming communities affected by bad roads.

With the devastation caused by fall armyworms over the last two years, if roads to farming communities are not fixed and prioritized, food security will be threatened.

While the farmers spend huge amounts on land preparation including tilling, harvesting, gathering and transportation, transportation remains a major challenge.