Prices of farm produce have skyrocketed. This is caused by inflation occasioned by fuel subsidy removal. From grains to peppers to onions to crops, it has been a tale of scarcity and the high cost of essential food items.
Garri, a staple food mostly consumed by the poor and middle class, was also badly hit. The geometrical increase in the price of a Kongo of Garri from N300 to N1200 retail price, a Kongo of Rice from N1300 to N2800 retail price, and a Kongo of White Beans from N1100 to N3000 retail price is quite disturbing.
Some experts have arguably posited that the kind of inflation Nigeria has witnessed in the last 12 months has no place in economics. Others jokingly posited that Nigeria is experiencing super-hyperinflation.
This report not only shows how fuel subsidy removal caused inflation, but it also shows how bad roads, pest attacks, and lack of fertilizer frustrate Nigerian farmers, worsening food insecurity.
WITHIN NIGERIA journalist SODIQ LAWAL CHOCOMILO visited Bolorunduro, Oni-Oke, a village under Ipetu-Ijesa in Oriade Local Government, Osun State, where he interacted with some farmers.
In the report, these farmers narrated their sad experiences and how bad roads and pest attacks frustrate farm operations.
On a Tuesday morning, I traveled from Ilesa to Ipetu-Ijesa, a town under Oriade Local Government, Osun State. This journey, if there were no potholes from Ilesa to Iwaraja and some spots inside Erin-Ijesa, should not have taken more than 20 minutes. The road leading to the palace of Ajalaye inininin Ipetu-Ijesa is an eyesore. This road is characterized by potholes, tearing, and collapsed drainage, among others.
I had reached out to my contact person on Monday, and we both agreed that we should meet at the palace. I waited for one hour before my contact person arrived at the palace. Before he arrived, I had circumnavigated some areas in the town.
Ipetu-Ijesa has one of the poorest road networks in Osun State. The bikeman who took me around the town was bitterly complaining about the poor state of roads in the town. We had to park and trek some distances in areas where there’s no way bikes or vehicles could pass. I really doubt if there’s a one-kilometer road without potholes in this town, the bikeman decried.
I was planning to take the coordinates of areas with terrible potholes when a call from my contact person came in. I had to postpone it and focus on the primary purpose of my visit to Ipetu-Ijesa. I had negotiated with my bikeman that he would take me and Sunday, my contact person to Bolorunduro, Oni-Oke, because he told me that if I drove to the area, I would end up at a mechanical workshop the following day as a result of the terrible state of the road.
When I got to the palace, I discharged my bikeman because my contact person came to Ipetu-Ijesa with a Haojue Suzuki motorcycle. We left the palace around 10 a.m. The journey to Bolorunduro Oni-Oke was a stressful one. It was also difficult to sojourn because my contact person and I had to use our legs to hold the ground several times to avoid falling off the motorcycle.
When we got to Orita Eti-Oni, we were stopped by two police officers who insisted that we give them the sum of N100 before they would allow us to continue with our journey. Sunday told me that a criminal with the sum of N100 can pass through the police checkpoint with any illegal substance. He told me that Orita Eti-Oni is also known as a stopover between Ipetu-Ijesa and Bolorunduro Oni-Oke. Stop-over? I asked. Don’t you watch American movies? He replied. When you are traveling to another country and you have to wait in a country before you continue your journey, it is called a stop-over, Sunday explained.
It took us 32 minutes before we got to our destination. Bolorunduro Oni-Oke is no doubt a village. It is a scattered settlement with nearly fifty houses and a population of over 100 people, mostly women and children. It has more than 5,000 hectares of farmland. In this village, there are annual, biennial, and perennial crops.
Sunday told this reporter that the village has the capacity to feed the entire Osun state because it has very rich soil. When I moved around farmlands in the village, I saw agricultural produce such as cocoa, kolanut, palm oil trees, palm nuts, bananas, bitter kola, cassava, African walnuts (awusa), maize and cocoyam among others. I met a couple of young farmers on these farms and I interacted with them.
Pest attacks, bad roads, and lack of fertilizers are our greatest problems
Rashidi, a 40-year-old farmer, told WITHIN NIGERIA that he inherited his farm from his father, who was a cocoa farmer.
According to Rashidi, he bought three acres of land to cultivate maize, cassava,cassava, and cocoyam from the proceeds he saved from the cocoa farm he inherited from his father.
Rashidi, who disclosed that he has two houses inside Ipetu-Ijesa, stated that farming is a lucrative business but it requires hard work and strong determination.
“Pest attacks, bad roads and lack of fertilizers are our greatest problems here. Prices of pesticides and fertilizers have skyrocketed. Only rich farmers can afford them. Struggling farmers would only buy fertilizers that wouldn’t be sufficient for use. Pest attacks reduce the quantity of produce to be harvested, Rashidi further stated.
Another farmer identified as Basiru told WITHIN NIGERIA that the government needs to help farmers boost food productivity in the state and country at large.
The 26-year-old farmer decried that government interventions at all levels do not reach the hands of true farmers but are always in the custody of politicians and their friends, who either hoard or resell them to the people.
According to Basiru, the cost of transporting farm produce has increased due to an increase in petrol prices, which was caused by the removal of fuel subsidies.
“We rely on drivers to transport our farm produce to towns. They charge us heavily. We allow the cost of farm produce to reflect transport charges for us to be able to see gain, Basiru added.
For Muri, the poor road network connecting the village of Bolorunduro Oni-Oke to Ipetu-Ijesa is his major concern.
According to Muri, it is very difficult, especially during the rainy season, to transport farm produce from rural settlements to urban settlements.
“These roads are not motorable at all. You cannot drive from Bolorunduro Oni-Oke to Ipetu-Ijesa without fixing your vehicle because of bad roads. We have appealed to the state and local governments to assist us in repairing the road, but they ignored us,” Muri lamented.
Muri, who disclosed that the road was repaired during the Aregbesola administration, revealed that every effort to appeal to or beg successive governments to assist in fixing the road was futile.
According to Muri, public officials ply these roads during campaigns, but they do not remember us after they have been elected into office.
“They come here every four years to make promises about fixing our road. We keep losing money because the roads are not motorable. Please help us beg the government to help us fix these roads, a rather angry Muri added.
Pest attacks and diseases nearly forced me out of farming
Another farmer identified as Aliyu told WITHIN NIGERIA that more than three young farmers have relocated from the village to Ipetu-Ijesa because they could not cope with the situation in the village.
The 32-year-old farmer, while narrating how a truck taking his farm produce to the urban settlement broke down on the road and was looted, disclosed that farming is now a business of the stronghearted, and only those who are resilient can survive the challenges that come with it.
He further revealed that in 2022, he experienced a huge loss following pest attacks and diseases on his farm, which consumed nearly 75% of his entire farm.
I was rigid and resilient. I almost lost the strength and will to continue, but the dream of becoming a big farmer who would be in charge of providing food for the people kept me going, he added.
This reporter moved around Bolorunduro, Oni-Oke. I also trekked down to Orisunbare, another rural settlement where farming is the major occupation of young and old. I sighted a large expanse of land that has not been cultivated, despite the encouraging number of young people partaking in farming business.
As I covered some distances with my legs, I kept wondering if truly the entire Osun State could be fed from Bolorunduro Oni-Oke farm produce as claimed by Sunday. However, there’s a possibility that Osun State can become the food basket of the nation if roads leading to rural settlements are fixed and genuine support is given to farmers to enhance their productivity. These thoughts occupied my mind as I journeyed back to Ipetu-Ijesa soaked inside rainfall.
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