Yar Terhemba, 38, has lived in Mbalom, an agrarian community in Gwer-East Local Government Area of Benue state, all his life. For most of his youth, he cultivated five hectares of land annually, producing soya beans and rice. Depending on the coincidence of market days with his harvest, Terhemba either sells his produce at Igbor market, which is 19 kilometre from his farm, or Ikpayongo market, a 33 kilometre stretch away.
Mr. Yar Terhemba – farmer in Mbalom
For Terhemba, farming comes with a lot of challenges, but the major one is his cost of transportation, especially in the rainy season.
“It costs us N3,000 to transport our farm produce per bag during the rainy season rather than the N1,000 we pay during the dry season,” Terhemba lamented. “However, despite the cost incurred in transport, the market selling price remains unchanged, which affects our profit,” he added.
The reason for this three-fold increase in Terhemba’s transport cost is the state of the Mase-Shanna-Hundu-Paka road linking Mbalom to Aliade in Gwer-East and Naka in Gwer-West.
A section of the road between Shanna and Mbalom
Despite the increase in the cost of transporting their produce, the final selling price usually remains the same. For instance, a bag of soya beans is sold at N30,000, while that of un-milled rice goes for N20,000, regardless of the hardship the farmers face on the road from their farms to the markets.Terhemba says on the average, it cost him (and other farmers in the community) N18,100 to cultivate a bag of soya beans and N11,750 for a bag of rice.
Terhemba says he makes a profit of N10, 900 for selling a bag of soya beans and N7,250 for rice. That’s if they are sold in dry seasons. The profit dropped to N8, 900 and N5,250 respectively in the months of April till October – the rainy season.
Mase-Shanna-Hundu-Paka road is a 25 kilometres stretch that connects nine villages, including Mbalom, in Gwer-East local government.
The road connects Agabee, Tswarikyegh, Shanna, Tse-Nyibiam, Tse-Unombor, Tse-Gbenshi, Hundu, Paka, and Tse-Aku. It provides dwellers with access to markets, health care, worship centers, and other services.
However, the sorry state of the road makes it practically impossible for vehicles to navigate, especially during the rainy season.
The ground surface consists of loamy and clayey soil, making it fertile for crops as well as weeds . In rainy seasons, the road is difficult for vehicles to access. Even pedestrians on such occasions find it challenging to maneuver through to their destination.
Fertility of the land surrounding the road
Same Story in Shanna
The story is the same, and the situation even worse, in Shanna, a village about 6 kilometres from Mbalom. Transporting farm produce here in the rainy season costs five times what would be charged in the dry season.
“It cost us N1,000 to transport our farm produce per bag rather than N200,” said Daniel Ngutswen Awua, a farmer in Shanna. This means a 400% transport hike during the rainy season for farmers.
Ngutswen, a 47-year-old farmer cultivates three to five hectares of farmland annually, where he plants yam, soya beans, and guinea corn. His farm yields about 10 to 12 bags of soya beans and guinea corn, which he sells at the local market.
Section of the road along Mbalom
Farmers in Shanna make better profits on their soya beans than those in Mbalom as they are closer to the markets. Igbor market is 13 kilometres from Shanna, while from Shanna to Ikpayongo market is 27 kilometres. Thus the farmers make an average profit of N11,700, transporting at N200 per bag. The profit, however, drops to N10,900 during the rainy season when transportation increases to N1,000 per bag.
Despite the significant increase in transporting these produce at different seasons, their prices are fixed in the markets. At Igbor market, which is 19 kilometres from Mbalom and 13 kilometres from Shanna, farmers confirmed the fixed nature of the prices of food items.
Section of traders at Igbor market
Ugba Akosu, a farmer who sells at Igbor market, said a bag of un-milled rice is sold between N19,000 and N21,000 depending on the quality of the rice. He however admitted that the cost of milled rice is far more expensive. The price varies depending on the quality which is sold between N34,000 to N36,000.
Aondohemba, a dealer in foodstuff, did not give a reason but affirmed that prices in the market are fixed.
He said, “the prices of the farm produce in this market are fixed, and the farmers are aware of this. So all farmers know that they will have to sell to whoever approaches them at the market agreed price.”
Motorcyclists’ nightmare
A group of motorcyclists comprising Abraham Tamen, Terfa Nyaio, and Gaadi Msughter at Igbor market told Dataphyte the rates they convey food items to the market.
From left to right – Abraham Tamen, Terfa Nyaio & Gaadi Msughter – motorcyclists at Igbor market
Terfa said a bag of groundnut from Mbalom to the market during the rainy season is transported at N1,500, but during the dry season, the fare drops to N1,000. However, the cost of transporting rice and soya beans is more expensive. He says these two farm produce are transported at N3,000 during the rainy season, and the same bag is transported at N1,000 during the dry season.
“Oga follow us come see how rain don spoil our road finish,” retorted Abraham in pidgin when asked about the price variations. “We charge higher prices during rainy than the dry season,” he continues, “because the road is terrible, and it affects our bikes. So we have to consider the cost of bike maintenance, repairs and our income.”
Farm Produce Rotting Away
Mase, Shanna, and surrounding villages are known for various foods and cash crops. The inhabitants of these communities, who are primarily farmers, cultivate rice, soya beans, guinea corn, millet, sesame seed, and various grain crops. There are also some economic trees such as mangoes, oranges, mahogany, and wide varieties of timbers covering large swaths of land.
Oranges that are found mainly in Mbalom are sold at N1,500 per bag. Buyers usually go all the way to the farms to harvest these oranges. However, Terhemba said no vehicle had come to purchase their oranges during this season due to the bad road.
With this striking reality, farmers are compelled to carry just a few they can transport to the roadside to sell to motorists. “The farmers have lost a good portion of their oranges as they watch them rot away,” he regretted.
Economic activities in these communities are practically put on hold during the rainy season due to the slippery state of the road. Then, vehicles that ply the route to farm plantations to harvest oranges in trucks usually have a rethink when they consider the state of the road. Also, the felling of timber is put on hold as vehicles cannot go to the forest to convey the logs to the market.
Ngutswen further noted that the income landowners generate from the sale of their trees for timber is no longer available during this season. This he attributed to the state of the road which prevents vehicles access to convey timbers to the market.
Ngutswen continued by saying the road is even worse at the interjection between Shanna and Mbalom.
Joseph Agba, one of the youth coordinators in Shanna has been involved in local rehabilitation of the road.
“initially, we put logs of wood across with planks laid in them to provide a make-shift bridge.” However, continuous rainfall and sunshine weakened the structure, which affected its durability. This led to the collapse of the structure and the worsening of the road.
Joseph Agba – Youth Coordinator (also a farmer) at Shanna
Joseph told Dataphyte how the youths have made it a point of duty to carry out weekly maintenance on the road. This involves every youth in the area and during this time, they were able to fill up a huge holes in the middle of the road using stones, woods, and grasses.
Terkula Ukoro, a resident in Ikpayongo with relatives residing in Mbalom, complained bitterly about the suffering of his family members there. He said they are just at the mercy of God as in the event of any medical emergency, the people will not be able to access any health facility on time. He said the nearest clinic is at Aliade, 35km away. Thus the state of the road makes it impossible for them to access hospital facilities with ease. The people are left to rely on herbs, of which he recounts the dangers.
Who is Responsible for this Road?
The road Mase-Shanna-Hundu-Paka-Tse Aku was one of the rural roads earmarked by the Benue State Government for construction. With an economic code of 23020114, the road was proposed for construction at an estimated approved sum of N100 million in the 2019 budget. As stated in the budget document, the project was carried over to 2020 after no release of funds for its execution. But the figure was revised to N64 million as approved due to COVID-19 adjustments.
In the 2021 budget, despite the budget document stating no release of funds for its construction, the road was not included in the budget.
Dataphyte’s research has revealed that the current administration under the leadership of Samuel Ortom is said to be providing infrastructures. In a report in 2017, Adzer Abya, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Rural Development, said the government had spent at least N2 billion on rural projects between 2015 and 2017.
In the report, Mase-Shanna-Hundu-Paka -Tse Aku road was identified as one of the projects. With a said beneficiary, Mr. Aniwange Iorhaa, commenting on the government completing the project in the community.
Also, in 2020, the Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Bengba Iortyom, identified projects completed by Samuel Ortom. He said this in response to allegations from the opposition party of Ortom’s government not constructing roads. He went on to identify 101 roads and bridges built so far by the government. Amongst these roads was the Mace-Shanna-Hundu-Paka Aku road.
Dataphyte’s investigation revealed something different as the road is not even under construction nor completed. Ngutswen, however, pointed to the only effort by the government, which was the construction of a bridge in 2020.
The bridge built ny the state government along Shanna-Mbalom surrounded by grasses
The bridge is submerged by grass, and it didn’t connect to any road on either side. Ngustwen further revealed that aside from the bridge, there has been no construction on the road for an extended period.
Dataphyte’s reporter visited the office of the Chairman of Gwer-East, Emmanuel Terwase Ortsega, on two different occasions, but he was not available, nor was his secretary. Also, all efforts to get comment from the state government proved abortive as officials in the Ministry of Rural Development were not available when visited.