Mr. Eric Tetteh, Yilo Krobo Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), has announced that three major roads connecting over five farming communities to the Nkurakan Market in the municipality will be constructed this year, providing market linkages for farmers.
The farming communities are the Akpo-Akpamu, Huhunya to Samlesi, and Sikaben to Ahenkwa Roads, and these have been presented to the Eastern Regional Feeder Roads Department, said the MCE.
Road infrastructure is the backbone of many rural and urban transport systems. Rural transport assures the supply of agricultural inputs and facilitates the delivery of the farm outputs to the markets.
Mr. Tetteh made this known at a public hearing and interface meeting on district development plans and budgets organized by the Hunger Project Ghana at Akpo in the Yilo Krobo Municipality. The public hearing is part of a project by the Hunger Project to strengthen sub-district institutions for community-led public services in Ghana, funded by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The MCE observed that a downpour destroyed the already deplorable Akorwu- Bana Road and prevented residents from conveying their farm produce to the Nkurakan market, a significant market near Koforidua.
Poor road infrastructure affect production and distribution of food
According to the World Bank, 80 percent of the world’s poor who live in rural areas depend on farming as a source of livelihood. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in a different report, revealed that 80 percent of the world’s food is produced on family farms, which smallholders in rural communities predominately own. Many of these farmers are, nevertheless, poor and food insecure. Among the reasons identified for their poverty and nutrition insecurity is poor infrastructure, including roads and storage facilities, which restrict the farmers’ access to markets.
A good road network is a critical factor in providing market linkages for rural farmers. Poor road infrastructure in rural communities does not only affect the production and distribution of food; It also negatively impacts the development of rural areas.
For instance, the poor road conditions in rural communities make it difficult for farmers in those communities to have access to interventions and amenities such as financial assistance, training, and education, clean and affordable drinking water, health services, electricity, schools, economic and other forms of support for the rural dwellers. As a result, rural farmers are further impoverished.
Many agri-stakeholders have opined that for Ghana and other countries across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to produce and process more food for our continuously growing population, it must prioritize road and transportation infrastructure in rural and underserved communities.
“The potential role of agriculture as the engine of growth in the sub-continent cannot be disputed,” said an agri-stakeholder, adding that there is the need to prioritize agricultural roads.
The Hunger Project is a global, non-profit, strategic organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger. It aims to end hunger and poverty by pioneering sustainable, grassroots, women-centered strategies and advocating for widespread adoption in countries worldwide.
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