When women converged for organised vegetable farming

Nigeria is blessed with vast arable land suitable for agricultural activities.  At the pre crude oil era, the sector was a major source of both national and international revenue for the federal government.The sector was then very organised and well-coordinated and commodities such as cocoa, groundnut became export products from the country.Today, poverty and unemployment […]

Nigeria is blessed with vast arable land suitable for agricultural activities.  At the pre crude oil era, the sector was a major source of both national and international revenue for the federal government.
The sector was then very organised and well-coordinated and commodities such as cocoa, groundnut became export products from the country.
Today, poverty and unemployment are at alarming rate and this is why experts have continued to call on the government to improve funding of the agricultural sector as a strategic industry that can pull Nigeria out of the current economic doldrums.
As lack of jobs deepen in the country, men who are supposed to be bread winners of families find themselves within poverty line with non-availability of salaries based engagement.
This situation in the country has underscored the need for women to also take part in families’ economic activities so as to ensure that at least members of the family are able to feed.
Because of the economic realities in Nigeria, women no longer restrict themselves to any form of work which is growing the saying that ‘whatever a man can do, a woman can do better’.
Nigerian women are now found practising in all of the sectors that were hitherto dominated by men. In the olden days, women were known to be part of agricultural value chain by only assisting their husbands in farming activities, perhaps clearing of farmlands or weeding and majorly ensuring dispatch and sales of farm produce.
However, in today’s world, they have become farmers by playing active role in the small farms holding featuring in all segments of the agricultural sector.
Daily Trust’s visit to one of the farms dominated by women revealed that women farmers’ activities, just like their male counterparts, can actually rescue Nigeria from the crude oil bondage, which made the country to neglect other sectors such as agriculture that could have helped it in improving its foreign exchange earnings.
The farms visited are located within the premises of Radio Nigeria at Oshodi expressway, Shogunle in Lagos with over 40 women vegetable farmers.
A 50-year-old farmer, Alice Okereke, said she started farming from the village at the age of 20 with her mother.
She said: “I didn’t do farming when I later came to Lagos but because I had a background in vegetables planting, when things became tough for me after my husband ran away, I had to find something to take care of my children. So, the farming I am doing now is out of necessity.”
According to her, farming is a lovely activity she does anytime she has a financial target or to meet up some of her needs.
She said: “I started farming in Lagos  last year and I planted Ugwu vegetable because it’s very easy to sell. Market women come to the farm to buy it and I don’t have to stress myself after planting, but the market is not that encouraging because there are many people planting vegetables here and at NAHCO inside the Lagos airport.”
She explained that it takes about four months for Ugwu to grow in the dry season.
Okereke said it is difficult to apply fertiliser in hot weather condition but Ugwu grows within two to three months during the raining season.
On the market situation and how lucrative vegetable farming is, she said: “As the market is now, if I can cut like 200 to 300 pieces to sell, I think it is okay because buyers are not coming much to patronise us. Also, it is difficult to plant vegetables in the dry season especially Ugwu because of the harsh weather.”
Another woman farmer, Mrs. Bridget Eric, said they need assistance from government on fertiliser to grow their vegetables. She explained that before 2014, it had been long they received fertiliser or any form of aid from government.
Mrs. Eric said: “Sometimes government gives us fertilizer. For instance, in 2014 they gave me two bags which was not enough at all.
“They should assist us and anything the government knows that is good for women farmers they should do it for us especially for the old ones among us.”
She noted that it was the 60 bags of fertiliser given to them by
British American Tobacco (BAT) in 2014 that really helped them in growing their Ugwu.