Women farmers seek involvement in Agric budgeting

The Federal Government has been urged to directly involve farmers, especially women smallholder framers who produced over 70 percent of the food consumed in Nigeria, in agriculture budgeting processes and implementation. This is contained in a communiqué of a two-day Annual National Forum of women farmers, organised by the Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in […]

The Federal Government has been urged to directly involve farmers, especially women smallholder framers who produced over 70 percent of the food consumed in Nigeria, in agriculture budgeting processes and implementation.

This is contained in a communiqué of a two-day Annual National Forum of women farmers, organised by the Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON) and ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) in Abuja.

The communiqué was jointly signed by SWOFON national president, Mrs. Mary I. Afan; SWOFON board chair, Mrs. Hannatu Yaro and the Director of Programmes/Deputy Country Director, ActionAid Nigeria, Mrs. Tasallah Chibok.

This is as the SWOFON National Coordinator, Mrs. Omaboyowa Roberts, urged the Federal Government and other stakeholders to find alternate ways of getting credit fund and other intervention across to small scale rural women farmers, as it was difficult for most of them to access the loans due to bureaucracy and other stringent conditions attached.

The forum which commended the ActionAid Nigeria for simplifying the Agriculture Promotion Policy (APP) of the Federal Government for smallholder women farmers apart from other incentives, also commended some states where SWOFON is present with increased interest and support from relevant national and state government ministries, agencies and private sectors for their supports.

They therefore recommend that smallholder women farmers should be included agriculture budget and policy making processes at all levels.

“Federal and state ministries of agriculture should create specific yearly budget line items for smallholder women farmers. Federal and state ministries of agriculture should allocate at least 10 percent of their annual budget each year in fulfillment of the 10 percent Maputo Declaration Commitment.

“The Federal and state ministries of agriculture and rural development need to ensure that extension agents across the 36 states and FCT in Nigeria train smallholder women farmers on the proper use of agro-chemicals. Strengthen the security mechanisms/systems of security and stop farmers-herders crisis across the states by establishing modern ranching, abattoir and processing systems,” they said.

While asking that SWOFON should be included as a member of the National Agriculture Council of Nigeria to represent women farmers, the forum also urged the government to urgently review the Land Use Act to address gender discrimination in land ownership.