The Smallholder Women Farmers Organization of Nigeria (SWOFON) has urged the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to take prompt action in passing the agricultural statutory budget and allocating specific funds to farmers.
Mrs. Comfort Sunday, SWOFON’s FCT Coordinator, made this appeal during a news conference held in Abuja on Saturday, with support from ActionAid Nigeria.
The conference, titled “Persistent Delays and Untimely Appropriation of the FCTA Agriculture Statutory Budget, along with Poor Budgetary Allocation to Agriculture, towards Achieving 10% Malabo Commitment,” aims to address the issue at hand.
Sunday emphasized that the situation has resulted in increased food prices in the FCT, perpetuating a cycle of low productivity, poverty, food insecurity, and inequality.
She further explained, “This directly impacts the well-being and development of the rural communities they serve, as well as disrupts the overall agricultural value chain.”
She urged the FCTA to prioritize this challenge and swiftly rectify the problem. Sunday also highlighted the additional challenges faced by smallholder women farmers, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which has further exacerbated their difficulties.
Identifying smallholder women farmers as the key contributors to the agricultural labor force, the coordinator warned that the current circumstances pose significant risks to the FCT’s food security agenda aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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“In recent years, we have witnessed substantial delays in the approval and untimely release of FCTA agriculture statutory budget funds, significantly impacting the activities of farmers,” Sunday stated.
She added that SWOFON, in collaboration with ActionAid Nigeria, conducted community-based Focal Group Discussions across six area councils in the FCT, and the reports revealed consistent and alarming delays affecting agricultural productivity and the entire value chain.
These challenges include limited access to essential resources such as improved seeds and seedlings, fertilizers, gender-friendly agro and labor-saving technologies, climate resilience, and gender-based discrimination, among others.
Sunday called upon stakeholders, including the Federal Government, legislators, private sector, civil society organizations (CSOs), and others, to take action to safeguard the livelihoods of smallholder women farmers and improve food security in the FCT.
SWOFON firmly believes that the FCT can achieve food security if relevant state actors demonstrate deliberate and timely approval and implementation of the FCTA agricultural budget, with particular attention to the needs of smallholder women farmers.
She urged President Bola Tinubu, executive state actors, the legislature, FCTA Agriculture and Rural Development, the budget office, and other relevant departments and stakeholders to take decisive steps in addressing this challenge.
“As committed citizens of Nigeria and as a group, we remain confident in the capacity and ability of Nigeria and the FCT, especially to feed itself and other nations of the world,” Sunday concluded.
