By Grace Samuel
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Local Content, has urged the government to collaborate with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to provide assistance and funding to small-scale women farmers.
During a joint event organized by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, ActionAid Nigeria, and the National Gender Steering Committee in Abuja, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan emphasized her committee’s dedication to incorporating agriculture into the implementation process.
She stressed the importance of promoting branding and packaging for women farmers, highlighting the potential impact on bridging gender gaps, enhancing agricultural input, improving food security, and stimulating economic growth.
ActionAid Nigeria and gender stakeholders have called on the federal government to allocate and disburse the N500 billion earmarked for women farmers in the 2024 budget of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
This request aligns with the start of the implementation of the National Gender Agricultural Policy and aims to improve food security while reducing gender inequalities in agriculture.
Suwaiba Dankabo, the Deputy Country Director and Director of Programmes at ActionAid Nigeria, emphasized the need for international NGOs in the agricultural sector to collaborate on implementing the National Gender Policy.
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Additionally, she stressed the importance of forming Gender Steering Committees at the state level and establishing small-scale processing and storage facilities operated by women farmers’ cooperatives.
Dankabo also highlighted the necessity for increased training on reducing post-harvest losses and the provision of solar dryers to prevent such losses.
Recommendations were made for the creation of a yearly budget line called “Strengthening Access to Credit,” aimed at providing consultancy support for women, youths, and farmers with disabilities to access credit.
ActionAid Nigeria reiterated its commitment to closing the gender gap in agriculture and encouraged country directors of international NGOs to collaborate with the National Gender Steering Committee on specific policy goals.
Mr. Temitope Fashedemi, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, emphasized the ministry’s commitment to integrating gender perspectives.
Proposed measures included addressing discrimination based on gender, ensuring women have access to land, and addressing security issues affecting farmers’ ability to use their farmland.
The government’s dedication to empowering women farmers through branding, packaging, and access to credit reflects its efforts to foster inclusive and sustainable agricultural development.
