The Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON), Bauchi State Chapter, has urged the Bauchi State Government to provide women with opportunities to go into farming.
Hajiya Marka Abass, SWOFON State Chairperson, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Bauchi.
She urged the government to also provide opportunities that would adequately empower small holder farmers, especially women, in agricultural production.
“Governments must break down the barriers that are holding back women farmers and preventing them from accessing critical farming inputs.
“They (officials) must ensure women have secure land rights and provide women with vital funding and support for farming and means of adapting to climate change.
“Such support would protect their rights and boost their productivity. It would unleash the potential of many women farmers to effectively reduce poverty and hunger,” she said.
According to her, supporting women farmers will help hundreds of thousands fight hunger, poverty and climate change.
She explained that growth in small-scale agriculture was two times to four times more effective at reducing hunger and poverty than any other sector.
Abass said that women farmers were playing a central role, saying that they produced a huge amount of food for their families and surrounding communities.
She identified gender inequality as one of the barriers holding women from doing well in agricultural production.
She added that agriculture was one sector that could provide diverse opportunities that would help empower women to provide for their families and community at large.
She noted also that women farmers faced many restrictions and struggled to get finance because of their femininity.
“Women do not receive the same support as men farmers do; they have less access to land, loans and machinery.
“That is why SWOFON is calling on the government to look into the plight of women farmers in the state and also address their numerous challenges,’’ she said.
