A farmers’ group in Nigeria, under the umbrella of The Voices For Food Security (VFS) campaign have called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to ensure the attainment of food security in the country.

The group, which falls under the small scale farmers made the call at the launch of the agricultural campaign in Abuja.

The body is a collective effort by small-scale farmers and civil society organization in Nigeria, with the aim to campaign for the strengthening of the nation’s agricultural secure and the attainment of food security.

A member of the group, Madam Jumai Mohammed of Nasarawa State said that government should make the environment conducive for small scale farmers to increase food production, as this would lead to food security.

She said small-scale farmers were faced with series of challenges ranging from land insecurity, especially among women to the absence of soft loan, grants and farming implements.

Mohammed said women were often marginalized in getting access to farm inputs, even though they contributed significantly to food production, processing as well as marketing.

She stressed the need for government to listen to the small scale farmers and called on the federal government to liaise with both the state and local governments to reinforce efforts to boost food production.

Other speakers from Kano, Ondo, Oyo and Kaduna states also spoke of the various challenges facing small-scale farmers.

They called on governments to invest more in improving the productivity of small scale farmers, as a way of reducing dependency on food importation, thereby conserving foreign exchange and making farming a more productive venture.

Farmers also said that with a greater percentage of Nigerians living below the poverty line, coupled with the threat of global warning, government should mount campaign against hunger and food insecurity.