Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria has recommended the use of genuine Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to monitor the delivery of the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme.

The Tide source reports that under the new agricultural subsidy regime, farmers receive fertiliser allocation at half the price and free seeds through an electronic system known as the e-wallet.

The Federal Government, in collaboration with the states, pays 50 per cent of the cost of the input while private sector agro-dealers distribute the inputs

Speaking in an interview with reporters, , the President of the organisation Mrs Sarah Yapwah said that the use of reliable NGOs might help address bottlenecks in the scheme.

“I want to call on the government to see how they can engage CSOs and credible NGOs to become service providers and also monitor the distribution of farm inputs so that the right people can get the inputs.

“This will help alleviate the sufferings of rural small-scale farmers who find it difficult to access the inputs and also address some of the corrupt practices in the programme.”

She lauded the GES policy but alleged that some service providers engaged in practices that were detrimental to the beneficiaries of the scheme.

According to her, most women farmers have been unfortunate in the process of collection of the inputs.

“The policy is there; government has provided the funds and all but the service providers have not provided the services the way it was meant to be.

“Most women farmers are not getting these inputs; some have their names on the register but more than 80 per cent of these registered farmers find it difficult to access this inputs.

“They receive the text message to go and receive their inputs but on getting there, accessing these inputs becomes a problem; they are asked to come back on several occasions.

“At the end of the day, you find out that it is political farmers that get to receive the inputs even before the real farmers.”

Speaking further on the association’s stand on the ‘New Alliance‘, the women leader advised that such capital should be invested in boosting the small-scale farmers rather than creating wealth for the private sector.

The alliance is a shared commitment by African Governments, the G-8 and private sector partners to support agricultural development.

The global partnership recognises the role of private sector investment in agriculture, with the hope to create an enabling environment for investment.

It is aimed at lifting 50 million people out of poverty over the next 10 years, through inclusive and sustained agricultural growth.

One of the principles for member states is that a G-8 donor should engage a wide range of stakeholders, including farming organisations and CSOs in the development of the framework and the New Alliance process.

“We don’t agree with the government signing into this alliance.

“Instead of giving such funds to the private sector, it should be given to the small holder women farmers if we are actually talking about agricultural development in Africa.

“These women are the ones who feed nations.

“What foreign investors bring to us is mostly genetically modified; we cannot continue to depend on foreign seeds which cannot be replanted.

“And also, it is the lands owned by the small-scale farmers they grab and use; at the end of the day, we become labourers on our own lands,” Yapwah said.