Women Farmers Seek More Govt’s Support

A group of women farm
ers in Ogun State has urged the Federal Government to consider channeling more resources to women farmers in ensuring household food security.
The farmers, supported by the Country Women Association of Nigeria (COWAN), a non profit-making organisation, made the call in an interview with newsmen in Ijebu-Ode recently.
Speaking to The Tide on the sidelines of a meeting organised by COWAN, the women said sustainable agriculture could only be feasible through the input of women farmers.
COWAN’s State Co-ordinator in Plateau Mrs Jessica Vonkat, , said not much was being done by government and various stakeholders towards integrating rural women producers in agricultural interventions.
She said this was in spite of women playing a leading role in farming and contributing to the national food reserve.
“The purpose of forming this organisation was solely to seek ways of uplifting grassroots women.
“This is necessary as they are faced with problems in accessing the requisite knowledge to turn their agricultural enterprises into viable and profitable entities, as well as seeking funding.
“The vital role women play in rural agricultural production has been previously underestimated, yet this lack of recognition of women’s contribution in agriculture and rural development has persisted,” Vonkat said.
She said women made up the majority of rural agricultural producers and were the backbone of food supply.
“Regardless of their limited access to land and discriminative property rights, which is rather unfortunate, they still have to perform their duties as mothers.”
The Plateau COWAN co-ordinator said government should consider coming up with initiatives which support women farmers since they were among the most vulnerable groups.
The Chairperson, Association of Small Scale Agro Producers in Nigeria Mrs Dorcas Owokade, (ASSAPIN), Ijebu-Irawo Chapter in Ogun, said women farmers were still being marginalised.
“The support we are getting from government is not tangible but there are promises still to be fulfilled.
“We need to fully participate in farming so that we can boost the country’s food security and ensure that the nation doesn’t import to cover food deficit,” Owokade said.
Another farmer, Mrs Mary Mabinuori, who is a fish breeder, said women faced difficulties in accessing inputs with a few benefiting under government’s agricultural mechanisation programme.
“We have not mechanised the way we do our work. So, you will find that we use what is commonly known as hoes to do our work.
“You will find that the output is low. So, we need to come up with a voice that is convincing to our donors and to our governments so that they can give a helping hand to feed this nation.
“We need tractors, and we need harvesters,” said Mabinuori.
On her part, Mrs Adetoun Sanni, a cassava and maize farmer from Ogun Waterside area, encouraged more women and youths to embrace farming, saying it was profitable if done properly.
The Tide reports that COWAN, established in 1982, is an organisation for rural women.
It intends to assist them in overcoming key problems inhibiting their participation in food production and socio-economic development.