Imo State Women Farmers have organised themselves into groups for the purpose of engaging in collective farming, so as to foster comparative advantage.

Speaking with AgroNigeria, the leader of the group, Mrs. Omanze said the cost of labour has always been a big challenge for farmers in the rural areas; adding that the fruitless efforts of an individual farmer trying to plant variety of crops each season and ending up reaping little or nothing is also another issue. To them, it is better to work in groups.
 
She maintained that although, some of the members still work on their individual farms, most of them can now boast of increased harvests since they made the decision of collaborating. “The women are calling on the government at all levels, as well as foreign development partners, to assist them with finance, agricultural inputs and modern equipment to further enhance their farming activities,” she said.
 
Mrs. Amanze, however regretted the fact that some months ago, tractors were launched by the State Government, only to be benefited by big farmers, leaving small holder rural farmers, especially women totally out of the scheme. 
 
“Government policies on agriculture should be targeted towards helping the rural women farmers who are like the beast of burden in the society” she said. The women were of the view that the only down-to-earth aid from the government to farmers in Nigeria remains the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) Scheme. According to them, now that the programme has been halted this year, the smallholder farmers in   rural   communities across the nation are the worst hit.
 
The women farmers therefore pleaded with the present government to sustain the GES Scheme as it has impacted so much on their lives.
 
He therefore advised the federal and the state government, as well as the private sectors to clearly identify their roles in developing agriculture in the country; putting national interest at the back of their minds.