Senate Comm chair unveils N5b meant for women farmers

The chairperson, Senate Committee on local content, Mrs. Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan has asked for the whereabout of Five Hundred billions naira ( N5B) meant for women farmers through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security ( FMAFS). 

This revelation seemed surprising to many gender stakeholders present at the yesterday meeting organized by the FMAFS and Action Aid Nigeria as nobody seems to know about the mentioned amount for food security by Sen. Akpoti Uduaghan.

The legislator emphasized the need for importance of providing access to such funds in view of the commencement of national gender implementation for women in agriculture.

Chairperson of the senate committee on local content believed that women' support in value chains productivity with collaboration with civil societies would enhance food security significantly.

The chairman,  national gender steering committee, ActionAid Nigeria, Mr. Azubuike Nwokoye speaking in line of funding provision for agriculture said that his organization is very passionate about women empowerment through training and exposition to improved technologies towards enhanced food security.

Nwokoye urged the states government to replicate gender steering committees that would accelerate food productivity emphasizing the need for small-scale processing and storage facilities to be operated by women farmers' cooperatives at that level with effective training against post harvest losses.

The Deputy Country Director and Director of Programmes, ActionAid Nigeria, Suwaiba Dankabo, reiterated commitment to bridging the gender gap in agriculture thereby asking for more cooperative synergy among NGOs to ensure women empowerment in good productivity.

The representative of FMAFS, Director for gender, ...could not say anything about the allocated N500b as unveiled by Sen. Akpoti Uduaghan but promised the readiness of the ministry for women development in agriculture and food security in the country.

The Minister of FMAFS, Sen. Abubakar Kyari ably represented promised unflinching support to women saying that

 gender-inclusive initiatives, aligning with the 'Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to food security.

The Minister stressed the importance of gender sensitivity in socio-economic empowerment, poverty eradication, and sustainable human development.

Speaking on the sideline of the conference, the National President, Small-scale Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON)  Fatima Gunmi emphasized the role of women in achieving food security saying that gender policy must be implemented without any further delay to enhance women equality in food productivity.

Also speaking, the National Secretary, SWOFON, Chinasa Asonye, called for 50 percent of the agricultural budget for women farmers, youth, and persons with disabilities.

"We said that the Malabo Declaration that 10 percent of the budget should be set aside should be set aside for agriculture but we are doing less than two percent, and we are advocating that no matter how it is at least 50 percent of the budget for the sector goes to the women farmers, youth and persons With disabilities, and when this is done it will help us produce more food in Nigeria”, Asonye stated.