Gender stakeholders wants full release of N500bn allocation in 2024 budget for women farmers

By Omeiza Bilal

As part of efforts to enhance food security and bridge gender disparities in agriculture, ActionAid Nigeria and gender stakeholders have called on the federal government to release the N500 billion allocated for women farmers in the 2024 budget of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS).

The call came during a collaborative event hosted recently by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, ActionAid Nigeria in partnership with the National Gender Steering Committee held in Abuja.

Leaning her voice to the call, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Local Content, emphasised the importance of accessing the funds, pointing out that less than 20 per cent of women currently have access to agriculture funding.

The call she said aligns with the commencement of the implementation process for the National Gender Agricultural Policy.

She highlighted the significance of supporting women farmers who contribute significantly to food production.

She urged the government to collaborate with NGOs to provide support, funding, capacity building, and product packaging for small-scale women farmers. The Senator emphasized her committee’s commitment to integrating agriculture into the implementation process, promoting branding, and packaging for women farmers.

She stressed the need for collaboration between government agencies, NGOs, and small-scale women farmers to enhance support, funding, capacity building, and product packaging.

Chairman of the National Gender Steering Committee, Mr. Azubike Nwokoye, acknowledged the funding challenges faced in implementing projects and expressed ActionAid Nigeria’s commitment to advocating for the disbursement of the allocated funds.

He emphasized that effective implementation of the National Gender Policy in agriculture could bridge gender gaps, enhance agricultural input, improve food security, and stimulate economic growth.

Nwokoye urged states to establish Gender Steering Committees, stressing the need for small-scale processing and storage facilities operated by women farmers’ cooperatives. He also called for increased training on post-harvest loss reduction and the provision of solar dryers to prevent losses.

The Deputy Country Director and Director of Programmes, ActionAid Nigeria, Suwaiba Dankabo, urged international NGOs in the agricultural sector to collaborate in implementing the National Gender Policy.

She suggested creating a yearly Strengthening Access to Credit budget line to facilitate consultancy support for women, youths, and farmers with disabilities in accessing credit facilities.

While also reiterating ActionAid Nigeria commitment to bridging the gender gap in agriculture. She invited country directors of INGOs to align with the National Gender Steering Committee on specific policy objectives.

The Permanent Secretary of FMAFS, Mr. Temitope Fashedemi, emphasized the ministry’s commitment to gender mainstreaming, evidenced by the implementation of the National Gender Policy in Agriculture. Recommendations included addressing gender-based discrimination, promoting land access for women, and tackling insecurity affecting farmers’ access to farmlands.