Economic Diversification: Involve Women In Agriculture Policy Making For Development – SWOFON

By; JULIANA KATUNG, Kaduna.
For Nigeria to achieve the desired diversify of her economy as well as meet up with the Malabo Declaration, small scale women farmers must be involved in agriculture policy making processes.
This was part of the conviction reached at the end of SWOFON and policy makers on Malabo Declaration forum held in Kaduna and sponsored by Trust Africa incollaboration with ActionAid.
 
It said that there can be no development without effective participation of these small scale women farmers.
Speaking during the forum, The coordinator Small Scale Women
Organization in Nigeria (SWOFON), Kaduna Chapter, Mrs Agera Teman Liti called on the State Government to provide a easy access to credit at single digit interest rate for small holder women farmers as well as remove condition that require collateral guarantors in order to boost Agriculture activities among women in the state.
She also stressed the need for government to involve the smallholder women farmers in budget planning process especially in the area of agriculture as well as allocated 10 percent of annual budget to the agriculture sector both at the state and national level in order to meet up with the Malabo declaration of 2014.
According to her, the SWOFON have 23 comparatives societies as well as 20,000 members cutting across twelve local government noting that they are not able to reach all the 23 local government as a result of lack of fund, hence the need for the state to come up with policy that will aid their activities.
 
The coordinator added that the purpose of the meeting was to train leaders of the cooperatives selected across the 12 local government.
 
She said the SWOFON has challenges in area of moving their products from farm land as some of roads are bad,no water supply as we as capacity building on processing and packaging that will enable them add value to their products.
She however called on the state government to look into some of these things to enable them boost their farm work.
In her remark, the Head of women Agriculture Kaduna State
Department, project Mrs Deborah Yusufu said the state government is collaborating with CBN and BOA through the accord programme to boost farmer activities in the state.
 
According her, some women have benefited from accord project which kick off since November last year not only in the area of farming but in business as whole and state is ready to more.
She however called on the women to always take every information seriously as well as grab every opportunity that come their way for development of the state.