Women farmers want empowerment to boost food production

Some women farmers in Bwari Area Council, FCT, have appealed for agricultural empowerment to help boost food production amidst increasing economic challenges.

The women, who made the appeal in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Monday in Bwari, Abuja, also appealed for access to fertilisers and other farm inputs.

According to Mrs Mary Shufa, a small-scale farmer, she plants Cassava, Yam, Maize and vegetables, to fend for her children and support her husband, who works as a labourer earning daily pay.

Shufa, however, said that harvest was no longer bountiful because of the infertility of the soil and effects of climate change.

She called on government, as well as other stakeholders in the agricultural sector, to assist in providing farm inputs at the grassroot level in order to enhance food production.

“Most of us face difficulty accessing fertilisers and other farm inputs even after we apply for it as a group through our small women farmer groups.

“We have, however, been supportive to one another through thrift and other contributions.

“The thrift helps the women in our neighbourhood to empower themselves, especially the farmers, since we also cannot get access to loans that will help us acquire some of these inputs.

“Once you are unable to gain access to fertilisers and the likes, it affects harvest a lot and poor harvests incur debts, because, these produce are mostly our source of livelihood.”

Another farmer, Mrs Phoebe John, said that farmers required help with items such as fertilisers, chemicals, seedlings, pumping machines, tractors, loans, grants, land, and extension services, to ensure maximum crop yield.

These necessities, she said, were however, no longer accessible at the grassroots as they used to be in the past.

John said that farm inputs remained key in boosting production, and must be prioritised at all levels of government.

“I have no other means to fend for my family.

“The only way for women farmers like me to remain in the business is for the government to prioritise agriculture and provide needed support for small-scale women farmers.

“This is very important especially now that prices of food items keep soaring,” she said.

Similarly, Mrs Esther Ayuba, a farmer and leader of Matan Manoma, one of the organised farmer groups in Baran-goni community in Bwari, also decried the security situation in the country, which she said was affecting farmers.

The situation, she said, was affecting many women in her community, who could not access their farmlands for fear of being attacked.

“Insecurity is our major worry. Kidnappers and cattle herders have chased many out of their farms in Abuja.

“Many residents interested in farming are discouraged following insecurity in the city and our neighbouring states like Kaduna and Niger states.

“Our appeal to all tiers of government is to tackle insecurity, to enable us go out without having to look behind for fear of attack.

Ayuba said women were also eager to go into dry season farming, but lacked the means to venture into it.

“We have few rivers and dams in the city, a situation that has limited the ability of farmers to go into dry season farming.

“We are not sure if stakeholders in the agricultural sector can do anything about it, that would help us a lot,” she added.

NAN