Women farmers advice Bauchi gov’t on national agric gender policy

The Bauchi State Chapter of the Small Scale Women Farmers Organization of Nigeria (SWOFON) has called on the state government to create a budget line for the funding and implementation of the National Agricultural Gender Policy.  

The State Chairperson of SWOFON, Hajiya Marka Abass, stated this during a one-day interactive forum on the 2021 World Food Day, entitled ‘Better Production, nutrition, environment and life’.  

She said the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in consultation with Small Scale Women Farmers Organisations, ministries, departments, agencies, development partners and civil society organisations, produced the first national agricultural gender policy in 2019, aimed at promoting a gender-sensitive and response approach towards ensuring that men and women have equal access to agricultural resources and funding.  

She said since the gender agricultural policy is also expected to drastically reduce the vulnerability of small holder women farmers to various gender-bias vices in agriculture and breach the gender gap, the state Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning should ensure that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development implemented what was budgeted for women farmers in the state.  

The commissioner, state Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Jidauna Tula, said commemoration of the 2021 World Food Day was timely and apt considering the prevailing food insecurity in the country.