Women small-scale farmers and other stakeholders have urged the FCT administration to include women and youth farmers in the territory, in the preparation, implementation and other processes of agricultural budgeting.
The President of the Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), Mrs. Mary Afan, made the call on Wednesday in Abuja at a “Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on FCT 2019 Agriculture Budget” organised by SWOFON and ActionAid Nigeria (AAN).
According to her, the non-involvement of the women farmers in budgetary processes is one of the major factors contributing to the failure of the budget and food production in the FCT.
“Part of our overall goal is to ensure the movement from using chemical fertilizer to organic fertilizer. Too much of chemical is having negative effects on the environment.
“It is even more worrisome that many women farmers in the FCT and across the country are rejecting organic fertilizer due to their not being enlightened enough,” she said.
The National coordinator of SWOFON, Mrs. Oma Bayowa Roberts, said the conference was to make agriculture budget implementation successful in the FCT and beyond.
The Chief Agric Officer of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs Adaji Mary, who represented by Mrs. Sugra Taiba Mahmood, said the government is committed to ensuring food security and agriculture development in the country.
The ActionAid Agricultural Advisor, Mr. Azubike Nwokoye, said if the importance of agric development is well comprehended, the FCT being the closest to the seat of Federal Government should be enjoying special privileges on agric budgeting and financing especially for the women small scale farmers who are the majority.
