Hajia Safiya Yahaya, Kogi, Coordinator of Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON) has urged the Federal Government to provide adequate security to check raping and killing of women farmers by herdsmen and militants.
Yahaya, who made the call at the 2016 Annual Women Farmers Forum in Lokoja on Saturday, said there was need for government to ensure security as well as provide trauma healing programmes for women farmers in crisis affected areas.
She said that the call had become necessary now because, “any moment from now the Anchor Borrowers Programme will start but what has the government done to address the menace of herdsmen who rape and kill our women on the farms.”
Also speaking, Mrs Esther Audu, the immediate past National Auditor of the organization said the issue of security of women farmers had to be put on the front burners by the three tiers of government if agriculture must succeed in the country.
Audu, who read out the SWOFON Charter of Demands, also called on the Federal and State governments to ensure implementation of the Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security.
She said that the July 2003 Maputo Declaration provides for 10 per cent allocation of annual national budgets to agriculture and was ratified by African Heads of State and Governments.
Audu advocated participatory budgetary approach and easy access to credit facilities at single interest rate for farmers as well as a review of the on-going Anchor Borrowers Scheme to enforce the single digit interest rate for small holder women farmers.
Among many other demands, she urged government to develop small holder women farmers friendly and sustainable Meteorological Information System to support Climate Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture (CRSA) Practices.
Dr Isah Ochepa, Permanent Secretary for the state Ministry of Agriculture, who declared the forum open, said serious commitment to agriculture would no doubt take the nation out of recession.
Earlier in her welcome address, Mrs Gift Omoniwa, Executive Director, Participation Initiative for Behavioural Change in Development (PIBCID), ActionAid local rights partners and organizers of the forum, said prioritisation of agriculture was the only option left for Nigeria.
Omoniwa urged government to look into areas of support for women and youths in agriculture, access to affordable finance, farm inputs, quality extension services, research and development for pro-poor growth.
The forum was attended by various women farmers associations, stakeholders from ministries of Agriculture, Women Affairs, Commerce and Industry, Budget and Planning, Kogi ADP, Fadama 111, Synergos Nigeria and Bank of Agriculture. (NAN)
