SIDEC, SWOFON Advocates Inclusive Agricultural Policies In Anambra

SIDEC, SWOFON Advocate Inclusive Agricultural Policies in Anambra

From Seun Miracle 

Smallholder women farmers in Anambra State have raised concerns over poor access to government agricultural support, alleging that benefits meant for genuine farmers are often diverted to individuals with little or no farming background.

The concerns were raised during an advocacy visit by the Social and Integral Development Centre (SIDEC) and the Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON) to the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mrs Chiamaka Nnake.

Speaking during the visit, SWOFON State Coordinator, Georgina Akunyiba, said many real farmers in rural communities continue to struggle with lack of support while “celebrity farmers” take advantage of intervention programmes designed for grassroots farmers.


According to her, the situation has continued to deny genuine smallholder farmers access to critical resources needed to boost food production and improve livelihoods.

The groups also identified inadequate funding, poor storage facilities, weak extension services, limited access to farm inputs and lack of affordable credit as major challenges affecting agricultural productivity in the state.

They noted that budgetary allocation to agriculture remained below the 10 per cent target contained in the Maputo/Malabo Declaration and called for deliberate efforts to strengthen gender-inclusive and climate-smart agricultural policies.

Leader of the delegation, Ugochi Ehiahuruike, said SIDEC and SWOFON had remained committed to promoting food security, climate resilience and inclusive governance through grassroots advocacy and community mobilisation.

The organisations advocated the establishment of a revolving agriculture credit facility for farmers, creation of a dedicated platform to attract climate and agricultural financing, and development of a comprehensive farmers’ database to support proper planning and implementation of agricultural programmes.

They also urged the state government to strengthen monitoring mechanisms to ensure agricultural interventions reach intended beneficiaries.

Responding, the SSG, Mrs Nnake, commended the groups for sustaining advocacy efforts aimed at improving the welfare of rural farmers and promoting accountability in the agriculture sector.



She encouraged them to pay closer attention to monitoring and evaluation of government agricultural programmes to ensure that budgeted projects and interventions are properly implemented.

Mrs Nnake assured the delegation of her support, promising to continue advocating for policies and programmes that would benefit women farmers and vulnerable communities across the state.

A highlight of the visit was the presentation of a video showing the Executive Director of SIDEC harvesting palm fruits from her farm as a beneficiary of a previous farm input support programme by the state government.

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