SWOFON Demands Gender-Responsive Policies, Better Support For Women Farmers

SWOFON Demands Gender-Responsive Policies, Better Support for Women Fa

By Seun Miracle 

The Smallholder Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), Anambra State Chapter, has unveiled a policy brief advocating gender-responsive agricultural policies, increased budgetary allocations and improved access to resources for women farmers to strengthen food security.

The policy brief was launched as part of SWOFON's national campaign, themed “Women Farmers: Voice to Action,” which seeks to amplify the priorities of smallholder women farmers and secure concrete commitments from government and development partners on agricultural policy, budgeting and implementation.

In her welcome address, SWOFON Anambra State Coordinator, Mrs Georgina Akunyiba, said the event was aimed at presenting the key findings and recommendations contained in the policy brief and ensuring that the voices of smallholder women farmers are reflected in government policies and programmes.

“We are here to present the key findings and recommendations from SWOFON's Policy Brief and amplify the voices and priorities of smallholder women farmers on agricultural policy, budgeting, and implementation.

“It is also to engage government and other key stakeholders to secure commitments towards adopting and implementing gender-responsive agricultural policies, adequate budgetary allocations, and improved delivery of resources and services to smallholder women farmers,” she said.

In a goodwill message, the Country Director of the International Budget Partnership (IBP), Dr Yinka Babalola, represented by the Programme Coordinator, Mrs Lilian Ibe, described smallholder women farmers as the backbone of Nigeria's food system despite the challenges they face.

She said women account for an estimated 70 per cent of Nigeria's agricultural workforce and contribute up to 80 per cent of the country's food production, stressing that their contributions should be matched with adequate public investment.

Babalola commended SWOFON's progress since 2018 in enabling women to participate in budget hearings and present Charters of Demands, but observed that increased participation had not necessarily translated into improved service delivery.

“Participation is a precondition for influence. It is not the same thing as influence,” she said, urging governments to ensure that approved agricultural budgets are backed by timely releases that reach women farmers at the grassroots.

Representing the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Ben Chuks Odoemena, the Head of Department in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs Ifeoma Nwafor, described women as the foundation of both the family and the nation's food security.

“With SWOFON, women are feeding the nation. We will continue to support women farmers. Women are the backbone of our society and the government recognized that and we shall not stop assisting them,” she assured.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Esther Onyekesi, represented by the Head of Department, Women Affairs, Mrs Ifeoma Ezoka, reaffirmed the ministry's commitment to women's empowerment.

Ezoka said the ministry would continue to defend the interests of women farmers and promote programmes aimed at improving their livelihoods.

Representing the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Mrs Chinyere Nwabachili, the Head of Department, Partnership Coordination, Mrs Obianamma Orji, pledged the ministry's support for initiatives aimed at advancing the welfare of women farmers through responsive budgeting.

At the local government level, the Head of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Nnewi North, Mr Cajetan Ajanobi, promised to integrate eligible SWOFON members into the council's farmer empowerment register beginning next year.

“Your members who are from Nnewi should come to my office and I will take them to the Chairman, Hon Echezona Anazodo, so that he can directly support SWOFON.

“I will ensure that in all our interventions, SWOFON is specifically listed as a beneficiary. I will work towards adding you to the list of farmers we shall empower next year,” he said.

The State Manager of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mrs Chito Onuzulike, said the agency would sustain its partnership with SWOFON through agro-processing and women entrepreneurship initiatives under its Women in Self Employment Programme (WISE-P).

Representing the SWOFON National Secretariat, Mrs Chika Orji reaffirmed the organisation's commitment to improving the livelihoods of smallholder women farmers across Nigeria.

Orji said SWOFON was committed to ensuring that the voices and demands of smallholder women farmers translated into concrete government policies, budgetary commitments and improved access to agricultural resources.

She said women farmers play a critical role in Nigeria's food security but continue to face challenges in accessing land, finance, farm inputs, extension services and markets.

Orji called on governments at all levels to ensure that agricultural policies and approved budgets were implemented in ways that directly benefited women farmers at the grassroots.

She said SWOFON would continue to work with government, civil society organisations and development partners to promote gender-responsive agricultural policies and strengthen the capacity of women farmers to contribute more effectively to food production.

Various government representatives and other partners expressed their readiness to support SWOFON's programmes and activities.

The high points of the event were the launch of the policy brief, a panel session and a press briefing during which SWOFON members shared their experiences from the beginning of the International Budget Partnership's intervention to date.