Food Security: NGO Appeals to Government to Prioritise Women in Agricultural Planning

A Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), Every Woman Agriculture Empowerment Initiative (EWAEI) has called on the government at all levels to prioritise women in their agricultural plannings in the interest of food security in the country.

EWAEI national President Comfort Echo Babalola made the call at the Award and Magazine Launch organised in commemoration of this year’s International Women’s Day Celebration during which over 100 women who have in one way or the other affected lives through their private agricultural initiatives were presented awards and encouraged to do more.

Highlighting the challenges faced by women in the agriculture sector, Babalola said it had not been easy for women to access grants and even loans due to excessively stringent conditions.

“It is not also easy for women to acquire land on their own. These are some of the challenges faced by we women farmers, and women contribute over 70 per cent in the agricultural value chain, right from the farm to the store and the table.

“Women are the cornerstone of agriculture so emphasis should be placed on women when planning for agriculture. We demand inclusivity. We want the narrative changed,” she said.

According to her, the challenge posed by herdsmen whereby farmers, especially women, do not feel safe should be addressed head-on.

She said EWAEI had existed since 2017 and have been doing our bit to see how we can empower women globally, beginning from the home front.

One of the awardees and beneficiaries of EWAEI, who is also contributing her own quota to the economy and humanity through agriculture, Ms Lilian Gold, the founder of Mama Foodstuff Enterprise also stressed the need for women to be able to access funds to do genuine farm business, especially as the current administration is bent on diversifying the economy through agriculture.

She also called on the federal government to do everything possible to address the insecurity situation in the country, adding that it is allowed to escalate further, the dream of food security in the near future will continue to be a mirage.

“Right now, some of us can’t go to the farm for fear of being attacked, kidnapped, or even killed out rightly.

“Even some who have planted cannot go and check, not to talk of tendering their farm stocks. This will affect our economy adversely and I foresee acute shortage of food in the nearest future if this trend continues unchecked,” she said.

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