Empowering rural women is crucial for ending hunger, poverty – SWOFON
By Ahmed Ahmed
The Bauchi State Coordinator of Small Scale Women Farmers of Nigeria (SWOFON) Hajiya Marka Abass has reiterated that empowering rural women is crucial to ending hunger and poverty in the country.
Abbas stated this in an interview with our correspondent on Monday in Bauchi, saying women have a pivotal role in fighting food Security.
She said empowering and investing in rural women would significantly increase productivity as well as reduce hunger and malnutrition.
“I will also improve rural livelihoods not only for women but also for households, communities and nations,” he said.
The Coordinator lamented that many rural women spend their lives on farms they do not legally own, they labour in extreme poverty without access to financial services,
“Clean drinking water, cooking fuel and basic sanitation, and yet they must every day ensure there is food in their household,” Abass said.
The Coordinator appealed to Governments at all levels to provide farm inputs and skills to rural women farmers for dry-season farming and the wet season.
“We have not less than 100,000 registered women farmers across the 20 local government areas of the state, 500 members in each of the local government areas, excluding those not registered with SWOFON.
“Therefore supporting the rural women farmers would scale up food security programmes and help hundreds of thousands fight hunger, poverty and climate change.
“Growth in small-scale agriculture is two to four times more effective at reducing hunger and poverty than any other sector, and women farmers are playing a central role,” She said
Abass added that women farmers produce a huge amount of food for their families and surrounding communities.
The coordinator urged the federal government to provide immediate improved seeds and farm input for dry season farming, targeting transportation subsidies to smallholders.
“Support for climate-smart agriculture, Market access enhancement; and improved agricultural funding amongst other things.
“Provide women farmers with access to farm inputs such as fertilisers, seedlings, and agrochemicals which are usually sold in urban and semi-urban areas, petrol-powered engines among others,” She said.