2024 Agriculture Budget: SWOFON Submits Demands, Tasks Ebonyi Government on Storage Facility.
Women farmers in Ebonyi State, under the umbrella of Smallholder Women Farmers Organization of Nigeria, SWOFON, have urged the State government to give massive attention to Agricultural produce processing and storage facilities as a means of enhancing food security in the State.
The request was contained in a Charter of Demand document submitted by the women to the State government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The document was submitted during a one-day interactive forum organized recently by a Nongovernmental Organization, Participatory Development Alternatives and the State Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with SWOFON.
The event was held recently in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital as part of activities trailing the World Food day.
In the document signed and submitted by Chinyere Agbafor and Nnenna Nkama, the State SWOFON Coordinator and Secretary respectively, the women lamented that the lack of adequate processing and storage facilities have been responsible for the huge post harvest losses encountered by farmers in the State.
They observed that the trend signals a great impediment to achieving food security, and appealed to the State government to make provision in the 2024 budget for massive investment in the industry.
Part of the document reads: "Ebonyi suffers from huge annual post-harvest losses.
"Smallholder women farmers in Ebonyi State have access to only 14.09% processing facilities and 10.49% storage facilities.
"This is a big gap and needs to be filled urgently with massive investment in cottage processing and storage facilities."
Other demands made by the women bordered on creating definite budget lines for Smallholder Women farmers, timely budgetary releases, increased access to farm inputs, grants and credits facilities by women farmers; training as well as involvement of SWOFON in the budgeting process.
"Ebonyi State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources should organise annual stakeholders consultative meeting on the agriculture budget before budget call circulars to ensure that priority needs of smallholder women farmers are captured in each years agriculture budget.
"The state needs to significantly release its allocation to extension service as a measure to bridge the deficit in that area of service to farmers; provide more trainings for women on financial literacy, sustainable agricultural practices, post-harvest handling, and use of gender-friendly technology" the women emphasized.
Remarking on the document, the State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mrs Nkechinyere Iyioku-Ezeani, maintained that the campaign by the women was in tandem with the People's Charter of Needs Manifesto of Governor Francis Nwifuru.
The Commissioner, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs Felicia Alusi. commended Ebonyi farmers, especially the women for their commitment, she assured the women that her Ministry would ensure that most of their demands are incorporated in the budget.
Iyioku-Ezeani added: "The Ministry of Agriculture being responsible for the formulation, implementing and monitoring of Agricultural legislation, regulation, policies and practices is poised to supporting Agricultural research, technology-driven income generating activities that would generate employment and transform the State into global food market.
"Food security is essential for human health and wellbeing; the benefit cannot be overemphasized."
In an interview, the Programme Officer, Participatory Development Alternatives, Ugochi Joseph explained that the event was organised under the Organization's Scale-Up Public Investment in Agriculture (SUPIA) project, supported by Action-aid, Nigeria.
She stated that women farmers constitute the largest population of farmers in Nigeria, deserving to be supported by Nigeria government to achieve the desired food security.
The event also featured exhibition of various farm produce from the women; paper presentations on Nutrition, importance of water to life and Agriculture as well as exposition on available government interventions in the Agric sector.
Some of the women including Rita Nwambam and and Chinyere Agabafor from Izzi and Onicha local government area respectively, commended PDA and Action-aid, Nigeria for the value they have added to their farming business.
Nwambam who was full of excitement stated that the activities of PDA and Action-aid have given the women a sense of belonging and brought them to agricultural limelight in Izzi local government area and other places.
Recall that the 2023 World Food Day was observed on October 16 with the theme: "Water is life, water is food, leave no one behind."