Gombe develops Agric policy to boost food sufficiency
Chima Azubuike
Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Yahaya has said the state is working assiduously to have agricultural policy, adding that it would be linked to the state’s development plan in order to boost food sufficiency.
Yahaya made this disclosure during an annual Gombe women farmer’s forum organised by Hope Foundation for the Lonely, with support from ActionAid Nigeria.
Represented by the Special Adviser Budget Planning and Development Partner Coordination Dr. Ishiyaku Mohammed, the governor also noted the advantages of agriculture policy to the growth of Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in the state.
He said, “We are working together with ActionAid to develop for the first time state agricultural policy. Once we have state agricultural policy, it will be the road map that will be linked to our 10 year development plan to ensure we achieve everything that the agricultural space will be able to provide for us.”
While assuring of government partnership especially in the release of allocation, he urged further engagement to be held in green field areas noting that it has direct benefits.
“If it is a forum bringing women farmers together, it should be organised in such a way it is in Green field days, so that we are in the field, to see what is happening in the field, and we raise issues. We are committed to what you are doing we can assured you of all the support that we are able to provide but the fact that there has not been a release I can give you an explanation for the previous.
“After the line item was created we were hit by Covid-19 and because of that revenue coming to government was reduced by 60 percent and we still have to keep moving. I believe it is because of inadequate resources that it didn’t happen. We will engage with ministry of Agriculture to see if there is a phase release so that you can continue with your activities,” Yahaya said.
He wondered why in Agriculture value chain women who are at the heart of processing, marketing had remained at the bottom of the radar.
Yahaya said, “If you exclude women, the value chain is already truncated because women are at the heart of production, heart processing, heart of even marketing but unfortunately, they are at the bottom when it comes to getting the benefits. We should consistently ask ourselves why?”
Also speaking, Azubike Nwokoye, ActionAid Food and Agriculture Programme Coordinator said the organisation would continue to work with all stakeholders towards ensuring food security in the state and the country.
He said, “For us Gombe State is one of the responsive state in terms of ensuring that there is development and ensuring that small holder women farmers are supported across. We will continue to work with all stakeholders especially the government to ensure that we achieve the vision together in terms of rural development and support to the agriculture sector.”
On her part, Sarah Yapwa, Chief Executive Officer Hope Foundation for the Lonely, noted that the state included women farmers in 2020 budget line adding that there was no release till date.
Yapwa said, “In 2020 we had N30m and in 2021 N35m budgeted. We are hoping that in 2022 we will have N50m. So, we appreciate the government. Our plea, is that we have seen all these in budget line but we are yet to receive. One thing we are sure is that since it has the name of SWOFON we will get that money.”
Earlier, Esther Gibson of Gombe State Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), while presenting the demands of the group on the Implementation of the National Gender Policy on Agriculture
“The Gombe State Government Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry should create budget lines to fund the implementation of the National Gender Policy in Agriculture.
“Gombe state government should ensure the implementation as budgeted in the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry budgetary allocation for smallholder’s women farmers.
“Smallholder women farmers should be included in agriculture budget and policy making processes in Gombe State.
“Funds allocated to SWOFON in the Gombe State Agriculture Budget should be released to support SWOFON as Stated in the Budget.
“Massive investments should focus on tackling post-harvest losses, climate change, insecurity and farmers herders clashes in Gombe State.
“Gombe State Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry should constitute a Gender Steering Committee for the Implementation of the Gender Policy in the Agricultural sector, in a bid to offer equal access and gender-sensitive approaches towards food production,” she said.
Presenting on the implementation of the National Gender Policy in Agriculture, the group urged that female extension agents should be recruited to fill the gender gap.
Gibson added, “For capacity building, SWOFON should be included into annual trainings of Ministry of Agriculture, Gombe State, Financial Institutions and Development Partners as captured in the policy.
“Female extension agents should be recruited by the State Ministry of Agriculture to fill the large gender gap in extension services and the farmers and extension agents’ ratio.
“Gender units in the State in collaboration with relevant agencies should train smallholder women farmers on climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.
“The State governments should specially design capacity development programmes to improve the capacity of Smallholder Women Farmers on mitigation and adaptation strategies against Climate Change and provide access to organic fertilizers and organic control of pest.
“The gender unit of the State Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry should establish new mechanism and indicators for data collection which should be gender sensitive, specifically reflecting the concerns of smallholder women farmers.
“The State Government should ensure gender equity, through periodic impact analysis of all agricultural policies, programmes, projects, and activities on smallholder women farmers.
“The Government should eliminate all forms of culture or religious based gender biases in Agriculture. The government needs to urgently review the Land Use Act to address the issues of gender discrimination in land ownership in the State.
“The State Ministry of Agriculture should provide appropriate labour-saving technologies for smallholder women farmers through the Green Imperative Project and other programmes.
“The State Governments should support smallholder women farmers with training on Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture at the household level.”
Also, Zainab Arah, chairperson Rural Women Farmers Forum, an ex officio of SWOFON said women were strategic to attaining food sufficiency.
She said, “We constitute 70 percent of food producers in Nigeria, when you look at the key agricultural activities women are in the key in terms of value chain, marketing. To crown it all we make sure there is food on the table in every part of Nigeria.”
