CHIMA AZUBUIKE sheds light on the struggles of small-scale women farmers in Gombe, who face significant funding challenges despite their vital contributions to achieving food security.
The Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON), Gombe State chapter, is facing numerous challenges despite government allocations meant to support them. The failure to access these funds has left the women farmers frustrated and disillusioned, hindering their empowerment and productivity.
Mercy James, a farmer from Shongom Local Government Area, expressed her disappointment saying, “We were thrilled when we heard that the government had released funds for small-scale women farmers. However, months have passed, and we have yet to receive any support.”
James, who cultivates rice, beans, and groundnuts, highlighted the struggles women farmers face, adding “The lack of fertilisers and high costs of renting land are significant challenges. Many women have abandoned farming maize due to the high cost of fertilisers.”
The joy of hearing that government released money for women farmers after years of creating budget line in agriculture fiscal estimate, soon diminished when days, turned to weeks and months, yet no one called to provide subsidies says James.
According to her, some women farmers even developed health concerns such as high blood pressure as they had high hopes at improving their agricultural activities.
“Some women developed hypertension because they heard that money was released by the government and it didn’t get to them. For 2023 budget we were told that government gave certain percentage and we are very happy as it will serve as relief and up till now there’s nothing even some women accuse us (Executive) saying we the leaders are responsible for squandering the money and we tod them no the money wasn’t released that’s why at some point we all gave up on it,” she said.
She disclosed that following the need for fertiliser which most women can’t afford many have refrained from farming maize due to the high cost, adding that many of them have adopted substituted with no requirement for fertiliser application.
James said, “The challenges we face a lot is lack of fertiliser because it matters a lot. Though we don’t use fertilisers but for maize we need fertilisers and that’s why as women we don’t plant maize.
“We don’t have fertilisers to apply on it but for groundnuts it doesn’t matter whether we use fertiliser or not. As for rice if there’s water we don’t have problem no need for fertiliser also. So you see how the support to women farmers would have gone a long way to support our businesses.”
While decrying the challenges of women farmers across Shongom LGA, James added “For countless times, we have been going from LGA to state for them to help us but still nothing has happened so i am calling on government to please help us by ensuring that further allocations are reasons to genuine women farmers because they need it most.”
Maryam Mohammed, cultivates beans, maize, millet and sesame seed popularly known as ridi, decrying the situation she said she resigned faith urging God to fight for herself and counterparts.
According to her, “I became worried about it. It pained me very well and so i just left everything to God. If the money had come to us, if many of us farm one acre we will farm two acres and the ones that farm two will farm three that’s how i think will be including my self it would have boosted our productivity.”
Mohammed called on government to intervene in order to mitigate the hardship witnessed by most women farmers, “look at us smallholders women farmers we are in danger, the place to get to farm is a problem, we rent some, some will go very far away before getting the farm. Unless money is been paid before you get it and then even at home women face a lot of challenges because some men don’t even bother whether you born or not they will leave you and go, the children will be on your neck,” she noted.
She disclosed that the challenges from land rent vary from localities within the state, noting that her counterparts within the southern part of Gombe don’t inherit land, making it expensive for many of them to own farming spaces.
Mohammed urged government by ensuring that resources budgeted are provided to the right associations, groups.
“Some of us inherit land here in Dukku (within Gombe North), because is Muslim area. The government should look at us because we are suffering even school fees we are the ones paying at times, even food to eat we are the ones providing it . Before women don’t go outside but now we are going outside looking for something to eat with the children.
“The Government should help us because some women don’t have money to start the business. How we wish they can provide us training, Most women will grow some are just seating at home doing nothing and some beg,” Mohammed added.
PERISCOPE NIGERIA reports that the first time SWOFON had a budget line was in 2019 budget ahead of 2020 implementation and 35 million was initially approved but revised to N19 million following challenges of COVID-19.
However, In 2021 N40 million was budgeted with no release. In 2022, N40 million was also budgeted, and in 2023 N70 million was budgeted, revised to N50 million and N9.4 million was released based on budget performance obtained by our correspondent in Gombe State.
Rukayyatu Mohammed, a women farmer coordinator in Akko LGA and the Assistant State Secretary said she felt really sad that the money didn’t trickle down to them as credit, adding “I feel sad about it, i didn’t feel as if i am a real farmer in the village. The village farmers are people that the government are supposed to consider because we are the real farmers and we do farm at the local level and some are farming at the modern level we are sad.”
While decrying the possible impact such assistance would have made for most of them in Gombe Central Mohammed said, “At least government should include local farmers in the village at the grassroot because they are the real farmers and real workers of the land we produce food which can be eaten with our families; produce food that we can sale and pay the school fees of our children, we help our husbands in one way or the other financially we help them.”
She added, “We can make modern farming. If you you farm at the local level you cannot produce many because of your energy but if you use a modern farming you can produce a lot of crops and if we produce a lot with modern farming then we can get a modern way of producing it. If is maize we grind it and make use of it. So if i produce it and market it, i will get more money than if i only farm and keep it somebody that will come outside and buy it.”
Mohammed continued saying, “I farm maize, rice , beans and groundnuts but you know our farming is not much, we do it in not too large quantity. So that we can get what we can make use of in our houses, so that is why we are begging government to intervene so that we can get the requisite support and benefit from the dividends of democracy.”
She noted that the appeal has been consistent following the impact of women farmers nationwide, stressing that they have the capacity to feed the entire state with the right support, “We have been calling government to intervene in our affairs so that we can move Gombe State forward. Women Farmers have the potentials to feed the entire state and contribute to the country’s food sufficiency but that will come with the same amount of support.
Aishatu Bappah, lamented years of budget line for women farmers without release, urging the authorities to invest more in women.
According to her, they were tired of hearing figures that are not commensurate with basic realities, adding “It use to happen always, budget will be made, we will see the figures but we won’t have the money.”
Bappah who majors in production of maize, beans and millet, called on to disburse the resources budgeted and released to boost food security.
She added, “We are calling on government to please try and give us the amount they budgeted for us so that we can help ourselves as it will boost our level of production.”
Also, Airudia Mamman, the Gombe State SWOFON Coordinator disclosed that her members had high expectations that the requisite support will be offered following the consistent advocacies to relevant stakeholders on what such assistance would catapult the food indices of the state and Nigeria as a whole.
She said, “After the budget we were putting hope that there will be a relief for these women so that they will be empowered because we seriously needed the support. If we are able to get the support it will make us to stand on our feet so when we waited until the end of the year (2023), we did not get the support and we were not happy about it but we hope that it will not be like that of last year and that is going to be okay this year (2024).
Mamman said the support would also improve the living standards of the women “because if we are supported there will be greater yield and improvement in our living standard and it will reduce poverty and that will even bring peace to the community.”
Investigation conducted by our correspondent disclosed that credit facility in places like Gombe South for most women farmers, chunk of it goes into hiring, leasing of land following unfavourable traditional practices that negate the girl-child (woman) from inheriting land aside on rare occasions.
While decrying challenges that such credit would solve Mamman noted that in Gombe South, with increased number of Christians women access to land is difficult, “first we have to acquire the farm, you know women in Gombe we don’t inherit land especially in Gombe South. Is either you buy it or you rent it,” she disclosed.
Mamman who cultivates sesame seeds popularly known as ridi, also plant rice, maize, and beans, noting that their efforts through advocacies first ensured the budget line, decrying the challenges of no release to her members.
The SWOFON leader added, “Honestly it wasn’t pleasant because we are still wondering because we were the ones pursuing it and expecting to get it so that our women can get relief. If they (women farmers ) are empowered it will bring alot of transformation but unfortunately we only saw that the budget was released and we that have been pursuing it we didn’t get it so we are not happy.”
Mamman decried saying, “We appreciate the government for all their efforts and what they are doing in empowering women but SWOFON in particular we are begging the government that our own share should be given in our hand. We hear that there’s empowerment but SWOFON empowerment is not given specifically we will not even know that the empowerment has touched the grassroot and SWOFON is the organisation where you can use and when you empower them the impact will go to the grassroot and everyone will feel it. We appreciate Ministry of Agriculture because they are putting us in the budget so we are happy and we thank them but we await the release of funds.”
Sarah Yapwa, Chief Executive Officer Hope Foundation for the Lonely, who runs support initiative in collaboration with ActionAid Nigeria towards uplifting women farmers in Gombe decried the situation on lack of release.
Yapwa said, “I felt very bad that how can it be that this money that has been budgeted and is there online, everybody is seeing it and the release is an issue. Honestly, i was not happy about it because it looked as if is deception because it has been repeated before still we are not able to access it. I feel that the government should seat down and look at it anything that they put in budget they should ensure that is been accessed because there is no need for you to put something in budget if its can’t accessed.”
Yapwa who was an erstwhile National President of SWOFON cultivates farm produces in Akko LGA, with groundnuts, beans and guinea corn as focus, urging the authorities to consider the overwhelming impact of such credit to genuine women farmers.
“If there are ways of accessing let the people know through the targeted ministries so that people can access it because the essence is defeated because if is not accessed there’s no way it can be implemented so there is no way the issue of food security or food production will increase,” Yapwa added.
She lamented the entrant of those with political affiliation, who venture into agriculture not necessarily for the right intention but to reap the fruits leave the real farmers to suffer without adequate support, “You know what we have today in Nigeria not only in Gombe State we have a lot of political farmers and these political farmers are linked to politicians so when it comes they will say they are also small scale farmers. If we continue like this there will be no food security, because these political farmers don’t really farm, they are just there because there was a time when i was the National President we had an encounter with such people in Ethiopia, we went for a meeting and we heard someone came from Nigeria that she is the National President of SWOFON. I was also there and it became an issue when they looked at it i was the rightful person that is when they tagged her as a ‘political farmer’ and she was sent away so our politicians if they really want food security they should give it to the right people to go and farm,” Yapwa added.
While harping on the importance of food security when real women farmers are supported Yapwa noted that food sufficiency would be attained if those deserving are empowered, adding
“You can go to their farms, go to their local governments they are on ground farming and since they are farming they are the ones putting food on our table so give it to them however small let them add to it gradually every year for instance they farmed this year and was able to harvest five bags, next year when the fund is released and given to her she will get more than five bags at least 10 to 50 bags and that means that there is food security even if it’s within our households or her neighbourhood there’s improvement if every farmer will have that in all the LGAs we will not have food crisis in Gombe State, and if it is done all over the country then Nigeria as a whole we are secured in terms of food.”
Based on data obtained by our correspondent on the 2024 budget consisting of the 2023 revised budget and performance N9.4 million was released under the small-scale women farmers organisation.
After series of visits to the Gombe State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, between May to July to underscore how the allocated sum was disbursed efforts to reach Commissioner Salihu Alkali, proved abortive.
However, a similar situation nearly played out at the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperatives until the Commissioner Dr Malle Barnabas, fixed a meeting including Permanent Secretary Dr Ibrahim Yakubu, where the officials disclosed that the monies were used to support women farmer’s activities in the state.
According to the duo, “The money was not necessarily for credit alone. It was part of what the ministry used to support them on World Food Day celebration. When they say smallholder women farmers, there are other women groups like women in agriculture and so many others who got one thing or the other as support from the released fund.”
The officials stated that the current administration is working assidiously to alleviate the sufferings of women farmers, adding that “Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, understands the enormous impact of women in food production in the state especially in attaining food security. They (Women Farmers) have been advocating they have been here a couple of times seeking for ministry’s support they shouldn’t relent.”
Also, Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Yahaya, at various engagements had attested that the state is an agrarian state with impressionable number being women.
Emphasising the governor’s assertion Programme Officer of Hope Foundation for the Lonely, Ballin James, while presenting community scorecard on smallholder women farmers’ access to Agricultural inputs, said smallholder farmers dominate the agricultural sector, adding that they produce 90 per cent of the output.
“Yet have difficulties accessing Agricultural inputs. Women make up 70 per cent of agricultural labour, 50 per cent of animal husbandry-related activities and 60 per cent of food processing activities,” Ballin said.
This investigation was supported with funding from the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development. It was produced under the UDEME Accountability Fellowship.
