Women farmers in Kogi State, operating under the umbrella of the Smallholder Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON) and the Budget Committee Group (BCG), have called on the state government to make agriculture a top priority in order to achieve sustainable food security.
Speaking during a press conference held in Lokoja on Friday, Hajia Rukayat Attalet, SWOFON’s State Coordinator, made an appeal on behalf of the two organisations. The event, organised in collaboration with ActionAid Nigeria, saw the groups urging the government to support women farmers by providing essential agricultural inputs such as tractors, fertilisers, improved seeds, and other agrochemicals.
SWOFON is a coalition of women farmers across Nigeria that advocates for gender-sensitive agricultural policies, improved access to land, inputs, and funding for women, with the goal of enhancing agricultural productivity.
The groups expressed disappointment that three tractors reportedly allocated to their members for the 2024 farming season had not been delivered. Instead, they alleged that a serving commissioner had diverted the tractors for use on his private farms located in Ogun, Niger, and Kogi States.
They argued that greater attention must be paid to the agricultural sector, especially in empowering smallholder farmers who play a vital role in food production across the state.
“Though we acknowledge government’s improvement on agriculture budget, it still remained a far cry from the Maputo declaration of 10 per cent. The budget performance for 2024 to actual farmers have been poor on threshold.
“For instance, the budget releases for the procurement of tractors, power tilers and harvesters to boost food security and sale functioning of food supply chains for poor household (CARES) has 98% performance, while procurement of agricultural inputs, equipment (FSTP) and others that will have direct impact on smallholder women farmers had zero performance in 2024 budget,” they said.
The groups urged the administration of Governor Ahmed Ododo to introduce stronger agricultural policies and frameworks, including support for credit schemes, extension services, post-harvest loss reduction initiatives, and empowerment programmes targeted at women and youth.
They also highlighted the need to invest in irrigation, labour-saving technologies, resilient agricultural practices, and timely release and utilisation of agricultural budgets as essential steps towards ensuring food security in Kogi.
Additionally, the groups recommended that post-harvest loss interventions be expanded beyond grains to include fruits and vegetables, which are widely cultivated in the state. They advocated for a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model to establish fruit processing industries, stressing that Kogi accounts for ₦94.5 billion of the country’s annual ₦3.5 trillion post-harvest losses, while smallholder women farmers only have access to 19.90 per cent of processing facilities and 19.45 per cent of storage facilities.
“There is a critical need for investment in cottage-level processing and storage infrastructure. We also recommend prompt fund releases and increased future funding,” they stated.
Responding to the allegation of diverted tractors, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Timothy Ojomah, denied any knowledge of such activity. He maintained that Governor Ododo’s administration is committed to enhancing food production through substantial investments in the agricultural sector.