The Smallholder Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON) has urged the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) administration to declare a state of emergency on insecurity to ensure the safety of farmers.

Mrs Olabisi Ogedengbe, SWOFON Coordinator for Gwagwalada, FCT, made this call at a news conference organised by SWOFON on Wednesday in Abuja.

The conference was titled ‘Emerging Challenges Affecting Smallholder Women Farmers in the FCT.’

According to Ogedengbe, such a declaration would address the looming food crisis and inflation in the territory.

She noted the alarming insecurity and farmer-herder clashes in the FCT, which have made smallholder women farmers vulnerable, hindering their access to farmlands and causing them significant losses.

She identified the security challenges as a major contributing factor to the current hike in food costs.

Ogedengbe warned that the livelihood conditions of most smallholder women farmers were deteriorating, making it increasingly difficult for them to provide food,
access healthcare, infrastructure, and afford their children’s education.

‘The conference aims to draw the attention of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and the Nigerian Government to the impact of the challenges affecting smallholder women farmers in the FCT.

‘In light of the escalating economic challenges and concurrent food crises and inflation, SWOFON deemed it imperative to highlight the severe effects on smallholder women farmers in the territory.’

Ogedengbe cited recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics, indicating that the food inflation rate in January 2024 was 35.41 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

‘The figure is 11.10 percentage points higher compared to the rate of 24.32 per cent recorded last January. Similarly, Cable News reported in May 2024 that the FCT experienced a food inflation rate of 38.38 per cent.’

‘The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis began with the COVID-19 pandemic and was exacerbated by increases in the prices of bread and cereals,
potatoes, yams and other tubers, oil and fat, among others,’ she said.

She called on FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and the FCTA to invest massively in agriculture to ensure food and nutrition security.

Mrs Comfort Sunday, SWOFON Coordinator for the FCT Chapter, identified other challenges faced by the women, such as barriers to land ownership and control.

She noted that farmlands were often taken over by the government for commercial purposes, limiting women farmers’ ability to invest in and benefit from agricultural activities.

She criticised the disparities in access to and release of quality seeds, fertilisers, water pumps, solar boreholes, sprayers, and other inputs between male and female farmers.

According to her, these disparities make it difficult for women farmers to engage in dry season farming, leading to low agricultural production and food insecurity.

Sunday said women farmers were disproportionately affected by climate change impacts such as erratic rainfall, droughts, and soil degradation, whi
ch threaten food security and livelihoods.

She noted that farmers lacked resources to implement adaptive measures to these environmental challenges.

The coordinator called for reforms to land tenure policies to ensure equitable access to land for women, including legal support and advocacy for land rights.

‘There should be a timely release of farm inputs to smallholder women farmers by all tiers of government for this rainy season farming.

‘The Federal Government and FCTA should urgently provide subsidies and support to our farmers for easy access to inputs such as quality early maturing seeds, seedlings, feeds, organic fertilisers, and pesticides.

‘This will help increase food production, improve farmers’ livelihoods, and stimulate economic growth in the agricultural sector.’

Source: News Agency of Nigeria