The Association of Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON) has appealed to the Federal Government to subsidise agricultural inputs for women farmers as part of measures to curb food inflation in the country.
The National Secretary of the association, Mrs Chinasa Asonye appealed in an interview on Thursday in Lagos.
She said the government must as a matter of urgency set up interventions that would bring down the price of inputs.
Asonye, also the president of Ogbonge Women Multipurpose Agricultural Cooperative Society, Lagos State Chapter, said it had become imperative for the government to act fast.
She noted that the price of agricultural and animal inputs had continued to rise, thereby threatening food security in the country.
She said food inflation had affected women the most, adding that all hands must be on deck to ensure that women farmers continue to contribute their quota to feeding the nation.
Asonye noted that without subsidies on agricultural inputs, prices of food commodities would skyrocket and create more hardship for the citizens.
According to her, inflation is hitting hard on everyone, with the exchange rate of the naira to the dollar increasing, and that as it is increasing everything will increase.
“Import duty will increase, tariff will increase, everything about agricultural produce that is being imported will increase.
“This is why the prices of fish feed and animal feed and all inputs are on the increase.
“If you look at the trend, what do you think will happen to the farmers? When we produce and we want to sell, the price will also increase to reflect the current reality.
“Everything goes side-by-side. What we need to do now is to have government intervention that will bring down the price of inputs,” she said.
The farmer also urged the government to adopt the 2014 Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Livelihood of 10 percent to agriculture.
Asonye said at the Malabo Summit, African heads of state reconfirmed that agriculture should remain high on the development agenda of the continent, and should be a critical policy initiative for African economic growth and poverty reduction.
She added that the government must urgently increase the budgetary allocation of the agriculture sector to reflect the present realities.
She decried the continuous low budgetary allocation to agriculture, which she said stood at less than the 10 percent recommended in the Malabo agreement.
“There is a way all the things about agricultural produce should be subsidised. It is only when it is subsidised, that the importers of those inputs will sell at relatively reduced price for us.
“When farmers can access subsidised inputs, then they can begin to look at how they can set a price margin that will be beneficial to all.
“The Federal Government needs to work hard; they are talking about Malabo declaration but the government is not implementing the recommendations that 10 percent of the annual budget be allocated to agriculture.
“How many per cent are we doing? We are not even doing up to two per cent. If 10 percent budgetary allocation is actually given to agriculture, of course, we will not be crying now or feeling the pain.
“At least, women farmers will not be talking, we will make use of what we have and do our best to make sure we produce enough food for Nigerians.
“These are the things we will keep advocating, inputs are not released to farmers in good time, we don’t have gender friendly machinery,” she said.
Asonye also urged the government to ensure and protect women farmers against rape, kidnapping, and even death while discharging their duties.
“Presently, women farmers are afraid of going to the farms because of the fear of being raped; because of the fear of being kidnapped.
“How will women continue to farm with all these daunting challenges? Even if they are escorted by vigilantes, they will still kidnap all of them.
“How do you want us to survive? The prices of food commodities will continue to increase if government does not do the right thing.
“Government must not wait till farmers go on strike before they begin to act. Our voices need to be heard,” she said.
NAN
