ASHENEWS reports that the Catalyzing Strengthened Policy Action for Healthy Diets and Resilience (CASCADE) Nigeria has reiterated its commitment to supporting women smallholder farmers in engaging in nutrition-sensitive agriculture.
By Lizzy Carr
The program manager of CASCADE Nigeria’s Bauchi office, Isaac Ishaya, made this commitment at the flag-off of the 2024 Rain-Red season agricultural input fair and voucher redemption at Miri community in Bauchi Local Government Area.
Ishaya said CASCADE aims to support 7,500 women smallholder farmers with orange flesh potato vines and 3,500 others with vegetable seeds across four implementing states: Bauchi, Jigawa, Kebbi, and Nasarawa. The goal is to increase access to and consumption of healthy diets, and enhance resilience to price and climate change-related shocks and stresses for women of reproductive age and children under five.
He added that the idea is to provide the needed support at the household level for women smallholder farmers to leverage their backyard gardens to cultivate vegetables and orange flesh potatoes.
“Looking at the nutritional value of this potato in addressing hidden hunger, as well as the importance of vegetables to household nutrition, drove our commitment to strengthen women’s participation in agriculture through accessing agricultural inputs,” Ishaya explained.
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The program officer said CASCADE is providing support to 1,482 women smallholders in Bauchi with orange flesh potato vines, and 613 other women are benefiting from assorted vegetable seeds.
“In Bauchi, we are working in Bauchi, Dass, Jama’are, Ningi, and Toro Local Government Areas,” he added.
To reinforce confidence among women smallholder farmers, CASCADE Nigeria has engaged private sector actors to strengthen agricultural linkages between the farmers and leading agricultural firms.
“We want to boost confidence among smallholder farmers regarding their source of input as well as bridge the gap between farmers and sources of input,” Ishaya emphasized.
Helen Ciroma, Head of Women in Agriculture at the Bauchi State Agricultural Supply Company, said the support to women smallholder farmers will improve their livelihood and nutritional status.
“The orange flesh potato has nutritional value, is rich in vitamin A, helps in reducing inflammation, boosts the immune system, and is good for patients with diabetes,” she noted.
She also mentioned that women can use sacks to plant the potatoes at home. “The leaves can be used as vegetables, while the tubers are good for fufu,” Ciroma added.
Dabis Mwalike, Acting Executive Director of Forward in Action for Education, Poverty, and Malnutrition, said that engaging women smallholder farmers in backyard farming will improve the nutrition status of women and children under five years of age.
Some of the women who spoke to our correspondent said that receiving potato vines and vegetable seeds will boost their farming. They commended CASCADE for their support.
