Stakeholders want women farmers involved in FCT agric budgeting

Women small scale farmers and other stakeholders have urged the FCT Administration to include them and youth farmers in the preparation and implementation of agriculture budget in the territory.
The president of Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON), Mrs. Mary Afan, made the call yesterday in Abuja at a ‘Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on FCT 2019 Agriculture Budget’ organised by SWOFON and ActionAid Nigeria (AAN).
According to her, the non-involvement of women farmers in budgetary processes was one of the major factors contributing to the failure of budgets and food production in the FCT.
“Part of our overall goal is to ensure the movement from using chemical fertilizer to organic fertilizer. Too much of chemical is having negative effects on the environment. It is even more worrisome that many women farmers in the FCT and across the country are rejecting organic fertilizer due to their not being enlightened enough,” she said.
The national coordinator of SWOFON, Mrs. Oma Bayowa Roberts, said the conference was to make agriculture budget implementation successful in the FCT and beyond.
The Chief Agric Officer of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs Adaji Mary, who was represented by Mrs. Sugra Taiba Mahmood, said the government was committed to ensuring food security and agricultural development in the country.
The ActionAid Agricultural Advisor, Mr. Azubike Nwokoye, said if the importance of agric development was well comprehended, the FCT being the closest to the seat of the Federal Government should be enjoying special privileges on agric budgeting and financing, especially for women small scale farmers who were the majority.