From Taiye Joseph, Ilorin
Women farmers in Kwara State, have called on government authorities to increase their share of agricultural support and funding in the 2025 budget, saying they contribute significantly to food production but remain under-supported.
The call came during an advocacy visit by the Budget Committee Group (BCG), and members of the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Kwara State Agricultural Development Project (ADP).
Coordinator of the Scaling Up Public Investment in Agriculture (SUPIA), Mr Abdurrahman Ayuba, who led the delegation, said women are the backbone of local food production and deserve more attention in government programmes and budget planning.
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“Women farmers are the ones producing most of the food we consume in our homes, not just for export. Yet, when it comes to budget allocation and access to support, they get less compared to men,” Ayuba said.
He acknowledged that some SWOFON members had benefitted from previous government initiatives but insisted that more needed to be done, especially in the provision of equipment, storage facilities and climate-resilient farming technologies.
Ayuba also raised concerns about the drop in the proposed 2025 agriculture budget, which currently stands at 0.97 percent of the total state budget, a decline from 1.49 percent in the previous year.
“This figure is far below the 10 percent commitment made under the 2003 Maputo Declaration. It shows that we’re not taking agricultural development seriously, particularly for those who feed the nation daily,” he added.
Speaking with the Acting State Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture in Kwara, Mrs Faith Agu, the group leader, urged the ministry to include more women and young farmers in its agricultural programmes and schemes.
Mrs Agu responded by assuring the group that women farmers would be carried along in upcoming projects and opportunities from the ministry.
Also speaking, the Secretary of SWOFON in Kwara, Alhaja Titi Salami, stressed the need for farming equipment and technologies that are suitable for women. She also advocated for specific budgetary provisions targeted at young people and women in farming.
She praised the ministry and ADP for their previous support and urged them not to relent.
Dr Khadijah Ahmed, Managing Director of the Kwara ADP, in her remarks, promised continuous support for women farmers and pledged to inform SWOFON of future initiatives and opportunities.
The BCG, an advocacy coalition under ActionAid’s SUPIA initiative, conducts annual budget analysis to promote increased public investment in agriculture, focusing on gender inclusion and small holder support across Kwara State.
