Rural women in the country have appealed to governments at both the State and the Federal levels for credit facilities and access to land so as to boost agriculture produce.
The women particularly said they constitute 70 percent in food production chain which could translate to food security.
They said this in Calabar, Thursday, at the 2022 United National International Day of Rural Women celebration, anchored by UN Women in collaboration with the Women Wing of Christian Association of Nigeria (WOWICAN), with the theme ‘Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All.’
The women, including representatives from Ebonyi and Benue states, called on the National Assembly to expedite action on the Bill for a change in the land tenure system in the country to favour women in land ownership like the men.
Speaking on behalf of the women, Deaconess Victoria Bolanle Ihesuilor, National President of WOWICAN, who also coordinated the event, said women should be encouraged because they are the ones providing food for families, communities and the nations of the world.
“Women labour in their farms such that going to farm the next day is always difficult but they have to go to make sure that there is food on the table and some left for them to sell and earn an income.
“Rural women, who are mainly farmers, have challenges of funding and access to large peices of land. Rural women want to cultivate large farms, they want to plant different crops but the fund to do so is not there. To have access to credit facilities in banks is also a problem.
“Land is another issue. For a rural woman to be able to do agriculture business in a pretty large scale, she needs land. Governments at the local government to the Federal level should make land available for rural women to boost food production,” she submitted.
In his remarks, Mr Lansana Wonneh, Deputy Country Representative of the United Nations in Nigeria, charged rural women to make use of technology in agriculture so as to enhance their agricultural produce, thereby boosting their food production capacity.
Wonneh charged governments to treat rural women fairly, adding, “Every policy of government should fairly treat the rural women because fundamentally for any society to grow, every segment of the society should be equitably treated and the rural women are an important segment of the society.”
Also speaking, Pastor Nathaniel Ilem, Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria said, “no attention has been given to rural farmers, women inclusive. A rural woman is still using hoe and matchet. No modern tools like tractors to plow the land and not even syringes to use in vaccinating animals. This should change for the better.”
