A non-governmental organisation, Clement Isong Foundation, has called on the federal and the state governments to support women with food processing facilities to boost food security in Nigeria.
They noted that since women, particularly in rural areas, play a critical role in ensuring food security, such support is necessary to encourage them to do more.
This was contained in a communiqué issued by Clement Isong Foundation at the end of its one-day workshop on Agroecology in Uyo on Tuesday.
The communiqué emphasised that women are key actors in food systems, serving as producers, processors, traders, and consumers but they face numerous challenges like limited access to resources and infrastructure.
The communiqué urged farmers to adopt integrated farming systems and sustainable land-use practices to enhance resilience and productivity.”
The communiqué further stated that an organic farmers’ network should be established to improve value addition, branding, and market segmentation.
The communiqué reads: “Addressing gender-specific barriers by supporting women’s access to infrastructure for food processing and encouraging integrated farming systems and the adoption of sustainable land-use practices to enhance resilience and productivity.
“Promoting the establishment of an organic farmers’ network to improve value addition, branding, and market segmentation and advocating for the gradual reduction of inorganic farm input imports while promoting local organic alternatives.
“Strengthening community-driven training programs on agroecology, with a focus on both crop and livestock production.
“Recapitalizing the BOA and enhancing financial literacy to improve farmers’ access to credit.
“Developing and disseminating accessible knowledge products, including online resources, to support farmers.
“Leveraging social media platforms to increase awareness and scale up agroecological advocacy.
“Enhancing collaboration with ActionAid Nigeria to provide targeted training and support for female farmers in SWOFON.
“Fostering partnerships between government and universities to fund agroecology research and ensure that research outcomes are translated into practical solutions for farmers.”