The Smallholder Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON) has staged a protest over the rising hunger among its members.
The members of the FCT chapter of the organisation were seen carrying placards and empty plates at the entrance of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development on Monday in Abuja.
The placards read: “We farm but our plates are empty, declare state of emergency on insecurity that prevents us from going to our farms, hungry women cannot feed the nation, silent farmers, starving nation, her hands grows food but her plate is bare, where is the justice, without us there is no food security.”
The FCT coordinator of SWOFON, Comfort Sunday, said they have come out to protest because, despite being a farmer, there is no food for them to feed their families.
She said, “We can no longer farm again because estate developers have taken over our farms. There is not enough land for us to farm.
“The little portion we use for farming, we use the proceeds to pay hospital bills, buy Maggi and other soup ingredients that have become so expensive.
“Despite the crash in food prices, we are still suffering; there is too much hunger. We have not received any farm inputs from the government.
“Even the inputs have been flagged off, we cannot get them. If they give it to agro dealers, we will be able to buy at a cheaper rate from them.
“We are urging the government to release the farm inputs on time because crops are seasonal. When you don’t plant when others are farming, you will not be able to harvest much.”
Speaking on the crash in food prices, Sunday accused politicians of manipulating food prices.
She said: “From my own point of view, they used a crash in food prices to punish the farmers because prices of seeds and fertiliser are still the same. The government is not supporting us, so how did the prices of food crash?”
“We don’t know what they did to bring the prices of food down, but it is affecting us. Because when farmers cannot get much money for their grains when they are sold at the market, neither can they recoup the money spent on their farm inputs.
“So we farmers are suffering, that is why we are hungry, because it is the food that we sell that we use to buy other things, so we need help. The government must come to our aid.”
Meanwhile, the women farmers, during a meeting with the Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of Women Affairs on WAVE Project, Tijani Abdullahi, emphasised that although they constitute the backbone of Nigeria’s food production system, they continue to face alarming levels of hunger and poverty.
They raised concerns over the growing threat of food insecurity, including insecurity, high cost of inputs, climate change, and soaring food prices, among others
The SSA in his response assured that the minister was fully aware of problems facing farmers, saying the ministry was developing a comprehensive support system for smallholder women farmers.
He unveiled the Women’s Value Expansion Program (WAVE), aimed at partnering with women’s farmers’ organisations to transform women’s participation in agriculture and build the capacity of women farmers in agricultural practices to improve yields.
He said the program will also provide grants and financial support to the women farmers as well as strengthen women’s agricultural ecosystem to enhance production and market access, establish processing plants, and utilise global best practices and innovations in agricultural development.
The ministry also announced that the WAVE digital application will soon be launched and encouraged SWOFON to mobilise and register its members on the platform.
Regarding the pressing issue of insecurity, the SSA noted that the matter is being addressed holistically under the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, where all relevant ministries will jointly develop integrated solutions.
