Access to credit and financial services (from government and non-governmental channels) by Small holder farmers particularly women, placed at an average of 43% has been described as
very poor.
The observation was raised at the ActionAid Nigeria’s Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on the 2022 Agriculture Budget, with the call on Government to put in place measures that would protect small holder women farmers from rape, kidnapping and to enable them access there farms.
The objective of the ActionAid Nigeria’s Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on the 2022 Agriculture Budget was geared towards Facilitating conversations amongst key stakeholders connecting the continental framework, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) targets and Government intentions within the Agricultural Sector in Nigeria and strengthen citizens’ participation towards making 2022 Agriculture budget responsive for food security and wealth creation.
Addressing a press conference facilitated by Actionaid Nigeria, stakeholders expressed worries that the criteria to access formal financial credits schemes and programs can neither be understood nor met by over 70% of smallholder women farmers.
The Stakeholders attributed high level of bureaucracy; complexity of application processes, failure of State and LG to provide application supports to farmers, poor literacy level of most of the women, and the failure of the credit managers to adopt credit models that take cognisance of the farmers realities and take advantage of the traditional saving cooperative which these women already belong to.
Other observations by the Stakeholders notes that without solving food-farm security issues, solving the national security issues with rising hunger, social insecurity and the peace of the country will continue to be threatened.
The Stakeholders notes also that Farms are getting abandoned due to social security threats and natural disasters, urged for the need to make farms safe and funding agricultural mechanisation will create not only more foods but also jobs to engage restless youths that have turned to crime for a living.
While it also observed that Smallholder women farmers have continually been given a back seat in the discussion, planning and implementation of agricultural budget, despite their role of contributing over 70% of agricultural production.
It was observed too that the Agricultural sector budget is still bedevilled by late budget releases and policy inconsistency. In the light of late budget releases, MDAs need to itemise their priorities and give a proper timeline that synchronizes with farmers and farm season. Without such timed budget, capital budget releases may not be coming at the time when farmers seek them.
The Stakeholders at the meeting however recommend for the drafting of new agricultural sector policies, said consideration should be given to discourage farm practices such as land clearing, and open tillage.
The policy they note should promote soil preparation and restoration practices, small size mechanisation, and improvement in data capturing and coordination across sub-national
Stakeholders at the meeting as part of recommendation also want the drafting of Policy that will have the State government in mind to ensure that policy implementation trickles down to impact on small farmers.
The need to have a national investment plan for the agricultural sector, which should be a compilation of the State developed agricultural investment plan that contains state crops with comparative advantages was equally recommended as Stakeholders maintained that such plans will highlight the commitment of the states, PPP amongst other benefits.
Other recommendations include that the FMARD, State Ministries of Agriculture and other Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) should create a budget line to ensure the continued coordination and the implementation of the Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on the Agriculture Budget annually at the Federal and State levels.
Similarly, it recommends that there is a need to bring more smallholder women farmers to the front of the budget planning discussion at national and state levels. Women need to be brought side by side their male counterpart in the discussion and planning of agricultural budget and its implementation.
Also the 2022 and subsequent years agriculture budget should be gender sensitive and responsive by providing line items for the implementation of the National Gender Policy in Agriculture that address specific challenges that affect women farmers different from men as well as avoid lumping up budget for women farmers and other groups such as youths.
For 2022 and subsequent years, agriculture budgeting and other policymaking processes, a strategy for involving and mainstreaming the concerns of smallholder farmers should be developed was recommended.
State governments were advised to allocate more public investments in agriculture to address the strategic areas of investments that would increase the agricultural GDP.
More Details shortly…