By Ugochi Joseph
Smallholder women farmers contribute significantly to global food requirements through direct involvement in agricultural production. Indeed, women farmers constitute a high proportion of the agricultural labor force. Empowering them is crucial for achieving better outcomes in agricultural productivity and food security.
Although poor funding is a significant issue in agriculture, other challenges also threaten food security. One of the main issues is the inability of smallholder women farmers to access farm inputs that would aid their agricultural work. The lack of access to credit facilities has negatively impacted food productivity in the state, with smallholder women farmers being the hardest hit.
Moreover, smallholder farmers, especially women, often lack adequate knowledge or information about accessing credits that would support and enhance their agricultural efforts. An analysis of credit facilities to Ebonyi farmers between 2020-2023 showed that funds allocated to boost agricultural production and enhance food security were not released to support the farmers’ work. There is also no specific budget line for credit facilities to smallholder women farmers, despite their prolific efforts to ensure food security in Ebonyi State. This lack of support has undermined the efforts of these farmers.
Considering the immense contributions of smallholder women farmers to the agricultural sector, it is important for the State Government to create specific budget lines for them, allocating not less than 15% of the total agricultural budget to them. More smallholder women farmers need to be included in budget planning discussions at the state level. Women should be brought alongside their male counterparts in the discussion and planning of the agricultural budget and its implementation.
The yearly state agricultural budget should be more gender-responsive by providing line items for implementing the National Gender Policy in Agriculture, which addresses the specific challenges faced by women farmers. This approach would avoid lumping together the budget for women farmers with other groups such as youths. The Ebonyi State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources should organize annual stakeholders’ consultative meetings on the agricultural budget before calling for budget circulars to ensure the priority needs of smallholder women farmers are captured in each year’s agricultural budget.