Lack of Land and funding, impediment against rural women in agriculture -Stakeholders 

By Ene Asuquo 

Lack of funding and availability of Land space  to cultivate has been identified as factors inhibiting rural women participation in agriculture 

This was made known recently by stakeholders in calabar at the event to mark this year’s International Day for rural women with the Theme,”Rural Women Cultivating Good Food For All”

Celebrating this year’s UN International Day of rural women in calabar, the Deputy country representative for UN in Nigeria, Mr. Lansana Wonneh said, “women are not properly included in decision making and are not well participated in governance, yet they do the bulk of food production, processing and marketing”

He said lack of financial support from the government and private sectors,  infrastructure and even access to land are some of the factors identified as hindrances against rural women participation in Agriculture, adding that securing loans from Banks and other forms of empowerment is so cumbersome especially those women at the rural areas

Mr Wonneh disclosed that it is because of some of these reasons UN is collaborating with the women especially the rural women, to protect their right where they may have been infringed because women are the engine room for the growth of any Nation

The Director, Agric services, Cross River State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Nkor Nathaniel said in his remarks that, the state government was doing everything to make sure women in participating in agriculture are not left out in the scheme of things

Professor Caroline Agbo of the University of calabar in her presentation had advise women to always form cooperatives to be able to access facilities from Banks and that lack of big spaces to cultivate should not be a hindrance for them to participate in agriculture

Deaconess Victoria Bola Ihesiular, National Chairman Women wing of Christian Association of Nigeria (WOWICAN) who was also thinking chairperson in the event, said that for women to archive success, there is need for serious intervention from the government

Mrs. Ihesiular maintained that the population of women farmers is about 70%, for this reason, they should be given large land space to cultivate and funding made available to them for greater harvest and increase productivity to feed the society with good food she concluded.