Cross River Assembly promises to support women in agriculture

The Cross River House of Assembly has promised to support women in agriculture in the state.

The Speaker, Mr John Lebo gave the promise on Friday when Women in Agriculture Cooperative Societies in Nigeria, Cross River chapter, visited him.

Lebo said the Assembly would give them all the needed support and promised to present their request for adequate funding for women farmers to the State Government.

We will assist women farmers in the state in whichever way possible to ensure that they realise their potentials,’’ he said.

The speaker advised the women to meet the Chairman of House Committee on Agriculture for a link with the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

Earlier, Mrs Elizabeth Etta, the President of the chapter said their major aim was to get women farmers together.

Etta said this was to enable them take “advantage of the life changing opportunities that agriculture offers to improve our lives.’’

She said the cooperative was an important structure that could be used to facilitate and accelerate efforts to reduce poverty and improved food security in the state and country at large.

She said the cooperative had secured some hectares of land in Uyanga, Akamkpa Local Government Area through the state Ministry of Agriculture under Fadama III Additional Financing for cassava farming.

According to her, the project was designed to stop the trend of taking cassava out of the state to other states for processing.

She said the association had organised women farmers into clusters of crop value chains; cassava, rice, oil palm, cocoa, plantain/banana, fisheries, poultry, animal husbandry and vegetable farming.