Gender specialists and advocates of women’s rights have called for a review of the National Gender Policy in Agriculture to address gaps in the policy, such as grassroots-driven climate action for rural women, among others.

At an event organized by the International Centre for Environmental Health and Development (ICEHD), in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security under a two-year project titled ‘Economic Resilience and Climate Justice Project for Rural Women Farmers in Nigeria’, held over the weekend in Abuja, they said that the review is essential to ensure the policy is gender-responsive to climate action in agriculture, as it affects women who make up more than 50 percent of the entire agricultural workforce.

Consulting Partner of ICEHD and Country Manager of Rose of Sharon Foundation (ROSF), Dr. Ndudi Bowei, said that the aim is to enable smallholder women farmers across Nigeria to access climate finance and also have a dedicated budget line from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, as well as to entrench sustainable adaptation methods used by these farmers.

Dr. Bowei, who is also the Deputy Chair of the Africa Climate Justice Movement, said, “This is a project that is tailored towards looking at how smallholder women farmers across Nigeria can have access to climate finance and also have agricultural budgeting from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, with a specific allocation of at least 30 percent or more for women in agriculture.”

“Most importantly, we are looking at how we can have gender-responsive policies in agriculture and climate action, and we are looking at the National Gender Policy in Agriculture, which is a national policy developed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.”

According to her, the project is working on how to review the five-year-old policy because of the major holes observed in the document by stakeholders.

“We are creating a roadmap here today that would state what the gaps are in the current policy, what the contextual issues missing in the policy are, and what the loopholes in the policy are that make the policy not align with international best practices,” she stated.

Speaking on key areas where the policy falls short, a representative of the Small Women Farmers of Nigeria (SWOFON), Mrs. Comfort Sunday, said extension services are almost non-existent, and the few extension workers are often untrained and have no knowledge of the job they are supposed to do in linking with rural farmers.

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She appealed to the authorities to always ensure that qualified extension workers are the ones deployed to interface with farmers for the best results.

Other speakers at the meeting pointed to some cultural issues militating against women farmers, including a lack of access to farmland.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security noted that “the ministry is committed to promoting sustainable agricultural practices, enhancing food security, and empowering farmers.”