By Thompson Yamput
Women farmers under the auspices of SmallScale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), have urged the Kogi government to release the N700 million credit facility earmarked for the 2024 planting season.
The state government appropriated and approved the amount in the 2024 financial year.
They made the call on Wednesday in Lokoja while presenting the Community Scorecard on Small-Holder Women Farmers Access to Agricultural Credit in Kogi between 2020 and 2023.
SWOFON Chairperson, Hajiya Rukaiyat Ahmed and Mr Mathias Akpanachi, Chairman, Budget Committee Group (BCG), who presented the scorecard, said that only N100 million credit facility was released to the youth and women farmers from 2020 till date.
Ahmed identified extortion as one of the challenges preventing farmers from accessing the facility.
She said that farmers were not also accessing similar credit facility being provided by financial institutions coupled with lack of transparency and accountability in the agricultural credit scheme.
Also, Akpanachi urged the state government to release the funds to enhance farmer access to credit facility to encourage productivity.
“We urge the government to also provide credit with single digit interest rate to smallholder women farmers for ease of repayment.
“Government should provide more information to smallholder women farmers on agricultural credit schemes, ensure accountability and transparency in the agriculture credit scheme to eliminate extortion of farmers in the state.
“We want involvement of smallholder women farmers in the design, planning and implementation of agriculture credit schemes,” he said.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Timothy Ojomah, assured farmers of the state government support for improved food production and security in the state.
Ojomah, represented by the Director, Administration in the ministry, Mr Oseni Mudasiru, said that Gov. Usman Ododo has accorded premium to agriculture, and provided inputs and implements to the farmers to boost food production in the state.
Mr Alfa Yusuf-Baba, Head, International Control, Bank of Agriculture (BoA), Lokoja Office, expressed the bank’s readiness to support SWOFON in its commitment to boost food production and security in Kogi.
“As bank of agriculture, we are out to see that farmers in Nigeria get the necessary support to improve their food production, which help boost the growth and development of the country, ” he said.
Also speaking, Hajiya Fatima Momoh, the Commissioner for Women Affairs, said the government had initiated special packages for women farmers in the state
Represented by Mrs Josephine Babatunde, Director, Women Affairs, Momoh lauded farmers for their resilience in ensuring that the residents of Kogi and Nigerians had food on their tables. NAN
