Nasarawa smallholder women farmers seek government support

THE smallholder women farmers in Nasarawa State have appealed to the state government to support them financially and materially in order to fight for food security in the state.

Spokesperson of the Smallholder Women Farmers Association in Nasarawa State, made the call during an agriculture show organised by Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Mada Hills in collaboration with OXFAM Nigeria which was held in Lafia the state capital.

She said that the call became imperative considering the effort of women in fighting for food security in society.

According to her,” We are begging for support from well to do agencies, especially from the government. Anything you are doing if you didn’t get support you wouldn’t succeed.

Nasarawa State is blessed with agriculture production but sometimes we Small Scale Women Farmers are not getting support from the government.

Our challenges are; each time we have programme those we invited would not come. Our foreign partners would not be happy us and they will tell us we are not serious,” she lamented.

Mrs. Jummai Yuhana called on the government to come to their aid through farm input and improve varieties of farm products in order to fight food security in the state.

Early on, Mr. Ango Adamu, the executive secretary of Young Men’s Christian Association ( YMCA) Mada Hills explained that the organisation was established in 1844 with the aim of implementing some projects that touches the lives of local dwellers as part of their service delivery.

He explained that the organization is working closely with donor agencies, and government agencies in order to fight the food crisis in the state.

The Executive Secretary of Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Mada Hills Mr. Ango Adamu also explained that the organisation was concerned with Small Scale Women Farmers that are spread across Nasarawa State and with the way women are putting effort to ensure food security in the state.

He also explained the essence of the programme was to recognize the roles women play in ensure food security in the state.

He however said that the organisation invited 250 Small Scale Women Farmers across the state to come and exhibit the different kinds of agriculture products they have for government to assess them.