Women Farmers, CSOs Partner to Push for Accountable Agric Budgets in Anambra

By Praise Chinecherem

Government at all levels has been called upon to prioritize smallholder women farmers in their agriculture budgets to advance their food security programmes.

Stakeholders made the call in Awka, Anambra State during a 3-day meeting organized by Small Scale Women Farmers Organization in Nigeria, (SWOFON) Anambra State Chapter.

The meeting centered on budgeting and development of Charter of Demands for SWOFON members and civil society organizations was part of implementation of the Strengthening Public Accountability for Result and Knowledge, SPARK 2 project funded by International Budget Partnership, IBP.

In a presentation on “Identifying Priority Issues for Agricultural Budgeting”, SWOFON’s Program and Communication Officer, Chika Orji called on government to ensure effective implementation of agriculture budget.

“Agriculture contributes significantly to GDP, job creation and food security. Agric budgeting directs scarce resources to critical needs while poor allocation leads to poor productivity and persistent poverty,” she said.

Orji identified challenges around agricultural financing in national and state budgets as well as donor funding to include: delay in fund releases, underfunding of critical areas and weak monitoring and accountability.

“We must align our budgets to national and regional commitments such as the Malabo Declaration. There is need to use data and evidence like needs assessments, scorecards, and expenditure reviews in engaging government.

“We must also wear gender and equity lens in all that we do. It is necessary to ensure participatory processes with input from farmers, CSOs, private sector and others.

“Agriculture is key to growth, food, and livelihoods. Budgets must target critical priority areas while participation, evidence, and inclusivity are non-negotiable.

“There is need for stakeholders to align budgets with farmer realities. Together, we can make agricultural budgets work for farmers,” she said.

Speaking on SWOFON Year 2 strategy which focuses on system change, the Program Coordinator, Ogechi Okebugwu, listed the objectives as enhancing the participation of smallholder women farmers in budget processes at state level and engaging budget committees and policymakers on the inclusion of women farmers’ priorities.

Others include: developing and presenting a Charter of Demands reflecting the needs of rural women farmers as well as strengthening accountability mechanisms for agricultural budget implementation.

“SPARK II objective is to scale up government’s responsiveness and accountability to the agriculture service delivery needs of smallholder women farmers in Nigeria while the goal is to contribute to improved quality of life for Smallholder Women Farmers in the country.

Okebugwu said, “At the end, we hope to achieve: increased awareness among budget committees of women farmers’ needs and adoption of gender-responsive measures in agricultural budgets.

“We also want to see a strengthened partnership between SWOFON, policymakers, and oversight institutions as well as enhanced visibility and influence of smallholder women farmers in policy spaces.

“The project in 2025 will carry out capacity building and training for women leaders on budget literacy and advocacy as well as while SWOFON members will develop their Charter of Demands for presentation to state government.

Hajara Ramson, the Hajara Ramson Program and M&E Officer, in another presentation, titled “Understanding the Budget Process: Entry Points for Women Farmers’ Advocacy”, emphasized the importance of budget to the agricultural sector.

She said while budgets decide funding for agriculture, training, infrastructure, and inputs, women farmers often lack representation in budget decisions.

“Advocacy ensures their needs are included in public spending. It helps in integrating gender perspectives into budgeting to promote equality. It focuses on equitable allocation and outcomes for men and women.

She called on civil society organizations (CSOs) to play their influential role in amplifying the voices of women farmers for greater and better government support.

“Among other responsibilities, CSOs should track the utilization of money budgeted for assisting women farmers and report cases where funds are delayed, misused, or don’t reach the farmers.

“Partnership between CSOs, media, farmer groups, and women’s organizations will help in amplifying the SWOFON message. We must work together to hold government accountable for promises they made.

“CSOs are also expected to promote gender-responsive policies: Push for policies and budgets that consider the special needs of women, like childcare at training centers or access to small loans for women farmers.

Georgina Akunyiba, SWOFON Coordinator in the state on behalf of other members, expressed commitment to achieving the lofty goal and objective of SPARK 2 project in Anambra State.

“We are ready to make SPARK 2 succeed in our state because it is all for our good. We are beginning to get government attention but we need much more to fan our commitment to food security to flame”.

Speaking on behalf of the Civil Society, Programme Officer for Justice Development and Peace Caritas, JDPC Nnewi, Onyekachi Ololo, assured that the CSOs are poised to work with SWOFON to achieve SPARK 2 objectives.

“We cannot stop lending helping hands. We are in this together and in collaboration we are sure to achieve success.

“No doubt, smallholder women farmers who constitute over 70% of the entire agric sector population deserve greater attention from government especially if government is really serious with the food security targets.

The smallholder women farmers in Anambra State under the SWOFON platform developed a Charter of Demands from their most pressing challenges.

The charter will be used to engage government and other relevant stakeholders for greater attention to their challenges.