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From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
To ensure that no farmer is left behind when it comes to improved agricultural production, processing, and marketing in Kaduna State, a Kaduna-based non-governmental organisation, Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women (LANW), under the AGRA Gender Consortium project on Thursday championed a stakeholders validation meeting of the draft gender policy in agriculture.
The adoption and subsequent implementation of this all-important policy by the state government hopefully before the expiration of the current administration by May 29 this year, will help the state to contribute immensely to the zero hunger goal of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations’ 2030 target.
Presenting the draft copy of the policy to stakeholders drawn from relevant ministries, departments, and agencies of the state government, development partners, civil society groups, women farmers, and traditional and religious institutions, the drafting Consultant, Prof. Muhammed Tawfiq Ladan noted that, without food security, collective survival is difficult, hence, the need for adoption of the policy by the state government.
“Without food security, no collective survival. This is a policy that is consistent with Kaduna State agriculture plans and other pro-gender policies in the state.
“When adopted, this gender policy will help the state government to promote generation storage of gender data that can help the government to plan better as well as promoting institutional collaboration between relevant MDAs and development partners among others”, he said.
In an interview with newsmen on the sideline of the meeting held at a hotel in Kaduna, the Director, Agric Services, Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Ya’u Kasimu expressed optimism that the policy would be adopted by the state executive council because it was developed in line with state’s implementation strategy already in place.
“We have about four policies in the State agricultural sector; policy in agriculture itself, policy on contract farming, policy on soya beans, and now gender policy.
“We all know that coming up with a policy without a strategy on how to implement it is a problem. We have already developed a strategy called KADAS designed on how to implement any policy that will come.
“That means any policy that will come must go in line with what our strategy is. This very policy is developed in line with the KADAS strategy which was streamlined into the national gender policy.
“So, we don’t have an issue with it and we are ever ready because it will serve as a guide to any administration in the future because this is not just for farmers but all that will work in the sector whether at production, processing or marketing level”, he explained.
Stakeholders are expected to reconvene after five years to look at what has worked and what has not worked to improve gender policy on agriculture in Kaduna State – that is if the government of the day adopts it.
Earlier, Trustee, LANW, Barr Rebecca Sako-John, remarked that the domestication of the National Gender in Agriculture Policy would act to strengthen the State agricultural enabling policy environment and support local governance and institutions to implement gender-sensitive policies and programming that are responsive to the rights and needs of poor women farmers as the key to women’s empowerment.
“If indeed we want to record quantum leaps in the agricultural sector in terms of inclusivity, women’s empowerment, and positive outcomes, we need to address those gaps by adopting transformative measures that would increase productivity for women smallholder farmers, strengthen and expand women’s access to output markets as well as increase capacity of smallholder farming households and value chain actors to better prepare, adapt to shocks and stresses,” she added.
