The Federal government has trained over 6000 rural women farmers on gender mainstreaming and strategies for mitigation and adaptation of climate change as part of ongoing diversification efforts to improve food security in Nigeria.
The women also benefitted with free gas cylinders given to each of the 6000 trainees to support the fight against climate change.
Declaring the workshop open, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Ernest Umanike, represented by Mrs. Gertrud Orji disclosed that the workshop is part of the implementation of the national gender policy on agriculture.
Supported by the Partnership for Advancing Women in Economic Development, anchors by the development Research and Projects Centre, and other partners, the workshop is the culmination of zonal workshops organized at the six geopolitical zones for women farmers to train them on modalities and strategies to mitigate the impact of climate change in Nigeria.
In her opening remarks, the Assistant Director Gender of the Ministry, Mrs. Ifeoma Anyanwu disclosed that the workshop is a climax for the implementation of the the National Gender Policy, which she said is an assertive document, which recognizes the limitation of growth and development of the agricultural sector because of the exclusion of smallholder women farmers in strategic participation and in key decisions making and access to agricultural assets.
She said that the document provides a clear direction and lead for implementation of guidelines and actions that will ensure fair and equal participation of smallholder Women farmers in the entire agricultural process and food systems.
She then urged the participants to use the skills they will learn from the training to increase food production and support the economic development of their families.
Earlier in his speech, representative of the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, Mr Idris Muhammed, who is the Director Economic Development, commended the federal government for the various interventions aimed to securing food production and reducing over-reliance on foreign food imports.
Adding that the present administration’s efforts at diversifying the economy is yielding the desired results as Nigeria is now self-sufficient in rice and other produce and will soon begin exportation.
She then urged the lucky participants to use the learning from the workshop to promote food security.
Highlight of the workshop was a panel session where experts on Gender, economic development and advocacy led by Professor Hauwa Evelyn Yusuf, the Director, Centre for Gender Studies, Kaduna State University and the lead Consultant to PAWED discussed the significance of fulfillment of commitments to women in Nigeria.
They sighted the recent rejection of all the bills that were introduced in the constitutional review to empower women as a set back for Nigeria.
