News in Brief:
– Nigerian senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, champions Senate’s commitment to improve women’s participation in agriculture.
– She highlighs data-driven interventions, financial access, and inclusive legislation as ways to encourage more women to enter the sector, recognising their critical role despite facing disparities.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central in the Nigerian Senate, has emphasised the 10th Senate’s commitment to enhancing women’s participation in agriculture.
She made this announcement at the 2024 Gender Policy in Agriculture forum organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security alongside the National Gender Steering Committee. Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan highlighted the Senate’s role in crafting legislation that empowers women in the agricultural sector.
The forum was designed to address gender disparities in agriculture. It aims to equip women with necessary resources and establish a national gender-based policy to bolster food security.
Championing women’s access to resources and data
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan underscored the significance of comprehensive data on female farmers across Nigerian states. This data, she argued, would ensure interventions and programs effectively target genuine beneficiaries.
She further advocated for collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the Ministry of Women Affairs, SMEDAN (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria), and other relevant agencies to facilitate women’s access to finance in agriculture.
The Senator pledged to extend her support beyond her role in the Senate Committee on Agriculture. Citing her chairmanship of the Committee on Local Content, she expressed her commitment to passing a non-oil and gas sector bill encompassing agriculture. ‘When the bill becomes law,’ she stated, ‘we will be able to create the support that you need’.
