An NGO, Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) Project has launched an agriculture empowerment programme for women in Edo state, with the inauguration of Edo State executives.
The launch of the empowerment programme, Women in Agriculture Network Niger Delta, Edo State Chapter also featured a policy brief meeting with 40 women in the agriculture
network.
The women were drawn from across the three senatorial districts of Edo State
The Rural Institution Coordinator of Life-ND, Dr Clem Owen, the NGO was set up to create gender equity so that the voices of women can be heard in the course of formulating policies that involve women in agriculture.
He said that society is prejudiced against women in the formulation of policies on agriculture in Nigeria, even when 79 percent of the rural labour force are women.
This development, he said has put women, not only in the back seat but also in a disadvantaged position during discourse on matters that directly affect them.
According to him, with the support of Life-ND, women would be empowered to understand their rights and overcome the challenges that expand the gaps between them and their male counterparts.
He identified such challenges to include lack of access to farmland, seamless access to credit facilities, lack of infrastructure, and lack of gender-friendly policies on agriculture.
