CSO Seeks Lands For Nigerian Women, Youth in Agriculture

Solidaridad West Africa, a solution-oriented civil society organization, has called on the Federal Government to speak to the states and local government councils to make land available for women to venture into farming.

According to the organisation, the call was in a bid to enable women to generate income and improve their livelihoods.

Specifically, the Programme Manager of the organisation, Mr Kenechukwu Onukwube made the call during a workshop organised by Solidaridad for oil palm farmers, community leaders, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and local government authorities in Kogi State.

The workshop was held to harmonise the community-based land-use plans for different communities in Enugu and Kogi States.

Onukwube stressed that land should be made available for women and young people who are interested in farming to improve their standard of living in rural areas.

“We have been in serious advocacy in collaboration with CSOs to public authorities over the issue of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) in some states which takes a long process and the farmers don’t have what it takes to acquire such land.’’

“We also recognise the power of the chairmen of local government councils in granting Customary Right of Occupancy,

“So, we have been telling them to help farmers, especially women, to have access to land for agricultural purposes,” he added.

Speaking on the importance of the workshop, the programme manager said there were a lot of issues, accusations and criticisms over the continuous production of oil palm globally.

The constraints, he said, emanated from environmental and social concerns that to grow oil palm, you have to clear the forest which could lead to deforestation and emission of greenhouse gases.

Meanwhile, Onukwube said the workshop will develop strategies to make oil palm farming lucrative so that more young men and women will take it as a sure business for livelihood.

AGRO NIGERIA