By Esther Sangodele
The Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), Oyo State Chapter, has called on the state government to urgently strengthen its investment in agriculture and ensure that approved agricultural budgets translate into tangible support and services for smallholder women farmers across the state.
The organisation made the call against the backdrop of what it described as a significant gap between women farmers’ participation in budget processes and the actual delivery of agricultural investments in the state.
According to the organisation, evidence from the IBP-SWOFON SPARK II Policy Brief showed that agriculture’s share of Oyo State’s budgets between 2021 and 2025 never exceeded 4.31 per cent, while agricultural capital budget execution averaged only 17.5 per cent.
It said the 17.5 per cent execution rate was the weakest performance among the five states assessed under the programme.
SWOFON said the situation was particularly concerning because women farmers in the state had continued to engage government and articulate their priorities through an extensive 10-point Charter of Demands.
The organisation, however, said the demands had yet to translate into corresponding budgetary allocations and implementation.
The Oyo State Coordinator of SWOFON, Mrs Tinuke Akinbade, said participation in budget hearings and government engagements should lead to measurable improvements in the lives and livelihoods of women farmers.
She said receiving the demands of women farmers was not enough, stressing the need for government to demonstrate how the demands were reflected in budget lines, the amounts allocated, when funds were released and what was ultimately delivered to farmers.
SWOFON called on the state government to increase and protect agricultural investments while ensuring that approved agricultural capital budgets were released and implemented in a timely and transparent manner.
It also urged the government to work with the organisation to identify three to five priority demands annually and translate them into specific, costed and traceable budget commitments linked to responsible agencies and implementation timelines.
The organisation called for the institutionalisation of women’s participation in state and local government agricultural planning and budget processes, with government providing documented responses to priorities presented by women farmers.
It also urged the government to strengthen mechanisms that would enable smallholder women farmers to access secure and productive farmland, noting that customary inheritance and land tenure barriers remained important constraints.
On accountability, SWOFON called for the publication of information on agricultural budget implementation, including allocations, releases, expenditure, procurement, physical delivery and beneficiaries.
It also advocated greater investment in agricultural extension services, irrigation, storage, processing, transportation, aggregation and reliable markets, arguing that support for production without adequate market access could limit farmers’ economic returns.
The organisation called on Governor ‘Seyi Makinde, the state House of Assembly, relevant ministries, departments and agencies, local government councils, development partners and other stakeholders to work with smallholder women farmers to close the gap between budget approval and actual delivery.
It said the critical issue was whether the voices of women farmers would result in credible budget commitments, timely releases, effective implementation and measurable improvements in their livelihoods.
SWOFON added that as Nigeria seeks to strengthen food security and build a resilient agricultural sector, Oyo State could not afford to leave smallholder women farmers behind.
