The Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON) has raised alarms over a potential rise in food prices in 2025 if critical challenges facing farmers are not addressed by the government.
This warning was issued during the SWOFON FCT State Level Interactive Forum, held in Abuja to commemorate the International Day of Rural Women and World Food Day.
The event, supported by ActionAid Nigeria under the Scaling Up Public Investment in Agriculture (SUPIA) project, brought attention to the significant hurdles hindering smallholder women farmers, including insecurity, farmer-herder conflicts, lack of credit facilities, and post-harvest losses.
Mrs. Comfort Sunday, Coordinator of SWOFON’s FCT Chapter, emphasized that while World Food Day symbolizes abundant food for all, the reality for many Nigerians is far from it, with a large portion of the population unable to afford daily meals. She highlighted that smallholder women farmers are crucial to ensuring food security, yet their needs remain overlooked, particularly in areas such as land access and protection against theft and violence.
Mrs. Mercy Nnnana, Secretary of FCT SWOFON, called on the Federal Government to turn its declaration of a state of emergency on food security into concrete actions by addressing post-harvest losses, investing in processing and storage facilities, and ensuring market access for farmers. She noted that rural farmers, who contribute up to 75%
