The Small-scale Women Farmers Organization in Nigeria (SWOFON) has expressed concerns over the inadequacy of agricultural extension services.
The women farmers indicated that the support provided by government extension agents is insufficient to enhance their farming activities and boost food production in the FCT.
Reading the scorecard on behalf of the women farmers, SWOFON Project Lead, Chika Orji, highlighted that 16.7% of groups, mainly from Abaji and Kwali area councils, reported having no access to government extension services.
The scorecard revealed that among the 83.3% of respondents who accessed government agricultural extension services from 2020 to 2023, only 27.8% found the services useful in areas such as training, farm inputs, market access, and land preparation, while 55.5% rated them as only fairly useful.
Furthermore, 66.7% of respondents rated the extension services provided by the government as “somewhat timely,” whereas 33.3%, including those without access, were uncertain, as the only extension service some received was training on tomato processing and preservation, which is not time-bound.
The report recommended hiring more extension workers and increasing budget allocations for extension services to support women farmers in the FCT.
