By ERIC MOORE
A research fellow under the Gender Response Agricultural Policy (GRASP), Dr. Clara Ifeanyi-Obi, said that the fellowship has continued to develop programmes that target mid-career African women in the policy field to help enhance the design and implementation of gender responsive agricultural policies across Africa.
Ifeanyi-Obi, a senior lecturer, Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, University of Port Harcourt and agriculture researcher in climate-change related impact on agriculture, made the assertion at the monthly congress of the Organisation for Women in Science for Developing World in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
She said government and policy makers should initiate gender-based agricultural policies to encourage more women in agricultural activities.
She said initiating such agriculture gender-based policies would tackle challenges resulting from climate change, which is fast threatening food security.
Ifeanyi-Obi also a guest lecturer at the congress binding all women in science in all the tertiary institutions in Rivers, reviewed the status of gender in climate change related policies as indicated by GRASP fellowship conducted in the African Agricultural sector particularly in Nigeria, Kenya and Malawi.
According to her, women constitute more than 60 per cent of the farming population in Nigeria, yet they have continued to suffer various forms of deprivations which have grossly affected them in terms of productivity.
The lecturer outlined measures towards improving awareness on climate change-related policies in the African agricultural sector as well as access to funding for women famers.
She noted that effective collaboration with climate-based agencies such as Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET), climate adaptive varieties would help reduce vulnerability to drought, flood, pest, diseases and other climate related risks which threatens the agriculture value chain.
”The gender responsive Agricultural System Policy (GRASP) Fellowship is a career development programme that targets mid-career African women in the policy field to catalyse the design and implementation of gender responsive agricultural policies across Africa.
”Funded by the United Agency for International Development (USAID), the fellowship is implemented by African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD).
”It is, therefore, necessary that findings and climate-change related projections by credible researchers be incorporated in government budgetary development to empower women in the agri-business sub sector,” she said.