The Small-Scale Women Farmers Organization in Nigeria (SWOFON), Oyo State chapter, has called on the state government to ensure that approved agricultural budgets translate into tangible support for smallholder women farmers.
The state coordinator of SWOFON, Tinuke Akinbade, made the call on Wednesday 23rd of September, 2026 at a news conference in Ibadan.
Akinbade said findings from the IBP-SWOFON SPARK II Policy Brief showed a significant gap between the state’s budgetary processes and the actual delivery of agricultural investments to women farmers.
She said allocations to agriculture in Oyo State’s budgets between 2021 and 2025 never exceeded 4.31 per cent, while implementation of the agricultural capital budget averaged 17.5 per cent.
According to her, the performance was the lowest among the five states assessed under the programme.
Akinbade said women farmers had actively participated in the state’s budget processes and developed a 10-point Charter of Demands, but their priorities had not been adequately reflected in budget allocations and implementation.
“Receiving women farmers’ demands is not enough.
“The government must demonstrate how those demands are reflected in budget lines, how much is allocated, when funds are released and what is ultimately delivered to farmers,” she said.
The SWOFON coordinator called for increased and protected investment in agriculture, alongside the timely release and implementation of approved capital budgets.
She also urged the government to convert three to five priority demands from women farmers each year into costed and traceable budget commitments.
Akinbade further advocated the institutionalisation of women farmers’ participation in agricultural planning and budgeting at both state and local government levels.
She urged the government to improve women farmers’ access to secure land, particularly in view of customary inheritance and tenure barriers.
“We want publication of information on agricultural allocations, releases, expenditure, procurement, physical delivery and beneficiaries to enable farmers and other citizens to track implementation,” she said.
Akinbade also called for increased investment in agricultural extension services, irrigation, storage, processing, transportation, aggregation and reliable markets.
She noted that production support without corresponding access to markets could limit the economic returns available to farmers.
The SWOFON coordinator urged the Oyo State Government, House of Assembly, relevant ministries, departments and agencies, local government councils and development partners to work closely with women farmers to bridge the gap between budget approval and actual delivery.
