By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo

The Vice Chancellor, Osun State University, Uniosun, Professor Clement Adebooye has disclosed that achieving food security will be impossible in Nigeria without giving due recognition to women farmers.

Speaking at the maiden edition of the University’s Women’s Day on Thursday at the University auditorium in Osogbo, the Professor of Agriculture said the inequality faced by women farmers is not only an impediment to their development, but also to the food sustainability of the country as a whole.

He added that female farmers have always been on the receiving end of resources crises and violence despite that they have limited influence in decision making process.

According to him, Food Security in Nigeria will be a dream if we fail to factor the interest of women farmers, women sellers and women producers into our national policy. It appears that women farmers are sustaining us and we are not taking care of their interests in our national planning.

“Indeed, I state unrepentantly that one of the reasons that the previous policies on agricultural development in Nigeria have not achieved their desired targets is because we neglect the KEY roles of the vibrant smallholder, resource poor and voiceless women farmers. Let women voice count in agriculture and you will see a turn-around in a short-while.

“The importance of women and the position they hold in our society cannot be downplayed. How our women manage to be wives, mothers, sisters, and professionals in their various fields of endeavor simultaneously baffles and intrigues me a lot. Having to balance the home with the work space must be very challenging, yet a lot of our women do this with pride and smiles on your faces. I see our women as super heroes, who deserve to be celebrated and acknowledged. I see the need to continue to motivate them and to always shield them against any form of vulnerability, abuses or harassment”.

Delivering her paper, the Guest Speaker, Professor Olabisi Aina of Obafemi Awolowo University, stressed the need for gender issues to be addressed, saying necessary plans and measures must be put in place to help women deliver safely.

According to her, Unless we address gender issues, we might be far from development. There is a nexus between gender issues and development. That’s why the world is doing everything possible to bridge the gap and lean towards inclusiveness.