By Victoria Ojeme

Federal government has declared given more priority to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) owned by women in the country.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adebayo said the ministry had mainstreamed gender issues in its mandate of industrial development.

The Minister said Nigeria Population reviewed that women constituted 49.3 per cent of the total population.

Women constitute part of the human resources with which both firms and government can optimize being objective function. An economy that successfully attracts and nurtures entrepreneurs in various categories is likely to sustain economic growth,” Adebayo stated.

Represented by an Assistant Director in the Ministry, Hajara Usman, Otunba explained that the population of women in the country was significant and its effects could not be downplayed in the matters of economic growth.

He, therefore, commended NAWE for contributing to the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and also asked them to do more.

In her part, the newly inaugurated President of NAWE, Chief Vera Ndanusa charged the government at all levels to ensure that the Girl-Child was also included in economic policies as a means of facilitating young Entrepreneurs.

Government and international agencies should tailor their programmes to encourage the empowerment of women in sustainable agriculture while financial institutions should be women-friendly in their lending considering women’s role in food security.”

Ndanusa further lamented that women were not given a chance in the country to officially own land because women do not usually inherit land culturally, stating that the current land use was affecting women participation in Agric-business.

“When it comes to farming, women in Nigeria are mostly subsistence farmers; now that we have made a decision on agriculture, the first thing is to assess lands and funds that will empower small scale farmers,” she noted.