The chairman of the Uganda-based Leveraging Excellence in
Agricultural Development (LEAD), Ambassador Philip Idro has expressed disappointment
on elites claiming to be championing growth of agriculture on the continent of
Africa, alleging they have abandoned women farmers, reports NaijaAgroNet.
He made his views known at the sideline events on Accelerating
Africa’s Rise: Maximising Non-State Actors’ Potential for Results and Impact at
the 2016 African Green Revolution Forum ongoing in Kenyan capital, Nairobi,
Amb. Idro described women as the brains behind the food on the glass tables of
the elites.
Amb. Idro charged the facilitators of the session, the Comprehensive
Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)
Non-State Actors Coalition (CNC) to be more people oriented, because no matter
whatever happens, the people are the majority and even more than those in
government, but needed adequate mobilization and enlightenment.
The former Ugandan ambassador to China also lamented that
despite the role of women in development of agriculture, large number of them
especially in Africa have been abandon and neglected in the rural areas by
those who should cater for them.
These attitudes, he said, have led to lack of social amenities
to better the lives of these women and children who form large number of the
smallholders and subsistence farmers across the continent.
“I am disappointed at the elites who have abandoned our rural
women,” he decried, noting that these women from day breaks, wake up to ensure
there is food prepared for everyone in the house including their husbands, and
use estimated about two-hours to search and fetch water daily, very often with
children at the back.
He also lamented that infact by the time they finished preparing
breakfast and head to the farms, a little time later, it will be lunch and then
after working all day, gets home to start another round of dinner preparation
and of course without forgetting to make the husband happy eventually.
He wondered why such a person or group of persons will not fail
sick if not by the grace of God, stressing that unfortunately, those who have
passed through these rural women, forget soon and very easily to plough back in
the areas of improving their lives with social amenities like good roads to
move their produce to a larger market, clinics and schools.
Ambassador Idro, therefore charged the Comprehensive Africa
Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)
Non-State Actors Coalition (CNC) to work on reversing these trends so as to
properly empower women especially in Africa.
Other panelists at the session include the Executive
Director, ACORD, Mr. Ousainou Ngum, One Campiaign
representative to the African Union (AU) and East Africa, Dorine Nininahazwe, Deputy
Regional Director at Oxfam, Ms Dedo Mate-Kodjo, deputy chairman of CNC, Mr.
Cris Muyunda, chief executive officer of East Africa Farmers Federation, Mr.
Stephen Muchiri and was moderated by the Executive Director, Local Development
Research Institute (LDRI), Mr. Muchiri Nyaggah.
Remmy Nweke in Nairobi/GEE
... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technologyPix: Amb. Idro speaking