By BON PETERS, Port Harcourt

A university lecturer, Dr Clara Ifeanyi-Obi, has called on government and policy makers in Nigeria to initiate gender-based Agricultural policies to encourage more women involvement in agricultural activities.

Ifeanyi-Obi, a Senior lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers state made the suggestion at the monthly congress of the Organisation for Women in Science for Developing World, on Friday in Port Harcourt the Rivers State capital.

She said that initiating such gender-based policies would boost efforts to tackle challenges resulting from climate change which is fast threatening food security.

Ifeanyi-Obi, a guest lecturer at the congress, reviewed the status of gender in climate change related policies 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), and climate adaptive varieties would help reduce vulnerability to drought, flood, pest, diseases and other climate-related risks threatening 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.