A legal practitioner, Mrs Folakemi Oluseyi, has called on the Federal Government to empower more women living in rural communities across the country through agriculture.
Folakemi, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on Wednesday, said that such would go a long way to enhance women capacity in agriculture and boost rural development.
She noted that rural women played vital role in the society, particularly in economic and agricultural development adding that they needed to be supported by government for increased productivity.
The lawyer also urged the government to launch a fund raising project to support rural women, adding that most of the women suffered as a result of poverty.
“I urge government to launch a fundraising project to empower rural women and encourage farming in the rural communities.
“Rural women depend mostly on agriculture for their livelihood. The best Federal Government can do is to support them.
“If you have visited some of the rural communities in the country, you will be amazed at the intensity of poverty and how these women are struggling to feed their families.
“Most of these women even suffer violence, assault and harassment and molestation because they cannot fend for themselves.
“They need to be empowered to stand against some barbaric cultures and suffering inflicted on them by the society.
“The rural women have right to freedom of expression and be economically productive, they should not be neglected to live in penury,’’ she said. (NAN)