Report on a Strategic Needs Assessment and Mapping Mission to Ologbo Dukedom in Ikpoba Okha Local government Areas of Edo State as part of activities marking 2022 International Day for Rural Women
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| RUDILAC Team led by Blessed O. Jattoh with Contacts persons in Ologbo |
Executive Summary
The
International Day of Rural Women was created in 1995 by civil society
organizations at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and was
declared an official UN Day in 2007 by the UN General Assembly. According to UN
Women (2021), Women and children represent 75 % of the world’s population and
their impact is needed to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals – Agenda
2030. The SDGs have gender equality and women’s
empowerment at their core as captured in Goals 4 & 5 respectively, and
include a target to double the agricultural productivity and incomes of
small-scale food producers, in particular women. Indeed, rural women are
critical to the success of almost all the 17 SDGs. Rural
women ensure food security for their communities, build climate resilience and
strengthen the economy of their community, yet, gender inequalities, such as
discriminatory laws and social norms, combined with a fast-changing economic,
technological and environmental landscape restrict their full potential,
leaving them far behind men and their urban counterparts.
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The
2022 International Day of Rural Women with the theme “Rural Women Producing
Good Food for All” offered a renewed opportunity to commit to a different way
of organizing our world, so that they benefit equally from their productivity,
with good food enjoyed by all. RUDILAC in marking the IDRW 2022 creates an
opportune moment to amplify rural women’s voices and experiences in Ologbo
Dukedom
Program Description
October 15 is a day dedicated to recognizing and
celebrating the roles and contributions of women particularly those in the
rural areas in ensuring sufficient food for all and the survival of the human
race on earth. According to United Nations African renewal (2022) publication,
Women are the backbone of the rural economy, especially in developing
countries. They make up almost half of
the world’s farmers and have broadened their involvement in agriculture over
the last few decades. The number of
female-led farms has continued to increase as a result of a similar increase in
female-headed households equally occasioned by migration and other social and
cultural factors. As the primary
caregivers to families and communities, women provide food and nutrition; they
are the human link between the farm and the table.
It is in the realization of these that a tactical
team from the Rural Development, Information and Legal Advocacy Center
(RUDILAC) with support from FOI Counsel undertook a Strategic needs assessment
and Mapping Mission to Ologbo Dukedom to ascertain amongst other things
§ The Health
conditions of female farmers in Ologbo and what impact the prevailing farm
practice has on the health of women and girls.
§ The girl child education in Ologbo and if there
are adequate facilities, motivation and incentives to encourage girl child
enrollment and retention in school and whether there are disparities between
the numbers eventually enrolled and those who finish the program.
§ The legal issues facing women in the community and
the barriers women face in accessing legal services.
§ What are the
economic realities prevalent in Ologbo and how does it impact the livelihood
and economic status of women and girls in Ologbo?
§ Are there cultural
barriers militating against the livelihood of women and girls in Ologbo?
§ What is the land
tenure system, the difficulties
faced by women in accessing farmlands and its effect on women and girls?
§ What are the
challenges and impact of migration of women and girls in Ologbo
§ Is there any
mentoring or training for women and girls in the community?
§ Impact of Land Grabbing by the government and multinationals such as
NPDC, Presco, and Osiomo Power Plant, on
the earning power of local women farmers
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Methodology
The mission activities included a town hall meeting
with women groups; a need assessment survey, and visitation to Ologbo Health
Center, Ologbo Junior and Senior secondary school.
Theories of Change
The outcome of the
strategic mapping and town hall meeting led to the Formation of the RUDILAC Women
Forum (RWF), a press release published in several national dailies, drafting
support proposals for funding for agriculture, health and legal reform for women
farmers in the community, drafting of FOI letters to Edo state government on
the land lease agreement with Preco Oil and Osiomo Power Plant among.
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| Blessed Jattoh, Program Director and team members during the setup of the Town Hall Meeting |
Ologbo Community is located in
the Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. The Ologbo Community is rural and its
geographical coordinates are 6°3’0’’ North and 5°40’0’’ East. Its landmass is 0.974 km² of which Presco
Oil currently occupies 13,545 hectares. It is housing
49 of the 62 flowing wells and one flow station in the Ikpoba Okha local
government of Edo State. 30 of these wells are explored by NPDC while 19 are
explored by Pan Oceans both in Ologbo.
Agriculture is the
major stay of its inhabitants; the fertile lands support the cultivation of
yams, plantain, pepper, cassava, cocoyam, garden eggs and palm fronts which
they grow in large quantities for both personal consumption and commercial
purpose. Historically, Ologbo was said to be the major supplier of yams to the
Oba during festivals but all of that has changed. In 2002, Presco acquired
6,000 hectares from the Edo state government and another 1,500 hectares from
other parties making a total of 7,500 hectares in the Ologbo Estate. Other
subsequent acquisitions in Ologbo bring the estate to a concession of 13,000
hectares, of which 8,607 hectares have been planted these lands were
mainly farmlands for yams, plantain and other staple crops. (see https://www.presco-plc.com/company-profile/brief-history).
The community currently pays host to several
multinational corporations and other giant indigenous companies like Presco Oil,
NPDC Gas Plant, Paulosa Nigeria Limited, Eco Future Technology Limited, CCETC
Osiomo Power Company Limited, Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Limited among
others, yet the inhabitants live in woes and poverty while women and girls are
most affected.
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General
Conditions and Challenges
During the town hall meeting, it was discovered that
basic amenities like electricity, school and hospital were for a privileged
few. Specifically, the RUDILAC team noticed that a large part of the community
was in darkness due to the exuberant price of electricity by the Osiomo Power Company which is domicile in Ologbo.
Women during the town hall meeting told the RUDILAC team that it cost up to N700, 000 per household to draw
electricity to their houses, hence most of the households are
left in darkness.
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| Women during the Town Hall Meeting |
Women farmers were often relegated and unsupported,
while farm labourers are paid slave wages which could barely meet their basic
needs. Also, the few available farmlands deep in the outskirt forest of the
community are taken over by Fulani herdsmen who use their cows to destroy the
crops and farm produce. It was reported that in other to avoid the loss
associated with the destruction of their farmland, farmers who can acquire
farmland in this outskirt forest had to resort to building fences around their
farms which the herdsmen still destroy in other to gain access to their farms.
This act discourages the farmers; particularly women farmers due to unbearable losses.
Women at the town meeting also lamented that the
lands they used for farming were retrieved by the state government and handed
over to Presco Oil without consultation and compensation.
On the issue of maternal and child health, several
women corroborated that to access maternal and child health they usually travel
to Oghara, in Delta state because the available health centre is poorly funded
and managed and only open a few days a week. RUDILAC team gathered that even in
cases where drugs were released to the health centre for women and children,
such drugs were usually diverted for sales by staff and nurses in their private chemist.
The extra cost of travelling to Delta state to access health facilities poses a
heavy burden to women and girls.
According to research conducted by a private medical
centre in the community and made available to RUDILAC team, the prevalent rate
of malaria typhoid fever in the community was over 70 per cent due to the lack
of clean drinking water and the riverine nature of the community. The location
of the only solar borehole in the community makes it difficult to access hence they called on well meaning organizations to provide mosquito net as well as malaria text and treatment for women and children in the community.
the prevalent of child marriage and teen pregnancy is in an alarming proportion in the community. It was reported that due to poverty and lack of infrastructure and incentives for girl child enrollment and retention in School, parents would rather give out their girl child girls out in marriage to save the family the cost of raising that child. in general, girls in the community are reported to start giving birth from
the age of 13 and there are an average of 50 births every month which requires
proper medical attention and record management. Also, because the PHC in the
community lacks the facilities and trained staff to handle antenatal care and
treatment women are constrained to travel to Delta State where there are
adequate facilities and the registration and birth process are all free. The
impact of this is that children born by these women are registered and counted
for Delta State due to a lack of incentives. This poor record-keeping will
negatively influence census and national planning.
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| Program Director Blessed Jatt with RUDILAC Team addressing Women of Ologbo Community |
Activities of
Multinationals
The women were unanimous in their position that the
activities of companies in the community are creating untold hardship for the
community as most of their farmlands have been handed over to Presco Oil and
other companies in the community. The few available farmlands in the exterior have
been overrun by herdsmen who destroy their crops leaving them in extreme
poverty. Also, they decried the fact that when lands are forcefully taken over
by companies it was usually done without notice or compensation. From the
interview conducted, compensation is sometimes paid only to elders and a
privileged few who have the wherewithal to seek legal redress
Girl Child
Education
The
women unanimously posited that there are no incentives for girl child education
by implication no facility and motivation for the girl child enrollment and
retention in school.
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| Ologbo Junior School Student outside their class room during school hours |
The situation is further worsened by the poor economic situation of families resulting from the land-grabbing activities of multinationals and other companies operating in the community which has made accessing lands for farming difficult and near impossible for women. The farming done by the women is of a small scale and cannot sustain the families which in most cases are up to 8 children, this assertion was corroborated by Mrs Imadode. She also stated that most of the female children are given off to men for marriage or are sent to learn a trade due to prevailing poverty in the family. She also said that most students do not take studies seriously because of the poor management facilities and management in the only public secondary school available in the community.
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| Ologbo Senior secondary School Class Room |
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| Ologbo Junior secondary School Classroom |
Also, based on the assertions of women during the town hall meeting and the assessment survey on teen pregnancy, girls’ enrollment and retention in school, RUDILAC team paid an unscheduled visit to Ologbo mixed Junior and senior secondary school. First, we noticed that 98 per cent of the students were outside even though it was still school hours. On interacting with some staff of the school, it was gathered that although the school had a land mass of a mile, the senior secondary school had only 6 teachers while the junior school had just 4 teachers. We also noticed that the entire school has been vandalized, all the blocks of classrooms were without doors, and windows, and in some cases even the ceilings were missing. Only one classroom had make-shift desks and chairs while other classrooms were empty. Without parameter fencing and improved manpower and better management, the school can as well be described as a breeding ground for child cultism. The school environment in itself poses a serious health and security risk to the students and the community at large.
Land Tenure and Legal Issues
With regards to legal issues faced by women in
Ologbo and what legal services and facilities are available to women and girls,
Mrs Imadode on behalf of the women responded that the legal issues they face in
the community are the land grabbing by the multinational organizations and community
elders. She stated that the government in connivance with multinational organizations
and community leaders take over their farmlands without compensation and notice.
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| A woman farming on a temporal piece of land owned by a private developer |
As it currently stands, there are no more farmlands available to women for farming except private lands bought by developers which they lease temporarily to farmers and can retake at any time without notice or compensation for the destroyed produced. The land tenure system in place is that of women leasing lands annually from private developers. By implication such lands bought for personal development cannot support commercial farming due to the size; some families could barely even survive it.
Migration
Mrs Imadode
pointed out that there is a high incidence of youth migration due to a lack of
opportunities. Farming is the major preoccupation of the inhabitant but due to the
land grabbing of the companies operating in the areas and the lack of basic amenities,
youths particularly women and girls have in large numbers migrated out of the
community.
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