The ActionAid project, Strategic Partnership for Agroecology and Climate Justice (SPAC–West Africa), has supported more than 12,000 women farmers and youths in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) through agroecology, also known as organic farming.
Mrs Hajara Ramson, Project Lead for SPAC–West Africa, Nigeria, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during a stakeholders’ campaign and advocacy meeting on land ownership and market access for smallholder women farmers and young farmers in the FCT.
Ramson said the project supported over 12,000 women and youths across the six Area Councils of the FCT over the past three years through capacity building and Training of Trainers (ToT) in agroecological practices.
According to her, the intervention improved sustainable farming practices and strengthened community resilience.
“We achieved this through cooperatives. We mobilized cooperative leaders and, in the first batch in 2023, trained 80 women, who in turn trained 50 others each, giving us 4,000 beneficiaries.
“We repeated the process in 2024 and 2025, bringing the total number of trained women and youths with agroecology expertise to 12,000,” she said.
Ramson said although the project had ended, there was a need to scale it up to ensure the availability of organic food in the country and safeguard public health.
She called on the government to partner with trained smallholder farmers to ensure a ripple effect across communities and the country.
She, however, noted that despite improved production, many smallholder women farmers and youths were unable to fully benefit economically due to insecure access to land and limited access to structured and profitable markets.
“Without clear and secure land rights, women farmers cannot sustainably invest in agroecological farming.
“More importantly, without reliable market linkages, fair pricing and inclusion in formal supply chains, increased production does not translate into improved income, livelihoods or economic empowerment,” she said.
Ramson explained that SPAC–West Africa, Nigeria, supported by ActionAid’s International Transformative Impact Fund (TIF), was implemented in collaboration with the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organization in Nigeria (SWOFON).
According to her, SWOFON represents over 500,000 rural women farmers across the 36 states of the federation and contributes more than 75 per cent of the country’s food production.
She said the organization promotes sustainable agriculture, rural economic development and improved livelihoods through capacity building, advocacy and engagement with relevant stakeholders.
Ramson added that the SPAC project was initiated to address challenges posed by unhealthy farming practices, including the use of synthetic fertilizers and hazardous chemicals, which lead to land degradation and unsafe food production.
She said such practices endangered public health and increased the country’s disease burden.
The stakeholders’ campaign, she said, was aimed at promoting land ownership for women farmers and improving market access to ensure food security.
Speaking at the event, the District Head of Abaji, Kana Shuaibu, commended ActionAid for empowering women and youths with agroecology skills.
Shuaibu called for the extension of the project to reach more beneficiaries and urged women farmers to form clusters to improve access to land.
He also encouraged them to share the knowledge gained within their communities.
Mrs Olabisi Ogedengbe, SWOFON Coordinator in Gwagwalada, speaking on behalf of beneficiaries, said agroecology had improved her vegetable production and market patronage.
She said organic farming allowed her pumpkin leaves, popularly known as ugu, to remain fresh for several days after harvesting, unlike chemically grown vegetables which spoil quickly.
