The African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) Gender Responsive Agricultural Systems Policy (GRASP) Fellows have called for the inclusion of women in agricultural policies to improve productivity, livelihoods, incomes and food security.
The fellows made the call on the sidelines of the 9th Africa Agriculture Science Week and the 10th General Assembly of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) on Wednesday in Abuja.
Dr Yetunde Oladokun, leader of the third cohort of AWARD GRASP Fellows and Principal Research Officer at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), said the session brought together stakeholders to discuss policy gaps in areas such as tree cash crops, nutrition and agricultural extension.
According to her, although women account for more than 70 per cent of smallholder food production, they remain inadequately represented in agricultural and nutrition policies.
She said the policy gaps had limited women’s access to land, finance, extension services and other productive resources needed to improve their livelihoods and contribute to national food and nutrition security.
Oladokun cited policies such as the National Gender Policy on Agriculture, the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP) 2022–2027 and the Zero Oil Palm Initiative, saying they did not adequately address the needs of women farmers.
She said the gaps had contributed to women’s limited access to and control over productive resources, thereby constraining their capacity and welfare.
“We are here to discuss how gender gaps in agricultural policies can be addressed so that women can participate fully and access opportunities in agriculture.
“The fellows are presenting policy innovation projects covering tree cash crops, nutrition, extension and other areas, with the aim of identifying gender gaps and promoting inclusive policy formulation,” she said.
According to her, AWARD seeks to drive gender-responsive solutions that will promote equitable agri-food systems for women and men.
Speaking on her research project, “Advancing Gender-Responsive Policies for Inclusive and Sustainable Tree Cash Crop Development in Nigeria,” Oladokun said it was designed to generate evidence to support the development of a gender-responsive national tree crops policy.
She said that although successive governments had introduced agricultural policies to boost productivity and economic diversification, Nigeria still lacked a dedicated policy framework for tree crops such as cocoa, coffee and cashew.
She noted that while existing gender policies focused largely on arable crop production, they paid little attention to women involved in tree crop value chains.
According to her, tree crops are Nigeria’s second-largest agricultural export earners, yet women, who make up a significant proportion of smallholder producers, continue to face barriers, including limited access to land, finance, inputs, extension services, markets and fair remuneration.
Also speaking, another AWARD Fellow, Mrs Nuhu James, presented her policy project titled “Strengthening Disability Inclusion and Gender-Responsive Agri-food Systems in Taraba State.”
James said that although agriculture remained central to livelihoods in Taraba, persons with disabilities, especially women, continued to face exclusion from land ownership, agricultural inputs, finance, extension services and training, among others.
She said findings from her study showed that 84.8 per cent of persons with disabilities were engaged in agriculture, although most remained subsistence farmers.
According to her, about 71 per cent earned N300,000 or less annually, while existing disability and gender policies had yet to translate into accessible and accountable agricultural services at the state level.
She said the project would support the development and adoption of gender-responsive and disability-inclusive agricultural policy guidelines for Taraba.
According to James, the guidelines will promote accessible service delivery, equitable resource allocation, participation, budgeting, monitoring and institutional accountability.
She said the expected outcome was a disability-inclusive agricultural policy framework that would enhance participation, access to services and markets, and strengthen the economic resilience of persons with disabilities, especially women.
The GRASP Fellowship is a career development programme for mid-career African women working in agricultural policy.
The initiative, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), seeks to strengthen the design and implementation of gender-responsive agricultural policies across Africa while advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.
