The World Food Programme (WFP) says investing in women farmers is part of the broader investment in Nigeria’s agriculture and an ambition to generate greater prosperity in the country.
WFP Deputy Country Director Edouard Thiam said this on the sidelines of a High-level Dialogue and Farmers Market held in Abuja on Thursday to commemorate the International Year of Women Farmers (IYWF).
Thiam noted that women make significant contributions to the country’s agricultural sector and stressed the need to strengthen those contributions through higher production, higher incomes and greater value within the agricultural economy.
He said the programme prioritises buying food locally from Nigerian farmers whenever the need arises, in recognition of their contribution.
According to him, purchasing locally ensures that the investment remains within the country, keeps markets active, expands rural employment and reduces dependence on imported food.
“Women farmers must be part of that growth. So, our work in northern Nigeria will continue to connect immediate needs with longer-term economic opportunity. It will also support farmers to produce more, earn more and build stronger livelihoods,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Peter Mancha, Programme Manager at UN Women, said women account for 50 per cent of Nigeria’s population but are sidelined across all sectors.
He noted that women perform strongly in the private sector and account for 70 per cent of the agricultural workforce.
Mancha said women dominate agricultural production at the grassroots level yet remain poor because they are denied access to land, a major factor of production.
He identified other challenges facing women farmers as insecurity, lack of access to credit facilities, an enabling environment, supportive policies and the predominance of subsistence farming.
Mancha said women farmers need an enabling environment to thrive and help create the kind of development the country desires.
“When you empower a woman, you empower the nation. Any woman you empower, that benefit will replicate even beyond her immediate family. So, it is a smart approach to invest in women,” he said.
He tasked stakeholders to put in place policies, programmes and investments that can transform rural women from subsistence to commercial farming.
Mancha urged them to build women farmers’ capacity in climate-smart agriculture and technological innovation that would enable value addition to their produce.
He also called on governments at both national and sub-national levels to incorporate women in budget preparation so that their challenges can be adequately addressed.
