KWASU don calls for reforms to boost women’s participation in agriculture

A Professor of Agricultural Economics at Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, Professor Taibat Moji Yusuf, has called for reforms to remove structural barriers limiting women’s participation in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

Professor Yusuf made the call on Wednesday while delivering the 23rd inaugural lecture of the institution, titled “Empowering Women Farmers in Nigeria: Closing the Gender Gap for Agricultural Transformation and Food Security.”

Drawing on more than three decades of field-based research, the inaugural lecturer said empowering women farmers was critical to improving agricultural productivity, strengthening food security, and reducing poverty across the country.

She urged the government to reform inheritance laws to guarantee women’s rights to own and inherit land regardless of their marital status, while promoting joint land ownership for married couples.

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According to her, discriminatory land ownership practices remain a major obstacle to women farmers’ access to credit, agricultural inputs, and other productive resources.

She also called for expanded gender-inclusive agricultural financing through microcredit schemes that do not require land as collateral.

Professor Yusuf said financial institutions should develop agricultural loan products tailored to the needs of women farmers and expand digital financial services to reach women in remote rural communities.

The varsity don also called for reforms in agricultural extension services, including the recruitment of more female extension agents, flexible training schedules that accommodate women’s domestic responsibilities, and the use of mobile platforms to provide agricultural advisory services in local languages.

She added that investment in rural water supply, electricity, and childcare infrastructure would reduce the burden of unpaid domestic labor on women and give them more time for farming and agribusiness.

She also recommended greater access to mechanized processing equipment and other labor-saving technologies designed around the operational needs of women farmers.

Professor Yusuf stressed the importance of adult literacy, agricultural training, and cooperative organizations in improving women’s management skills, technology adoption, and bargaining power.

The inaugural lecturer called for policies to support income diversification through off-farm employment, agro-processing, and entrepreneurship. She noted that improved roads, electricity, and information and communication technology would help rural households withstand agricultural shocks.

She further urged the government and private sector to expand contract farming and credit programs through public-private partnerships, particularly schemes that provide farmers with reliable markets, inputs, and financing.

She also advocated investment in post-harvest storage, transportation, cold-chain facilities, and market information systems to reduce food losses and enable women farmers to derive greater value from their produce.

Professor Yusuf recommended the mainstreaming of eco-friendly agricultural technologies, particularly moringa-based bio-organic fertilizer, through agricultural extension services, cooperative production networks, and soil fertility programs.

She urged communities to promote moringa cultivation to ensure steady supplies of raw materials for the production of the organic fertilizer.

On policymaking, she called for mandatory gender impact assessments for agricultural development programs and policies, alongside greater representation of women on policy committees, agricultural boards, and farmers’ unions.

She also advocated dedicated budgetary provisions for gender-responsive agricultural investments and stronger monitoring mechanisms to assess their impact.

Addressing poverty and food insecurity, Professor Yusuf said agricultural policies must be integrated with national poverty reduction strategies because food security could not be achieved separately from employment, education, and healthcare.

She noted that with an estimated 140 million Nigerians living below the poverty line, coordinated action across sectors had become urgent.

She added that closing the gender gap in agriculture was not merely a question of fairness but an essential strategy for transforming Nigeria’s agricultural economy and improving national food security