Women farmers face major obstacles in accessing land, credit and other productive resources. The development has limited their capacity to expand agricultural production and contribute fully to Nigeria’s food security. Reforms in land ownership, agricultural financing, extension services and rural infrastructure are therefore needed to unlock the potential of women in farming and agribusiness. Professor […]
Women farmers face major obstacles in accessing land, credit and other productive resources.
The development has limited their capacity to expand agricultural production and contribute fully to Nigeria’s food security.
Reforms in land ownership, agricultural financing, extension services and rural infrastructure are therefore needed to unlock the potential of women in farming and agribusiness.
Professor Taibat Moji Yusuf, Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, made the call while delivering the 23rd Inaugural Lecture of the institution.
The lecture was 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, Yusuf said empowering women farmers would improve agricultural productivity, strengthen food security and help reduce poverty.
She urged the government to reform inheritance laws to guarantee women the right to own and inherit land regardless of their marital status.
She also recommended joint land ownership for married couples, arguing that discriminatory practices over land remained a major impediment to women’s access to agricultural credit, inputs and other productive resources.
To address the financing gap, the professor advocated wider access to microcredit schemes that do not require land as collateral.
She urged financial institutions to develop agricultural loan products suited to the realities of women farmers and expand digital financial services to reach those in remote rural communities.
Yusuf also called for a revamp of agricultural extension services through the recruitment of more female extension agents and flexible training schedules that recognise women’s domestic responsibilities.
She proposed using mobile platforms to deliver agricultural advisory services in local languages, particularly to farmers in rural communities.
The professor said inadequate rural infrastructure was also adding to the burden faced by women, urging greater investment in water supply, electricity and childcare facilities.
Such investments, she said, would reduce the time women spend on unpaid domestic labour and enable them to devote more attention to farming and agribusiness.
She further advocated greater access to mechanised processing equipment and other labour saving technologies designed around the operational needs of women farmers.
According to her, adult literacy, agricultural training and cooperative organisations would improve women’s management skills, facilitate technology adoption and strengthen their bargaining power.
Yusuf called for policies that would promote income diversification through off-farm employment, agro-processing and entrepreneurship.
She said better roads, electricity and information and communication technology would also help rural households withstand agricultural shocks.
The don urged the government and private sector to expand contract farming and credit programmes through public private partnerships, particularly schemes that provide farmers with reliable markets, inputs and financing.
She also called for 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.
Yusuf recommended mainstreaming eco-friendly agricultural technologies, particularly moringa based bio organic fertiliser, through agricultural extension services, cooperative production networks and soil fertility programmes.
She urged communities to promote moringa cultivation to ensure a steady supply of raw materials for producing the organic fertiliser.
On policymaking, the professor called for mandatory gender impact assessments for agricultural development programmes and policies.
She sought greater representation of women on policy committees, agricultural boards and farmers’ unions, alongside dedicated budgetary allocations for gender responsive agricultural investments.
Yusuf said stronger monitoring mechanisms should be established to determine the impact of such interventions.
She further argued that agricultural policies must be integrated with national poverty reduction efforts adding that food security could not be achieved in isolation from employment, education and healthcare.
With an estimated 140 million Nigerians living below the poverty line, she said coordinated action across sectors had become urgent.
The professor stressed 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.
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