Statistics has it that 47 percent of the agricultural labor force is women. This percentage is not what can be either wished away or not recognized. The role of women in Nigerian agriculture and agro allied industry is vital. Women have established more distinct roles in the agriculture value chain in Nigeria. They are involved in farming, production, processing, marketing and utilization. The Nigerian woman’s role in the agricultural sector is significantly affected by socio-economic factors such as income, education and access to basic infrastructure. For agriculture to progress sustainable in Nigeria, gender specific policies and services tailored to women in the value chains must be developed.


According to SOFTA Team report of Agrricultural Development Economics (ESA). It states that:

“Women make up almost 50 percent of the agricultural labor force in sub-Saharan Africa, an increase from about 45 percent in 1980. The averages in Africa range from just over 40 percent in Southern Africa to just over 50 percent in Eastern Africa. These sub-regional averages have remained fairly stable since 1980, with the exception of Northern Africa, where the female share appears to have risen from 30 percent to almost 45 percent. The sub-regional data for Africa conceal wide differences between countries both in the share of female labor in agriculture and the trend. ”



Empowering women in agriculture and its value chains which is definitively in the areas of Agro Allied Productivity (AAP)will build stronger societies, quality life for farmers, and more sustainable and robust supply chains.



Women want greater inclusion in agribusiness. Women farmers in Nigeria want to move past common empowerment slogans to experience realistic and result oriented output on targeted and transformative solutions.

https://etimesafrica./2016/10/04/feeding-nigeria-the-role-of-women-and-the-agricultural-value-chain/



We must intimate that there is also a strong resolve among women to take responsibility of their development and define the kind of empowerment they need in order to prosper.



As stated before, from the primary agriculture to the agro allied sectors . Women are involved in the sale of packaging materials used for most crops and processed foods in Nigeria. Women find it harder to enter into the market due to limited education, funds and low social status, such as cultural impediments in some areas of the country. These impediments have arm twisted the average Nigerian woman farmer or Agric allied stakeholder from doing certain business. Across the Northern region of the country,it is rare to see a woman owning ranches or herds of cattle, nor dealing with livestocks such as cattle and rams. In most cases, women over there in North are relegated to milking the livestock and serving as “milk maids.”



As part of its national development strategy the Federal government via the Ministry of Agriculture should implement policies focused on improving agricultural growth programs which seek to promote Agro-allied partnerships to tackle Agro-wastage and limited market access that are impeding development of the country’s agricultural sector.



Fragmentation of lands due to the community or cultural structures in Nigeria has made the small holder farmer to be important. Though this small holding farm affects the full mechanization of our agricultural space, but the impact of small holder farmer is important. Small holder farmers play a central role in Nigeria’s agricultural sector. We need transformational projects that will provide women farmers with crucial access to capital and new technology needed to invest in higher Agra-allied products, promote their livelihoods and meet their nutritional needs.



The last three decades have seen tremendous economic, political and environmental changes, which have affected the roles played by different stakeholders in agricultural and rural development (including fisheries, livestock and forestry). Women producers, who are often excluded or have their participation restrained in organizations, face additional challenges, such as cultural and legal discrimination, which prevent them from accessing productive assets, finance, education and technology.



While women represent the mainstream producers, they are often concentrated in the less profitable stages of the value chain and struggle to engage in the value chain’s more lucrative activities. Innovative institutional and operational mechanisms and business models need to be developed to enable small-scale producers, especially women, to seize market opportunities along agricultural value chains, while taking into account issues of gender-based power inequalities and access to choices and resources.