UN: Nigeria Cannot Achieve Food Security Without Investing in Women Farmers

The United Nations has declared that Nigeria’s quest for food security, economic transformation and climate resilience will remain incomplete unless women farmers are given greater access to land, finance, technology, markets and decision-making opportunities.

The UN made the position on Monday in Abuja at a press conference to mark the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026, warning that millions of women who constitute a critical force in Nigeria’s agrifood system continue to face structural barriers limiting their productivity and economic power.

The organisation said the 2026 International Year must move beyond celebrating women farmers to concrete investments that enable them to own productive assets, build profitable businesses and assume leadership positions across Nigeria’s agricultural value chains.

The UN said women farmers should no longer be regarded merely as beneficiaries of agricultural interventions but as producers, processors, entrepreneurs, innovators, investors and leaders capable of driving the transformation of Nigeria’s food system.

According to the UN, its interventions in Nigeria have already reached more than 100,000 women, with approximately $47 million allocated to supported investments incorporating targeted inclusion thresholds.

The projects, it said, have achieved between 48 and 50 per cent female participation, alongside targets of 30 per cent youth and five per cent persons with disabilities.

The UN disclosed that more than 221 market, processing and storage facilities were constructed or rehabilitated in 2025, while more than 4,500 pieces of smart technology and clean-energy equipment were provided to strengthen agricultural production, processing and value addition.

The equipment includes briquetting machines, mobile phones, laptops, solar-powered water pumps, power tillers and cassava-peel conversion machines.

The organisation said 87,888 women were members of supported rural producer organisations, providing them with platforms to access markets, services and economic opportunities.

It added that 82 women State Apex Leaders across 16 states had received leadership training to strengthen their participation in cooperative and community decision-making.

The UN identified access to land and finance as two of the most significant barriers confronting women farmers, stressing that sustainable food security could not be achieved while women remained unable to access, own or control productive land and other agricultural assets.

It disclosed that its interventions had facilitated access to about 6,500 hectares of land for women and youth, while 21,015 hectares had been rehabilitated and brought under climate-resilient agricultural practices.

The interventions also protected 203 small-scale farmers from seasonal flooding.

On access to finance, the UN said approximately ₦465 million in savings had been mobilised among 21,498 active savers, while women processors were being connected to microfinance, improved crop varieties, climate-smart processing infrastructure and direct market opportunities.

It said the objective was to move rural women from informal and subsistence activities into commercially viable agricultural enterprises.

The organisation also disclosed that 23,624 people had been trained in Information and Communication Technology for Development to enable agricultural actors to use data from Agricultural Information Systems for marketing and informed decision-making.

It said digital agricultural advisory services, climate information and other technology-enabled interventions were increasingly being brought closer to rural women.

In the area of clean energy, more than 780 rural women households across six states had benefited from low-cost biodigesters and related equipment.

The UN said the technology could save women up to 12 hours weekly by reducing dependence on firewood, thereby freeing time for productive, entrepreneurial and household activities.

The organisation also highlighted the award of the African Organization for Standardization Dual Quality Mark Certification to five women cooperatives, describing the certification as a step towards improving the competitiveness of women-led businesses in domestic and regional markets.

It said the certification could also position the cooperatives to take advantage of opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The UN warned that climate action must deliberately target women farmers, who are already bearing the brunt of climate-related disruptions to agriculture.

It called for increased investment in climate-resilient seeds, irrigation, clean energy, climate information and labour-saving technologies that specifically reach women.

The organisation also called for the creation and expansion of dedicated financing windows for women-led agricultural cooperatives and businesses, noting that conventional financial products often fail to reflect the realities of smallholder farmers and rural women entrepreneurs.

It further urged governments and other stakeholders to ensure that women’s participation in agriculture translates into actual influence in farmer organisations, cooperatives, commodity platforms, policy processes and agricultural decision-making structures.

As part of its collective call to action, the UN urged the Federal and state governments to strengthen gender-responsive agricultural policies and expand women’s access to land, extension services, infrastructure, technology, productive assets and climate services.

It challenged financial institutions and the private sector to regard women farmers as customers, suppliers, entrepreneurs and investment partners, rather than simply beneficiaries of development programmes.

Development partners were urged to scale successful interventions rather than maintain isolated pilot projects, while farmer organisations and community leaders were asked to create greater space for women to participate in leadership and decision-making.

The UN also called on civil society organisations and the media to amplify the voices of women farmers, document progress and hold institutions accountable for commitments made.

It stressed that the legacy of the International Year of the Woman Farmer must extend beyond 2026.

“When women farmers thrive, Nigeria’s food systems thrive,” the UN said.

The organisation’s central message was that recognition alone would not transform the lives of women farmers, insisting that 2026 must be the year recognition translates into investment, policy translates into opportunity, and
By translates into leadership and economic power.