Nigeria is estimated to lose about $2.3 billion every year, representing roughly two per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as a result of gender gaps in agricultural productivity, according to the United Nations.
The UN said women already play important roles across Nigeria’s agricultural value chain, but their economic contribution remains limited by inadequate access to land, finance, technology, extension services, markets, productive assets and leadership opportunities.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) disclosed the assessment in Abuja during a high-level meeting and panel discussion held to mark the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026.
According to FAO, agriculture contributes between 22 and 25 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP, while more than 70 per cent of rural households rely on the sector for all or part of their income and food security.
The organisation also estimated that women account for about 37 per cent of the labour involved in crop production alone.
FAO Senior Programme Officer, Office of Emergency and Resilience, Jimmy Owani, said women were central to Nigeria’s agrifood system and contributed as farmers, livestock keepers, fishers, processors, traders, entrepreneurs and innovators.
He said improving women’s access to finance, technology, productive assets and markets would be essential to helping women-led businesses grow and make a greater contribution to Nigeria’s agricultural transformation.
“Estimates suggest that the gender gap in agricultural productivity costs Nigeria approximately USD 2.3 billion annually, equivalent to about 2 percent of GDP.
Women must be recognized not only as contributors to agrifood systems, but also as decision-makers, innovators, investors and leaders.”
FAO said women make up about 41 per cent of the global agrifood workforce. It added that closing gender gaps in agricultural productivity and wages could contribute nearly $1 trillion to the global economy while reducing food insecurity.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said its three programmes in Nigeria — the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises for Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) and Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) — had reached at least 96,827 women.
Under VCDP, IFAD said 87,888 women belonged to supported rural producer organisations, while 36,572 had received training in crop production technologies and 50,613 had accessed advisory services.
The organisation added that LIFE-ND had trained 17,201 women, while SAPZ had provided training to 5,815 women on improved crop production practices.
Country Programme Coordinator representing the Country Director of IFAD Nigeria, Chioma Adiele-Okpara, said the programmes were also supporting women’s financial inclusion.
She said 11,003 women had accessed savings, 9,568 had obtained credit, 11,382 had accessed insurance and 14,654 had received financial literacy training under LIFE-ND.
Adiele-Okpara added that more than 20,000 women across the three programmes had received targeted nutrition support, while nearly 60,000 female household members supported by VCDP had received assistance to cope with the effects of climate change.
“We must invest in women’s productive capacity, their enterprises, their organisations, their innovations and their leadership.
We must ensure that women are not simply included in agricultural programmes but are positioned as equal partners and decision-makers in transforming Nigeria’s agrifood systems.
Let this international year be remembered not only for how we recognised women farmers, but for what we did differently because we recognised them,” Adiele-Okpara said.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said conflict and insecurity, climate shocks and rising production costs were creating additional difficulties for farming households, particularly in northern Nigeria, where it has worked with communities to strengthen agricultural livelihoods.
WFP Deputy Country Director, Edouard Thiam, said 128,000 women had formed a major part of the organisation’s interventions over the past five years.
The interventions covered agricultural inputs, equipment, storage, irrigation, market linkages and resilience hubs.
According to WFP, more than 70 per cent of jobs created through its activities had gone to young women, while increased agricultural production had also created economic opportunities for traders, transporters and processors beyond the farm.
Thiam said WFP’s local procurement strategy was designed to keep investment in food production within Nigeria by purchasing food from local farmers and businesses where possible.
“Women already make a significant contribution to agriculture in Nigeria. Our opportunity is to strengthen that contribution through higher production, stronger incomes and greater value within Nigeria’s agricultural economy.
Investing in women farmers is not separate from investing in Nigerian agriculture. It is part of the same ambition to generate greater prosperity.”
Development partners and farmer associations called for sustained investment in women’s productive capacity, businesses, organisations, innovations and leadership.
They stressed that women should be treated as equal partners and decision-makers in agricultural development rather than simply as beneficiaries of agricultural programmes.
Source: United Nations agencies
