By Nkechi Eze
The First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to empowering women farmers as part of efforts to strengthen food security across the country.
Speaking at the graduation and empowerment ceremony of women farmers under the National Workshop on Agro-Value Chain Capacity Building for Women Farmers, held in Pyakasa, Lugbe, Abuja, Senator Tinubu, who was represented by the wife of the Vice President, Hajiya Nana Shettima, commended the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim, and her team for championing the initiative in partnership with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
“I thank the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim, and her team for this laudable initiative for our women farmers,” the First Lady said. “As mothers, nurturers, and nation builders, women farmers form the backbone of food security and rural development in our country. By equipping them with knowledge, skills, and access to modern agricultural practices, we can significantly increase food production, improve household nutrition, and boost our local economy.”
She explained that the workshop aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly the drive to boost agriculture and achieve food security. The First Lady also applauded the President’s recent decision to ban the exportation of shea butter nuts, noting that the policy would directly benefit thousands of rural women, who make up 95 percent of local processors.
Declaring the workshop closed, Senator Tinubu urged the women farmers to put the skills and knowledge they had acquired into practice, stressing that the programme was designed not just to help them feed their families but also to open access to global markets and expand Nigeria’s agricultural value chain.
In her address, the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim, emphasized the centrality of women to Nigeria’s agricultural transformation. “As I look into this room filled with women who till our land, process our food, and sustain our households, I am reminded that the story of Nigeria’s agriculture is, in truth, the story of her women,” she said.
The minister lamented that while women constitute nearly 70 percent of the agricultural labour force, less than 14 percent have secure land rights, and only about 10 percent have access to agricultural credit. She described addressing these systemic barriers as a matter of national security and smart economics, insisting that food security in Nigeria depends on empowering women farmers.
Highlighting the Women Agro-Value Expansion (WAVE) Programme, which targets 10 million women across the country, the minister explained that the initiative is equipping women with climate-smart technologies, agribusiness skills, affordable financing, and access to markets. “Through WAVE and other initiatives, we are moving women from subsistence to prosperity and institutionalising gender equity in agricultural policy and programming,” she added.
Hajiya Imaan expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for prioritising women’s empowerment in his agricultural agenda, as well as to the First Lady for her consistent advocacy. She also appreciated the OIC, MCC, and other partners whose support made the workshop possible.
The event, held at the WAVE x MCC Agriculture Demonstration Centre, Abuja Technology Village, Pyakasa, brought together women farmers, cooperatives, policymakers, and development partners. It featured training sessions on modern farming methods, access to finance, and value-chain opportunities, with the women graduates now poised to strengthen food production and rural economies nationwide.
