The country program lead of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Mrs. Juliette Lampoh-Agroh, has urged the government and development partners to support and invest in women’s agriculture to alleviate economic hardship in the country.
Lampoh-Agroh made this statement in Abuja over the weekend during the International Women’s Day celebration, themed “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.”
She called on all stakeholders, including the government and development partners, to collaborate and invest in women’s agricultural businesses to address the economic challenges in the country.
Speaking further, she highlighted that the International Women’s Day serves as a platform to celebrate women’s achievements in attaining gender equality and to advocate for addressing specific issues affecting women.
“I urge women to make the best investment to realize their full potential because women play a significant role in the agriculture sector. Whether it’s in leadership, advising on business plans, or group processing, women are essential. Therefore, let’s invest in women to strengthen the agriculture sector,” Lampoh-Agroh emphasized.
“I am pleased to celebrate the progress made in advancing gender equality while also recognizing the persistent challenges and discussing tangible actions for solutions,” she added.
She further stated, “We have gathered here to acknowledge the leading role of women in advocating for the economic empowerment of women and to set the stage for driving advocacy agendas, conversations, and targeted policies necessary to ensure that women in African agribusiness have equal opportunities to access finance and realize their investment potential.”
“One of the key challenges hindering gender equality by 2030 is the significant lack of financing available to women. Despite running the majority of Africa’s agricultural sector and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), women face significant barriers in accessing finance. Across the continent, African women entrepreneurs encounter an estimated $42 billion gender financing gap compared to men. Supply-side constraints such as high interest rates and collateral requirements play a major role in excluding women from the formal credit market,” she explained.