The Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON) has called on the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) to prioritise the needs of women farmers in order to boost agricultural productivity and achieve national food security.
Mrs. Mary Afan, former President of SWOFON, made this call during an interview with journalists on Monday in Abuja.
She emphasised that although women farmers play a vital role in food production across Nigeria, they continue to face significant challenges, including limited access to land, funding, credit facilities, mechanisation, and extension services.
Afan explained that many women are only able to cultivate between zero to two hectares of land due to cultural and traditional practices that prevent them from owning or inheriting land—a situation not only common in Nigeria but also in other parts of Africa.
She urged NADF to ensure that smallholder women farmers are specifically included in all initiatives and support programmes aimed at ensuring food security and agricultural sustainability.
“NADF must pay special attention to smallholder women farmers who are at the core of food production. We are the ones putting food on the tables of households across the country,” she said.
“To effectively achieve food security through NADF interventions, the interests of these women must be prioritised. We are appealing for support in the provision of simple and accessible farming tools such as power tillers and hand planters, which can be operated independently by women.”
Afan also warned that neglecting smallholder farmers would pose a serious threat to the nation’s ability to feed itself and achieve meaningful empowerment in the agricultural sector.
She further recommended that NADF create a direct access channel for women farmers, noting that routing funds through commercial banks often creates barriers and limits the impact of such interventions.
“With over two million grassroots women farmers under cooperative structures, NADF can work through SWOFON to ensure that its objectives of achieving food security and sustainable agriculture are fully realised,” she added.
The NADF, an initiative by the Federal Government, was established to tackle the financial challenges in the agricultural sector and unlock Nigeria’s full agricultural potential.
Its core mandates include providing financial and technical support to agricultural projects that improve food production, create employment, and enhance the livelihoods of farmers.
The fund also aims to bridge the agricultural financing gap and foster sustainable food systems through accessible funding and ecosystem support.
