Empowering the Backbone of Nigeria: Revitalizing Agricultural Research for Small-Scale Women Farmers

By Paul Dasimeokuma

Across Nigeria’s diverse landscapes from the rolling hills of Oyo to the fertile plains of Niger and the lush farmlands of Abia— small-scale women farmers remain the quiet backbone of national food security.

Organised under the Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON), these women sustain households, communities, and markets.

Yet, despite their central role, they continue to rely on labour-intensive, traditional farming practices, while modern agricultural research capable of easing their burden and boosting productivity largely remains confined to laboratories and research stations.

Nigeria is home to specialised research institutions such as the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) and the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), yet many of their proven technologies fail to reach the women farmers who need them most.

One of the most pressing challenges is drudgery. Across farming value chains: land preparation, planting, weeding, harvesting, and processing, women still depend largely on rudimentary tools.

Although research institutes have developed labour-saving and productivity-enhancing machinery, these innovations are rarely commercialised, mass-produced, or priced within reach of small-scale farmers. The result is an agricultural system that remains physically demanding, inefficient, and unattractive to younger generations.

These challenges are rooted not only in technology gaps but also in weak policy and financing frameworks. While Nigeria adopted a National Agricultural Extension Policy in 2023, implementation at the state level remains limited, leaving major gaps in the delivery of research outputs to farming communities.

Extension systems once donor-supported have steadily weakened, severing the critical link between research institutions and farmers.

Budgetary practices further compound the problem. Agricultural budgets are often framed as “gender-neutral,” overlooking structural barriers faced by women, including limited access to land, finance, and mechanisation.

Funding for agricultural research and extension frequently falls below five percent of total public expenditure, well short of the ten percent commitment under the Maputo Declaration. Even where allocations exist, delayed releases and diversion of funds to non-core constituency projects undermine effectiveness.

Effective agricultural research must be demand-driven. Currently, small-scale women farmers have little influence over research priorities, which are often determined through top-down academic processes.

This disconnect limits relevance and uptake. Women farmers are increasingly calling for solutions that address their real-world challenges, including declining soil fertility, high input costs, climate variability, and post-harvest losses.

There is also growing demand for agroecological and climate-resilient approaches. Women farmers need access to affordable, high-yielding, and disease-resistant seeds, alongside sustainable soil management practices that reduce dependence on costly inorganic inputs.

Research into organic fertilisers, local seed systems, and environmentally sound farming methods is not only a scientific necessity but an economic imperative for grassroots agriculture.

Revitalising agricultural research for small-scale women farmers requires deliberate and coordinated action:
Strengthening Extension Services: Enacting a legislated agricultural extension framework would provide legal backing, stable funding, and accountability. Modernised extension systems—combining community-based agents and digital platforms—are essential to translate research into practice.

Gender-Responsive Budgeting: Agricultural budgets must move beyond gender neutrality. Clear gender-responsive indicators are needed to ensure that women farmers benefit from targeted investments in training, technology, inputs, and mechanisation.

Commercialising Research Outputs: Research institutions, working with the private sector, should prioritise the commercialisation of innovations, including the mass production of labour-saving equipment and decentralised seed multiplication systems.

Building Farmers’ Capacity: Strengthening organisations like SWOFON is critical to improving women farmers’ ability to adopt new technologies, engage policymakers, and access agricultural finance.
Addressing Insecurity: Persistent insecurity, including farmer–herder conflicts, continues to disrupt agricultural livelihoods. Ensuring safety is a fundamental precondition for sustainable agricultural development.

Nigeria’s agricultural future is inseparable from the wellbeing and productivity of its small-scale women farmers. Aligning agricultural research with their lived realities offers a pathway from subsistence farming to a resilient, technology-driven sector.

By closing the gap between innovation and implementation through responsive policies, sustained financing, and farmer-led research Nigeria can transform its research institutions into engines of inclusive growth and place practical tools of change in the hands of the women who feed the nation.

Paul Dasimeokuma from Centre for Social Justice writes from Abuja.