Nigeria: New Studies Show 81 Percent Farmers Are Women

Tina A. Hassan

29 March 2011

Researchers working with the Voices for Food Security (VFS) said a study they conducted reveal that there are more women farmers than men in Nigeria.

One of the researchers, Dr. Adamu Wude said special attention needs to be given to the concerns of women farmers since they constitute 81 percent of the farming population.

He lamented the obstacles placed on the path of researchers by government officials who deny them access to public information such as states and departmental budgets.

Speaking at the public launch and dissemination of reports of studies on Agric investment, he said in some instance, they are being asked to pay before they can obtain such information and are often met with very hostile reception from government officials.

He said the study on investing in the agric sector was conducted in katsina, kano, Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Ogun, Ekiti and Uyo states with the aim to determine how much each state allocates to the sector in its annual budget.

According to him, the research shows that most states budget very little to agriculture and most of the projects are hardly executed at the end of the fiscal year.

Representative of Oxfam Nigeria, Mr. Ayodeji Ajayeoba said the study is a campaign that is “aimed at establishing a viable platform for small scale farmers on how national policy on agriculture affects them and to push for increased funding in the sector”.

Presenting the findings of the research, Dr. Orji Ogbureke said agriculture is the best way to reduce poverty considering that about 70 percent of the nation’s population engages in one agriculture venture or the other.

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