By Abbas Nazil
Nigeria loses an estimated $2.3 billion, equivalent to about N3.1 trillion, every year due to the gender gap in agricultural productivity, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).
The figure represents about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product and highlights the economic cost of barriers limiting women’s participation and productivity across the agricultural sector.
Officer-in-Charge of the FAO Representation in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Jimmy Owani, disclosed this during the commemoration of the 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer at the United Nations House in Abuja.
Owani said women remain central to Nigeria’s agrifood system but continue to face significant barriers to productive resources and opportunities.
He identified limited access to land, finance, technology, agricultural extension services, markets and leadership positions among the challenges restricting women’s full participation in the sector.
According to him, reducing these inequalities could provide an opportunity to accelerate Nigeria’s agricultural transformation, strengthen food security and promote more inclusive economic growth.
He said efforts should move beyond women’s participation in agriculture to ensuring that they have greater access to economic power, productive resources and leadership opportunities.
The World Food Programme (WFP) also highlighted its interventions among farming communities in northern Nigeria, saying about 128,000 women had benefited from its programmes over the past five years.
Edward Thiam, who spoke on behalf of the WFP, said the organisation had supported farming communities through the provision of agricultural inputs, equipment, storage facilities, irrigation support, market linkages and community resilience hubs.
He said more than 70 per cent of jobs created through the organisation’s activities had gone to young women.
Thiam also stressed the importance of procuring food and agricultural products locally when implementing development and humanitarian interventions.
He said purchasing from Nigerian farmers and businesses helps retain investment within the country, create rural employment and strengthen local markets.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said its programmes had also reached tens of thousands of women through agricultural and rural development initiatives.
Speaking on behalf of IFAD, Chioma Adiele-Okpara said at least 96,827 women had been reached through programmes including the Value Chain Development Programme, Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises for Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) and Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones initiatives.
She said 87,888 women were members of supported rural producer organisations, while thousands of others had benefited from training, advisory services, financial literacy programmes, credit, insurance and savings support.
The interventions, according to IFAD, are designed to improve women’s ability to participate more effectively in agricultural value chains and strengthen their economic resilience.
The UN agencies called on the government, financial institutions, private-sector organisations and development partners to increase investment in women farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs.
They urged stakeholders to move beyond acknowledging women’s contributions to agriculture and invest directly in their productive capacity, businesses, organisations and leadership.
The organisations said improving women’s access to resources and opportunities could contribute to stronger agricultural production, more resilient rural economies and improved food security.
The FAO’s assessment places the economic cost of Nigeria’s agricultural gender gap within the wider challenge of transforming the country’s agrifood system, particularly by addressing inequalities that limit the productivity and economic potential of women farmers.
The organisations maintained that closing these gaps would require coordinated investment in finance, land access, technology, extension services, markets and leadership opportunities for women across Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
