The Federal Government has entered into a partnership with the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) to expand access to affordable agricultural finance, mechanisation and guaranteed markets for women farmers across Nigeria.
The initiative, implemented under the Renewed Hope Women Agro-Value Expansion (RH-WAVE) Programme, is targeting at least three million women beneficiaries over the next three to five years.
The agreement is designed to address longstanding challenges faced by women in agriculture, particularly limited access to formal credit, farm inputs, equipment, land, processing facilities and reliable markets.
Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Ibrahim-Suliaman, said women constitute a significant proportion of Nigeria’s smallholder farming population but continue to face barriers to formal agricultural finance.
She described the partnership as an important step towards moving women from subsistence farming into structured and commercially viable agribusinesses.
The programme is expected to support women across several stages of the agricultural value chain, including production, mechanisation, greenhouse farming, processing, packaging and market access. Pilot activities in Nasarawa and Kaduna have reportedly generated strong interest, including 33,000 expressions of interest from women farmers through one implementing partner.
