Value Chain Program Empowers 3,256 Women in Nigeria's Kogi State

The Federal Government/IFAD Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) in Kogi State, Nigeria, has significantly empowered no fewer than 3,256 women. These women are engaged in the Rice and Cassava Value Chains, benefiting from improved access to essential inputs, productive assets, and vital market linkages. This initiative was highlighted during the 2026 International Day of Women Farmers celebration in Lokoja.

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Women farmers in Kogi State are the backbone of food security and rural prosperity.

Stella Adejoh, the State Project Coordinator for FGN/IFAD-VCDP Kogi, emphasized the UN's declaration of the International Year of the Woman Farmer as a historic recognition of women's critical role in agriculture. She described Kogi's women farmers as the backbone of food security and rural prosperity. The commemoration event in Lokoja, themed “Celebrating Women Farmers: Driving Food Security, Inclusive Agri-food Systems and Rural Prosperity,” gathered hundreds of women entrepreneurs, producers, processors, and marketers from five benefiting Local Government Areas (LGAs).

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In rice, women have adopted improved parboiling, milling, packaging and branding to raise quality and income. In cassava, they are producing gari, high-quality flour and odorless fufu for expanding markets.

Across the VCDP LGAs, Ajaokuta, Ibaji, Kabba-Bunu, Lokoja, and Olamaboro, women have successfully transitioned from subsistence farming to engaging in agribusiness. In the rice sector, women have adopted improved parboiling, milling, packaging, and branding techniques to enhance product quality and increase their income. Similarly, in the cassava sector, they are producing gari, high-quality flour, and odorless fufu for expanding markets.

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Empowerment Learning Centres are also equipping women with skills in agribusiness, financial literacy, nutrition and entrepreneurship.

A key driver of this impact is the Gender Action Learning System (GALS), which fosters dialogue on household responsibilities and promotes women's participation in decision-making regarding production and income. Additionally, Empowerment Learning Centres are equipping women with essential skills in agribusiness, financial literacy, nutrition, and entrepreneurship. Women are also leveraging digital tools for market information and weather forecasts, and adopting climate-smart practices like soil and water management, homestead gardening, and crop diversification to build resilience. Through VCDP, women have gained access to labor-saving processing equipment, moving from small-scale production to aggregation and distribution.

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Women are further leveraging digital tools for market information and weather forecasts, and adopting climate-smart practices such as soil and water management, homestead gardening and crop diversification to build resilience.