In commemoration of the 2025 International Women’s Day Celebration, the UNESCO Read and Earn Federation (UNESCO REF) has partnered with the Police Officers Wife’s Association (POWA) to unveil 12 million young women In agriculture.
The President of UNESCO REF, Prince Abdulsalami Ladigbolu-Oranmiyan, at the unveiling, agricultural production was still largely characterised by small-size of farms, low productivity, and monumental inadequacies in value addition.
Ladigbolu, emphasised the need for young women involvement in agriculture for food sufficiency
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“The economy of Nigeria majorly depend on oil and gas sector and one of the damaging impacts has been the long, steady decline of the country’s agricultural sector.
” However, the 2016 economic recession and the challenges witnessed by the country across tiers of governance reemphasised the need for diversification of the economy.
“The response of the agricultural sector to the recovery policy (Economic Recovery and Growth Plan) as the leading contributor to the quick emergence of the country from recession further underscore the pivotal role of agriculture in the attainment of sustainable economic growth for the country,” he said.
He explained explained that the inadequacies in food security attracted a declaration of state of emergency in food security in 2023 by President Bola Tinubu.
According to him, the issues of food insecurity in Nigeria has had a profound and cascading impact on various aspects of the nation, exacerbating poverty rate, contributing to a surge in the number of out-of-school children, and posing a significant threat to national security.
“Food security is when there is physical, economic, and social accessibility of sufficient and nutritious food for everyone.
” Food and nutrition insecurity is a global challenge in recent years, especially with the ever growing population, reduction in crop and livestock productivity due to climate change.
“The prices of staple food in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have surged by an average of 23.9 per cent between year 2020 and 2022.
” Nearly 40 per cent of Nigerians are estimated to be food insecure, which presents economic concerns and makes it difficult to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He maintained that addressing this crisis required a concerted effort to revitalise the agricultural sector and actively involve the youth and women in agricultural development towards breaking the cycle of poverty.
He, therefore, said that the initiative, Young Women in Agriculture (YWA) Themed: Enhancing the Economic Value of Nigerian Women through Agricultural Value Chain was designed to empower women and youth, enabling them to contribute significantly to food production, economic stability, and national security.
On her part the National POWA president, Dr Elizabeth Egbetokun, said women development was not only a moral imperative but also an economic and social necessity for nation’s progress.
“Upon my assumption of office as the National President of POWA, i took it upon myself to seek for a strategic partnership with UNESCO REF and other relevant stakeholders.
“The stakeholders such as women’s space USA, Salvation Academy USA,
University of District of the Columbia , Washington DC, and others to lunch the young women in agriculture in June 21, 2023 in Abuja.
“The beneficiaries are tagged YWA Champions and we believed the launching of the young women in agriculture in 2023 contributed to the declaration of state of emergency for food security in Nigeria by our beloved president Tinubu,” he said.
She said the project duration for four years (2024 to 2027) at the first instance could be continued for additional three years (2028 to 2030).
She said the overall objective of the project was to mobilised 12 million Nigerian Women (2 million per geopolitical zone of the federation) to contribute to food and nutrition security, mitigate national security threat through non – kinetic approach and promote economic growth through agribusiness.
Egbetokun stressed that the pioneer beneficiaries of the initiative would commence their training on March 10, 2025 with an Institution in the United State of America.
She furthermore said the project would enhance the easy attainment of United Nations goals 1,2,3 and 8.
She appealed for more strategic support for easy goal achievement, while calling on Nigerians home and abroad to see this as a clarion call and embrace the cause of women’s development in Nigeria.
Also speaking, the United Nations Deputy Secretary General, Amina Muhammad, emphasised the ripple effect of the project towards enhancing the easy attainment of SDG goal 1( No Poverty) and goal 2( No Hunger) in Nigeria.
Muhammed called on policies makers to continue creating an environment that would encourage more initiative to would elevate poverty among the women.
The women in agriculture project is an initiative of the UNESCO REF under its Strategic Intervention Programme- Alpha (SIP-ALPHA) to commemorate the 2025 United Nations International Women’s Day.
