‎SHE FEEDS THE NATION BUT OWNS NOTHING: HOW 70% OF NIGERIA’S FOOD FARMERS AND PROCESSORS ARE WOMEN WHO STILL STRUGGLE TO OWN THE LAND THEY FARM ~ By Queendaline C. Obilor ‎

 

‎In the morning, long before many Nigerian households begin their day, thousands of women are already in the fields, planting, weeding, harvesting, processing and preparing the food that eventually reaches markets and family tables across the country.

‎From cassava farms in the South-East to rice fields in the North and yam-producing communities in the Middle Belt, women play a significant role in Nigeria’s food system. Yet, for many of these women, the struggle does not end with producing food. It begins with securing the land on which they depend for their livelihood.

‎A report published by Punch Newspapers on August 31, 2026, citing the United Nations, stated that women account for about 70 percent of people involved in food crop production, processing and commercialisation in Nigeria. The report also highlighted persistent barriers to land, finance, technology and market access.

‎Figure captures an important reality! women are central to Nigeria’s food economy, but their contribution does not always translate into ownership, financial security or control over production.

‎In many rural communities, farming is more than an occupation. It is a means of survival, a source of income and a responsibility tied to the welfare of their families.

‎They cultivate crops, sort produce, process cassava into garri, dry vegetables, preserve food and transport goods to local markets. Some work on family-owned farms, while others cultivate borrowed land or rent small plots from landowners.

‎Despite their labour, many female farmers have limited control over the land they cultivate. In some communities, land is inherited predominantly through male relatives, while women depend on husbands, fathers, brothers or other family members for access to farmland.

‎This arrangement can leave women vulnerable. A farmer who has spent years improving a plot may lose access to it following a family dispute, the death of a spouse, a change in household circumstances or a decision by the landowner to reclaim the property.

‎Without rights secure, long-term investment becomes difficult. A woman may hesitate to improve the soil, establish irrigation, plant permanent crops or invest her savings in a farm she could lose at any time.

‎The result is a troubling imbalance: the people contributing significantly to food production may have limited power over the resources needed to sustain that production.

‎Land remains one of the most important assets in agriculture. It provides a foundation for production, investment, income generation and access to financial services.

‎However, evidence cited in a 2023 World Bank publication on land tenure in Nigeria shows a substantial gender gap in ownership. Drawing on earlier research, the publication reported that 8.2 percent of women surveyed had sole ownership of land, compared with 34.2 percent of men. When sole and joint ownership were combined, the figures were 16.9 percent for women and 41.3 percent for men.

‎These figures refer to reported land ownership in the underlying research, they should not be interpreted as a current census of women farmers specifically. Nevertheless, they illustrate the unequal access to property that can undermine women's economic independence.

‎For a woman farmer, land ownership can mean more than having a place to plant crops. It can provide security against displacement, strengthen her bargaining position within the household and make it easier to plan for the future.

‎Where women cannot own or securely control farmland, their economic opportunities may remain dependent on decisions made by others.

‎Consider a common situation in rural farming communities, a woman spends months cultivating cassava on land provided by a relative. She purchases seedlings, pays for labour when she can afford it and works through the planting season, often while caring for children and managing household responsibilities.

‎When harvest time arrives, she hopes to sell enough produce to cover school fees, food, healthcare and other family expenses.

‎But if access to the land is uncertain, her plans are equally uncertain.

‎This is an illustrative scenario, not the account of a named individual. It reflects the kinds of risks associated with insecure land tenure.

‎A farmer who cannot guarantee continued access to farmland may struggle to secure loans or attract investment. Financial institutions commonly require evidence of reliable income, repayment capacity and, in some lending arrangements, acceptable collateral. Without secure assets or suitable alternatives, many small-scale farmers find formal credit difficult to obtain.

‎The consequences can extend beyond the individual woman. Limited financing can prevent her from purchasing improved seeds, fertiliser, storage equipment or machinery that could increase production and reduce post-harvest losses.

‎In this way, unequal access to land becomes an agricultural productivity problem as well as a gender issue.

‎Nigeria's land system is shaped by statutory law, customary practices and, in some communities, religious and family-based rules governing inheritance and property.

‎The Land Use Act of 1978 provides the country's statutory framework for land administration. Yet the practical process of accessing and documenting land can be complicated by local customs, administrative procedures, financial constraints and disputes over ownership.

‎Although women are not universally prohibited from owning land, legal recognition does not always guarantee equal access in practice.

‎In communities where inheritance is traditionally concentrated among male relatives, women may face resistance when seeking to inherit or register property in their own names. Other women may lack the money, documentation or legal assistance needed to protect their interests.

‎Widows and women heading households can face particular difficulties when their access to farmland depends on relationships with their late husbands' families.

‎The challenge, therefore, is not simply whether women have rights under the law. It is whether those rights can be exercised, documented and defended when disputes arise.

‎The hidden burden of farming and unpaid care.

‎For many women farmers, the working day extends far beyond the farm.

‎After hours of planting, harvesting or processing produce, they may still need to prepare meals, fetch water, collect firewood, care for children and attend to other household responsibilities.

‎These overlapping demands can leave women with less time to expand their farms, participate in training, attend cooperative meetings or explore more profitable markets.

‎The United Nations has also warned that women farmers face unequal access to agricultural technology, extension services and finance. These barriers can limit productivity even when women possess the knowledge and willingness to invest in their work.

‎Climate change adds another layer of uncertainty. Irregular rainfall, flooding, drought and declining soil quality can threaten harvests. Farmers who lack secure land rights and access to affordable financing may find it especially difficult to recover from these shocks.

‎Supporting women farmers therefore requires more than encouraging them to work harder. It requires addressing the structural conditions that determine whether their work can produce lasting economic benefits.

‎Secure land tenure can encourage farmers to invest in soil improvement, irrigation, better seeds and sustainable farming methods. It can also strengthen their ability to plan production across multiple seasons.

‎For women, ownership or legally secure access to land can improve their bargaining power, help them build independent income and create opportunities to expand agricultural businesses.

‎The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations identifies women's unequal access to land and other productive resources as a significant obstacle to inclusive and sustainable agricultural development.

‎When women farmers have secure rights and access to essential resources, the potential benefits extend to households, local markets and the wider economy.

‎Conversely, when a substantial part of the agricultural workforce cannot reliably control the land it cultivates, the country risks losing opportunities to improve productivity, reduce poverty and strengthen the resilience of its food supply.

‎Nigeria's food-security debate must therefore consider not only how much food farmers produce, but also whether those farmers have the resources and security needed to keep producing it.

‎Addressing the land-rights gap requires coordinated action by government institutions, traditional authorities, financial institutions, agricultural organisations and local communities.

‎1. Land administration and registration procedures should be made more accessible and affordable, particularly for rural women with limited financial resources.

‎2.Awareness of women's property and inheritance rights should be strengthened. Community leaders, legal-aid organisations and relevant government agencies can help women understand the law and seek assistance when their rights are threatened.

‎3.Agricultural financing should be designed around the realities of smallholder farmers. Cooperative lending, group guarantees and other appropriate financing arrangements could help women who lack conventional collateral, provided the terms are fair and transparent.

‎4.Agricultural extension programmes should deliberately reach women farmers with training, improved technology, climate information and practical guidance on increasing productivity.

‎5. Governments and development partners should improve the collection of sex-disaggregated data on farmland ownership, land access, agricultural income and farm productivity. Reliable data would help determine where interventions are most needed and whether they are producing measurable results.

‎6.Women farmers should have meaningful representation in agricultural policy discussions and community decisions concerning land allocation, irrigation, markets and rural development.

‎The goal should not merely be to increase women's participation in farming. It should be to ensure that their participation creates secure livelihoods, stronger businesses and greater economic independence.

‎A national question that demands attention

‎Nigeria cannot build a resilient agricultural sector by overlooking the conditions under which its farmers work.

‎A woman who plants cassava, harvests vegetables, processes grains or sells produce in the market is not simply assisting the economy. She is an economic actor whose labour contributes to household survival, rural livelihoods and national food supply.

‎Yet, when the same woman cannot secure the land she cultivates, her future remains vulnerable to decisions beyond her control.

‎The question is no longer whether women contribute to Nigeria's agriculture. Their contribution is widely recognised. The more urgent question is whether the country is prepared to give them fair opportunities to own land, access finance, adopt modern technology and benefit from the value they create.

‎Food security is not only about producing enough food. It is also about creating an agricultural system in which those who produce that food have the resources, rights and opportunities to thrive.

‎Nigeria's women farmers help feed the nation. They deserve more than recognition for their labour; they deserve a fair opportunity to own, control and benefit from the resources that sustain it.