Stemming The Tide of Poverty Among Women Smallholder Farmers in Nigeria

Maimuna Musa, a 24-year-old fruit and vegetable farmer, grew up in the poverty-stricken community of Bunkure in Nigeria, where women were mainly the victims. Their major source of income is the sale of food crops such as grains and fruits and vegetables harvested from their farms, from which they barely make a living.

With an interrupted rainfall pattern in northern Nigeria, usually lasting not more than 76 days in a year, it is difficult to grow such crops. During the dry seasons, there is often little left of the harvest to sustain the family.   

With the determination to change the narrative in her community, Maimuna was excited to be part of the 24 community facilitators trained by Solidaridad under the Sustainable Development Goal Project 1 (SDGP1) in the Kano state of Nigeria.

She and her colleagues were trained on climate-smart agricultural practices, modalities of the Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) scheme, and alternative income-generating activities, among others. As community facilitators, Maimuna and her colleagues support other farmers with peer-to-peer training on sustainable fruit and vegetable farming based on the knowledge acquired from the project.

Maimuna successfully set up women farmer groups in three communities consisting of 75 fruit and vegetable farmers. She trains the women to add value to their grains and other farm produce to increase their income. She also trains the women in baking pastries. With this, the women have improved their incomes and they are now able to support their families.

A Beneficiary Testifies 

Farah Aliyu, a mother of six who now bakes aside from her 150-square metre fruits and vegetable farm, says her business has become a hub of doughnut baking with an average monthly income of 26,000 Naira  (60.53 dollars). Together with what accrues from her vegetable farming, she is now able to support her household even during the dry season when there is no produce from her farm to sell. Her six children who drop out of school have returned to the classroom with the support of the income from her baking business. She says this gives her joy.

“The training has transformed my life. We never knew we could add value to our produce for more income until the training. We are grateful to Solidaridad and its partners for this project,” says Aliyu. 

For Maimuna, testimonies like that of Aliyu make her happy. In her community, 26 elementary school pupils are back in the classroom because their parents can now afford their educational needs. 

“Solidaridad, through the Sustainable Development Goal Project 1 (SDGP) has helped me in achieving my dream of improving the income of women in my community. I am happy to see the transformation the women are experiencing from their diversified sources of income,” says Maimuna.

Lawal Adamu, programme officer at Solidaridad in Nigeria, said Solidaridad introduces its farmers to alternative income sources to create social and economic resilience in times of poor harvest, crop failure or drought.

Solidaridad implements the Sustainable Development Goal Project (SDGP), in partnership with East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation and other organizations, in the Kaduna and Kano states of Nigeria. The project seeks to transform the fruit and vegetable market in the two states and the country at large. 

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken ) funds the project through the Netherlands Enterprise Agency Agency as part of its contribution to achieving food security and private sector development.