Akoche Ochefu Ignites Rural Revival in Benue Through Women’s Cooperative Powerhouse

By Ugo Aliogo

In the sun-baked farmlands of Benue, where economic opportunities for women have long been stifled by limited access to resources, Akoche Ochefu has emerged as a catalyst for change. As Senior Registrar of Cooperatives and Divisional Cooperatives Officer at the Benue State Ministry of Cooperatives and Rural Development, Ochefu has spearheaded an initiative that has empowered over 5,000 rural women, transforming subsistence living into sustainable entrepreneurship. His program, blending targeted training with financial linkages, aligns seamlessly with Nigeria’s national agenda for gender-inclusive rural development, delivering measurable impacts that ripple across communities.

Launched in 2023 under the ministry’s broader framework to bolster cooperative societies, Ochefu’s Women in Cooperatives Empowerment Program (WICEP) addresses a critical gap: the exclusion of rural women from formal financial systems. Drawing from his sociology background and years of hands-on experience in cooperative management, Ochefu designed the initiative to equip women with skills in agribusiness, micro-enterprise management, and financial literacy. “Our goal was not just to train but to create self-reliant ecosystems,” Ochefu explained in an interview at his Makurdi office. “By integrating cooperatives with government-backed financing, we’ve turned potential into prosperity.”

The program’s tangible outcomes are striking. In its first two years, WICEP facilitated training for 5,200 women across 12 local government areas in Benue, focusing on high-yield crops like cassava and yam, alongside value-added processing such as garri production and soap-making. Participants formed 150 new cooperative societies, each averaging 35 members, enabling collective bargaining for inputs and markets. A key alignment with federal policies came through partnerships with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme and the Bank of Agriculture, unlocking over N250 million in low-interest loans. This financial infusion has scaled operations: average household incomes among participants rose by 45%, from N15,000 to N22,000 monthly, according to ministry evaluations.

One beneficiary, Martha Iorpuu from Gwer West, exemplifies the program’s success. A 42-year-old mother of five, Iorpuu joined a WICEP cooperative in 2024 after attending Ochefu’s workshops on business planning. “Before, I farmed alone and struggled to sell,” she said. “Now, our group accesses loans to buy fertilizers and trucks our produce to urban markets. My income has doubled, and I can send my children to school.” Her cooperative, which started with 20 members, now processes 10 tons of cassava weekly, supplying major buyers in Abuja and generating N1.2 million in annual revenue.

Ochefu’s approach emphasizes scalability, integrating digital tools from his cybersecurity certifications to streamline cooperative registrations and monitoring via mobile apps. This has reduced administrative bottlenecks, allowing real-time performance tracking and ensuring compliance with state regulations. The initiative dovetails with Benue’s Rural Development Master Plan and the federal Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 5 on gender equality and SDG 8 on decent work. Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration has hailed it as a model, allocating an additional N100 million in the 2026 budget to expand WICEP to 10,000 women by 2028.

Challenges were inevitable. Early on, cultural barriers and low literacy rates hindered participation, but Ochefu countered with community-led sensitization drives, partnering with local NGOs like Society for Family Health, where he previously supervised operations. “We didn’t impose solutions; we co-created them,” he noted. Monitoring data shows a 92% retention rate in trainings, with 70% of graduates securing loans within six months.
The broader impact extends beyond economics. Empowered women report improved health outcomes, with cooperatives funding communal clinics and nutrition programs. In Otukpo, a WICEP group invested loan proceeds in solar-powered irrigation, boosting yields by 30% amid climate challenges. These successes have drawn national attention, with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture eyeing replication in other states.