Honda Initiative Empowers Women in Agriculture, Offers Hope for Nigeria’s Food Security Crisis

Mary Nnah

Honda Manufacturing (Nigeria) Limited has launched an initiative to empower women in agriculture in a bid to tackle Nigeria’s food insecurity crisis.

The company’s community development event, held during the weekend in Lagos, themed – “Empowering Women in Agriculture” – targets providing women farmers with equipment and training to boost productivity and income.

The event highlighted the crucial role women play in agriculture and the challenges they face, including lack of access to land, labour, and equipment.

Professor ChinweObuaku, Consultant and Technical Team Lead to the Osun State Government on Climate Change and Renewable Energy, presented a paper titled “Cultivating Prosperity: Entrepreneurial Skills for Women in Agriculture”.

In her presentation, she emphasised that empowering women in agriculture can be a game-changer in addressing food insecurity.

Her words: “I realised that food insecurity is a current threat that Nigeria has been experiencing for quite some time. In order to combat that, we need women.

“But if you look around, you will discover that most of these women are farmers. They consider themselves farmers and not as businesswomen or entrepreneurs.”

Professor Obuaku stressed the importance of a growth mindset, peer support, and access to resources for women to succeed in agriculture.

“The first thing is that they have to have a growth mindset. They have to believe in themselves first. It takes a lot for someone to move into agriculture because agriculture is high-risk,” she added.

Honda’s initiative is a significant step towards supporting women farmers.

According to OlabadeBadejo, Divisional Manager for Honda, the initiative was inspired by the company’s desire to be more inclusive.

“We thought our main users, our main customers are men. And we wanted to do something to be more inclusive as a company,” he said.

The initiative has sparked hope that empowering women in agriculture can be a key solution to Nigeria’s food insecurity crisis.

With the right support and investment, women farmers can increase productivity, improve food security, and contribute to the country’s economic development.

AtinukeLebile, one of the beneficiaries, expressed gratitude for the initiative.

“We are grateful that you are taking women into consideration in what you do… We are going to use this equipment and send pictures to show that it’s really working,” she said.

 Honda’s Managing Director, Mr. Hirohide Ichikawa, said the initiative aims to contribute to Nigerian society and support the agricultural sector.

“We understand that there are some difficulties in Nigeria for the agricultural sector. And also, from a Honda point of view, we want to contribute to Nigerian society. That is why we are holding this event,” he said.

 As Nigeria struggles to address its food insecurity crisis, initiatives like Honda’s offer hope for a sustainable solution.