Experts in the agriculture and climate sectors across the nation have urged for more women in
farming to enhance productivity and decrease post-harvest losses in Nigeria and Africa in the
coming years.
They made the call at the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP) national policy conference on
“ Gender-focused crop diversification policies to mitigate the effects of climate shocks on food
security status of Nigerian households” which was held via Zoom on the 13th of December 2022.
The conference brought together agricultural stakeholders and climate experts from across the
country to facilitate policy dialogue, stimulate discussion on the gender dimension and crop
diversification policies, and to consider the policy implications of the research findings on households.
In her opening remark, the project lead, Dr. Khadijat Amolegbe, said that the research project examined how different genders were affected by climate shocks and offered inclusive measures to mitigate such effects.
Accordingly, the study discovered that women play a subset role in food security of households, as they spend a greater portion of their income on household food consumption.
She did note that crop diversification is a viable countermeasure to post-harvest losses and to
reduce the effects of climate change, adding that for a successful policy outcome, purposeful
collaboration between national and subnational institutions with responsibility for food security is
necessary.
The research project which received funding from Global Affairs Canada (GAC) in collaboration
with Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP), instead to promote links between different actors involved in the issues of household food security as well as those involved in women empowerment policies to better implement recommendations derived from the conference.
With “The Gender Outcome of Climate Shock in Nigeria and the Urgent Need for Informed Policy Action” as the discussion’s foundation, one of the presenters, Dolapo Omolokun (CEO, Alon Green Recycling), stated that climate change is a current and urgent challenge for smallholder farmers (SHFs) in Africa because SHFs are extremely vulnerable to changes in the weather because 95% of agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is rainfed.
She continued, ‘‘ Climate change is already resulting in yield declines for staple crops, compounding food poverty, and future predictions indicate an increasingly variable climate, including variations in rainfall and temperature as well as more frequent extreme weather.’’
“ Growing seasons will continue to shift and farmers will need to adapt to changes in which agricultural activities are profitable on their farms. Estimates indicate that Africa will lose 30% of current growing areas for maize and banana and 60% for beans by 2050 If temperature rises to 3°C (RCP8.5).” She said.
Eugenie Rose Fontep (Consultant, World Bank) on her part said government and non-government organizations should address the problem of climate shock on households and plausible solutions such as crop diversification policy options should be focused on women and households with women plot managers.
She said, “ Plot managers, especially women among them, should be encouraged to take up crop diversification strategies to mitigate the effect of climate shocks. Such crop diversification strategies may include training households on such strategies, and providing cash transfers and subsidies to households to help them diversify easily. Also Women empowerment programs should include components that might help women easily diversify.” She added.
Other presenters from the Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority are Deputy Director,
Dr. Lawal Maroof Kola, and the Assistant Chief Planning Officer, Stephen Akomolafe.
