NAWIA Zamfara Celebrates World Food Day, Seeks Support For Women Farmers

By Hussaini Yero, Funtua 

The Nigerian Association of Women in Agriculture (NAWIA), Zamfara State Chapter, on Friday celebrated the 2026 World Food Day with a call for more support for women farmers to boost food security in the state.

The event, held at the Trade Fair Complex, Gusau, brought together women farmers from across the 14 Local Government Areas, government officials, traditional rulers and development partners.

In her keynote address, the State Chairperson of NAWIA, Hajiya Shemau Muhammad Nalado, said this year's global theme, "Hand in Hand for Better Foods and Better Future," underscores the critical role of women in food production.

She disclosed that the association has over 3,000 women across the state engaged in rice, millet, groundnut, poultry and vegetable production, adding that they were recently visited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) for TVET skills accreditation.

Hajiya Nalado, however, listed major challenges facing women farmers, including lack of access to soft loans and grants, lack of modern farming inputs and machines, lack of storage and processing facilities, and climate change.

She appealed to the Federal and State Governments, the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and development partners to support women farmers with loans, inputs and training, stressing that "if you empower a woman farmer, you feed a whole community."

In her address, the First Lady of Zamfara State, Her Excellency Hajiya Huriyya Dauda Lawal, commended NAWIA for its commitment to agricultural growth and women empowerment.

The First Lady, who was represented at the event, lauded the State Coordinator, Hajiya Nalado, for her exemplary leadership and tireless efforts in advancing agricultural development in the state.

She also commended her husband, Governor Dauda Lawal, for his administration's consistent support to farmers through agricultural grants, timely distribution of fertilizer and other strategic interventions aimed at boosting food production.

Earlier, the State Program Manager of NAWIA, Ukashat Bashar Anka, said the association has grown from 15 women in 2024 to over 2,548 registered active women farmers across the state.

He said in 2026 alone, the association trained over 2,200 women on improved rice parboiling, groundnut oil extraction, dry season vegetable farming and climate-smart agriculture, and facilitated linkage of 1,120 members to improved seeds and fertilizer.

Ukashat listed insecurity, lack of modern equipment, lack of access to large-scale credit, post-harvest losses and climate change as major challenges affecting women farmers, and appealed for a Women's Agricultural Hub/Processing Centre in Gusau, inclusion in government agricultural programmes, and mobility support to reach rural members.