ActionAid’s Strategic Partnership for Agroecology and Climate Justice (SPAC–West Africa) has trainedmore than 12,000 women farmers and young people across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), helping to expand organic farming practices and strengthen climate-smart livelihoods.
The intervention, which ran for three years, has focused on agroecology training as a pathway to sustainable food production, youth employment and improved community resilience.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ campaign and advocacy forum on land ownership and market access for smallholder women farmers and youths in Abuja, the project lead for SPAC–West Africa in Nigeria, Mrs Hajara Ramson, stated that the initiative had reached beneficiaries across all six Area Councils of the FCT.
She explained that the project adopted a cooperative-based Training of Trainers (ToT) model, allowing knowledge to spread quickly within farming communities.
According to her, 80 women were trained in the first batch in 2023, with each participant subsequently training 50 others.
The same approach was repeated in 2024 and 2025, bringing the total number of trained women farmers and youths to 12,000.
Ramson said the training had improved sustainable farming practices, reduced dependence on synthetic fertilisers and harmful chemicals, and helped farmers adopt healthier food production methods.
She added that agroecology had also strengthened community resilience to climate change by restoring soil health and improving long-term productivity.
Despite these gains, she noted that many smallholder women farmers and young people were still struggling to benefit economically from increased production. She attributed this to insecure land access and limited market opportunities.
According to her, without clear land rights, women farmers are unable to invest confidently in sustainable agriculture.
She added that weak market linkages and unfair pricing continue to prevent improved yields from translating into higher incomes, better livelihoods and economic empowerment.
She called on government institutions to collaborate with trained smallholder farmers to scale up agroecology nationwide and ensure a ripple effect across rural communities.
Ramson also explained that SPAC–West Africa is implemented in partnership with the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), with support from ActionAid’s International Transformative Impact Fund.
She stated that SWOFON represents over 500,000 rural women farmers across Nigeria and contributes more than 75 per cent of the country’s food basket.
Commending the initiative, the District Head of Abaji, Alhaji Kana Shuaibu, described the project as a timely intervention for empowering women and youths.
He urged that the programme be expanded to reach more beneficiaries, noting the availability of vast farmland in parts of southern Abuja.
He encouraged women farmers to form clusters to improve access to land and shared resources.
Sharing her experience, Mrs Olabisi Ogedengbe, SWOFON Coordinator in Gwagwalada, stated that agroecology had improved her vegetable production and market patronage. She explained that organically grown produce, such as pumpkin leaves (ugu), lasts longer after harvest than crops grown with chemical inputs.
She also said the training had enabled her to adopt safer farming practices while meeting growing consumer demand for healthier food.
Source: NAN
