IYWF: IFAD LIFE-ND Reveals 50% of C 'River Beneficiaries Are Women
By Missang AKPET
The United Nation declared 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer, a global celebration aimed at spotlighting the essential roles women play across agrifood systems, from production to trade, often without recognition.
In Cross River State, the day was marked by the State Coordinating Office of the International Fund for Agricultural Development Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises Project for the Niger Delta, IFAD LIFE-ND, with the theme: "Leveraging and Supporting Women as Champions for Agri-Food System Transformation".
Speaking at the event in Calabar, the State Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Mr. Johnson Ebokpo, described women as the primary stewards of our land, the nurturers of our crops, and the guardians of our food security.
He noted that despite disproportionate challenges such as difficult access to land, training and modern technology, women farmers in the state continue to yield incredible results through resilience and dedication.
The Commissioner said the state government, under Governor Bassey Otu, remains committed to transforming rural livelihoods, particularly by empowering women and youths.
"As economic leaders, when a woman farmer prospers, her entire community thrives. She invests her earnings into health, education and household stability".
"We are building climate-efficient systems and modern processing equipment. In our coffee project, we are driving it to ensure that women are involved. We want women to become experts, we want them to be exporters," Ebokpo stated.
He added that government is expanding access to finance and facilitating low-impact agricultural grants tailored specifically for women-led agribusinesses while promising improved rural roads and deployment of solar-powered systems and extension services to reduce labor burden and boost productivity for women farmers.
Also speaking, the IFAD LIFE-ND Cross River State Project Coordinator, Dr. Innocent Ogbin, disclosed that 50% of the projects and empowerments being undertaken by IFAD LIFE-ND have women as beneficiaries.
He revealed that out of 4,370 beneficiaries so far enrolled in the project, 2,237 are women. Of these, 402 are women-headed households and 287 are women living with disabilities.
"The woman farmer produces the food that we eat. In our rural communities, they are our backbones. But oftentimes they are not recognized. Their efforts go unnoticed".
"Aligning with the United Nations recognition for the woman farmer, IFAD LIFE-ND as a project gives special preference to women in agriculture. That is why in our beneficiary selection, we have a 50-50 arrangement for men and women farmers," he added.
Representing the Cross River State Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Dr. Mrs. Eme Inyang Abia said the LIFE-ND Project is a partnership between the Federal Government of Nigeria, IFAD, and NDDC to boost food security, create rural jobs, and empower women and youth through agribusiness.
Its core objective, she stated, is to train and support rural youths, women, and people with disabilities as agri-preneurs.
The celebration featured agricultural produce exhibitions by women farmers as well as testimonials of success from women beneficiaries of the IFAD LIFE-ND programme.
