The Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, fsi, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to women’s economic empowerment through agriculture, as she unveiled plans to officially launch the Women’s Agro Value Expansion (WAVE) Programme in the coming weeks.
Speaking at the Renewed Hope – Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (RH-GEEP) Roundtable Meeting in Abuja, the Minister commended the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), the GEEP team, and other stakeholders for their unwavering dedication to inclusion and empowerment.
A statement by the Asst.Chief Information Officer, Anthony Okwudili Agurue, on behalf of the Head of Press and Public Relations, said she emphasized that empowering women is central to nation-building, stating:
“When we empower a woman, we empower her entire family, her community, and, in turn, our nation. Women are the first investors in the health, nutrition, and education of their children, creating ripple effects that lift every household they touch.”
Highlighting women’s critical role in agriculture, where they make up nearly 70% of Nigeria’s workforce, the Minister decried the persistent imbalance that sidelines women from value addition, markets, and decision-making, despite their heavy contributions.
To address this, she explained that under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs launched the Women’s Agro Value Expansion (WAVE) Programme—a bold initiative designed to transition women from farmgate operators to agri-preneurs and value creators.
The WAVE Programme blends access to finance, skills development, market linkages, agribusiness support, mechanization, and storage facilities to drastically reduce post-harvest losses, enhance productivity, and expand women’s participation in local and international markets.
“The WAVE Programme has a dual objective: to build women’s capacities within agri-food systems so they can be prosperous, and to support Nigerian women to feed the nation,” the Minister said.
She also stressed the synergy between RH-GEEP’s financial inclusion efforts and the WAVE initiative, noting that finance must go hand-in-hand with skills, value addition, and enterprise support to truly uplift women.
Calling for stronger collaboration among stakeholders, the Minister declared:
“Women’s issues cannot be relegated to charitable causes. They need access, opportunity, and genuine partnership. Together, we can move millions of women from subsistence to prosperity and meaningfully contribute to the ₦1 trillion economy envisioned by Mr. President under the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
The Honourable Minister concluded with a call to action, urging all partners to remain steadfast in building a future where Nigerian women are central to economic growth and national development.