How Women Farmers in Kaduna are Changing Their Lives with Vegetables

Asabe Daniel grew up seeing her father work on his farms.

After losing her job with the Soba Local Government three years ago, farming became more than just a family tradition for her. It became a way to survive.

Living in Wusasa village in Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Ms Daniel now grows vegetables and makes masa, a popular rice breakfast food in many northern states, to support herself.

She cultivates soya beans and tomatoes on a small piece of land.

In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Ms Daniel said she learned the basics of farming from her father but needed to learn more after turning to agriculture for financial independence.
“I get my tomato seeds from neighbours who, after washing their tomatoes, I request water or seeds, and from there I nurse them till they reach the stage of transplanting,” she said.

“Although I started it three years ago to gain financial independence, tomato farming became more profitable because I get to feed from it and sell.”
Her experience reflects a growing reality among women in Kaduna’s rural areas, where small vegetable farms are becoming vital sources of food, income, and stability at home.

‘I want to turn tomatoes into tin tomatoes’

Ms Daniel dreams of expanding her tomato farm and processing her produce into packaged tomato products.

But she faces a common problem: lack of capital.

She needs money to buy seeds, fertiliser, and other farming supplies and to rent more land for cultivation.
She described access to land as one of her biggest challenges. She pays to use the small piece of land she works on.

Her story shows a major barrier for women farmers in Nigeria: although agriculture provides income, women often struggle to access resources needed to grow.
Land, finance, technology, and other resources are hard for many women to get, especially in areas where traditional norms favour men in land ownership and control.

‘My husband encouraged me’

Halima Yusuf received encouragement from her husband to start vegetable farming.

After being a full-time housewife for about 10 years, Ms Yusuf said her husband, who sells chickens and chicken feed, urged her to start farming to earn an income.

This is her second year of farming.
“Last year I cultivated soya beans, and with the help of my husband, who bought the piece of land for me, I was able to get three bags,” she said.

“This year I am practising relay farming where on the same piece of land I planted chilli pepper and onions.”

Unlike some other women interviewed, Ms Yusuf said she has not faced major challenges as a woman farmer because of her husband’s support.

But for others, limited access to land and capital nearly stopped them from farming altogether.

Seeds that changed Maria’s story

Maria Kabiru, a mother of three from Bomo village in Sabon Gari Local Government Area, always had an interest in farming.

But lack of money and land held her back.

Her situation changed when the East-West Seed Foundation, through its Deliver Nigeria project, provided her with cabbage and onion seeds and trained her in better farming techniques.

Ms Kabiru started with cabbage during the dry season and then moved to onions.
She cultivated these crops on a small piece of land in front of her house, with her husband helping her water the farm using water from their well and a nearby river.

But starting was not easy.
“I used my own money to buy seeds to start the cabbage farm, and when I started, many women in my area tried to discourage me, especially here in the North where women feel farming is an activity done by men who must provide for their families, not an activity that a woman could engage in,” she said.

Despite the discouragement, the farm did well.
“My cabbage plantation did well because my husband helped me to nurture the farm, and I got a lot of money from selling the cabbage right on the farm,” she said.

The success pushed Ms Kabiru to go beyond her own farm.
She formed a group of women farmers in Bomo, where she now teaches improved vegetable farming techniques she learned through the foundation.

‘I am now among the biggest okra sellers’

For Mariya Nasiru-Ibrahim, okra farming has become a profitable business.

She said okra farming has improved her finances to the point that she is now one of the biggest okra sellers in her village.

But she wants a bigger farm to expand her cultivation using better seeds.

Her experience is similar to many other women whose farms have become profitable but whose ability to grow their businesses is limited by access to land and other supplies.

‘Vegetable farming has changed my life’

In Koraye village, Fatima Mohammed said vegetable farming is her main source of income.

She began farming after finishing her national youth service and failing to find a job.

Her brother, who now lives in Saudi Arabia, provided her with capital. Meanwhile, her friend, Isma’il Danladi, a farmer, taught her how to grow onions during both wet and dry seasons.

“This year would be my fifth year of farming onions during wet and dry seasons, and I have not regretted my actions because vegetable farming has provided a job that helps feed myself and my mother,” she said.

For Ms Mohammed, the dry season provides the best financial opportunity.

“I gain more money with onions during the dry season because that’s when it becomes expensive, and few farmers cultivate it during the dry season,” she said.

But water remains a big challenge.
She said lack of water during the dry season affects the quality of the onions she produces.

‘Carrots also improved my household nutrition’

For Hannatu Adamu, vegetable farming has benefits beyond money.

Ms Adamu, who has grown carrots for five years, said the crop has improved her household’s nutrition and given her more financial independence.

She recalled how her youngest child suffered from malnutrition at nine months old.
“I remember when my last-born was just nine months old, he suffered from malnutrition and I was advised to boil carrots, rice, egg and make it into a smoothie to improve his diet,” she said.

But like other farmers, she faces rising costs.
She pointed out that fertiliser and seeds are some of her biggest difficulties and asked the government to subsidise farming inputs to help lift farmers out of poverty.

Fertiliser support

Women farmers are among the main beneficiaries of the Governor Uba Sani administration’s free fertiliser distribution, aimed at reducing production costs and helping smallholder farmers.

The programme started with the distribution of 500 truckloads of fertiliser and the use of tractors, targeting 150,000 smallholder farmers across the state’s 23 local government areas.

Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES at the Babban Dodo fertiliser redemption centre in Zaria Local Government Area, the Supervisory Councillor for Agriculture and Forestry, Nuhu Dogara-Malami, said this is the third consecutive year of the administration’s fertiliser programme, with a focus on women and young farmers.

He said rising costs have made it hard for smallholder farmers to maintain or grow their production.

At the redemption centre, women beneficiaries welcomed the initiative, calling it timely help as fertiliser and other farming supplies become increasingly expensive.

Amina Suleiman, who grows maize, rice, and beans, said this was the first time she benefited from a government agricultural initiative. Meanwhile, Masa’uda Aliyu said the support made her feel that her efforts as a farmer were being recognised.

Hadiza Ibrahim, who grows tomatoes in her backyard while her husband cultivates maize, said the fertiliser would benefit both of them.

Other beneficiaries, like Husaina Musa from Dogarawa and cabbage farmer Ashiru Mohammed from Muchia, also expressed gratitude to the government. Mr Mohammed said the support could help him increase his output as high input costs continue to burden small-scale farmers.

How institutions are supporting women farmers

Beyond individual efforts, agricultural extension workers and development organisations are helping women gain better farming knowledge.

Sani Inusa, an agricultural engineer and rural agriculture developer with the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS) at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, said his organisation works with many women’s groups in Zaria, Giwa, and Sabon Gari local government areas.

The training includes better methods of growing vegetables, animal rearing, and starting small businesses.

Mr Inusa said agricultural workers have visited rural areas for about 15 years to teach women how to grow vegetables, rice, and maize.
They also provide seeds and fertiliser, especially before the rainy season.

“There has been an increase in women’s groups both in size and work,” he said, adding that Zaria Local Government alone has over 30 women’s groups, with between 25 and 50 women in each group.

The groups also receive health education and training on climate-smart agriculture.

According to Mr Inusa, the women are taught how to pick suitable crops for their land and what to grow to make the most profit.

They also learn about pest control, including which chemicals to use, when to plant to reduce pest attacks, and how to use fewer chemicals to keep their produce largely organic.

The extension gap

Despite these efforts, Mr Inusa said a big gap still exists between agricultural extension workers and farmers in Kaduna State.

He said many local government areas have extension workers who do not reach farmers, leaving rural communities without access to new farming knowledge.

“The gap could be closed when the extension workers try to meet these farmers and teach them new techniques in farming,” he said.

He also suggested local governments should register women farmers’ groups.

Such registration could make it easier for women to access loans, farming supplies, and other forms of agricultural support.

Why women farmers matter

Women’s growing role in vegetable farming is important in Kaduna State, where agriculture is a major source of livelihood.

Kaduna’s Agricultural Development Agency estimates that the state has about 1.3 million farming households, while agriculture contributes about 38 percent to the state’s Gross Domestic Product.

Women participate in crop production, livestock, processing, and marketing.

Yet they often find it harder to access land, credit, extension services, and farming supplies.

Kaduna State’s Women’s Economic Empowerment Policy states only 4.7 percent of women in the state own agricultural land independently, while 92.7 percent do not own land.

The policy sees limited access to resources as a big barrier to women’s participation in agriculture.

Studies of women farmers in Kaduna have found high input costs, lack of capital, limited extension services, and gender-related barriers as obstacles to increased productivity.

For women taking care of small farms or growing food crops around their homes, access to fertiliser, seeds, and other supplies can directly impact how much they produce and the income available to their families.

Kaduna government’s intervention

The Kaduna State Government has also recognised women’s role in agriculture as part of its broader economic empowerment plans.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Technology, working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Dev-Afrique Advisors, has helped to strengthen the agricultural side of the state’s Women’s Economic Empowerment Policy.

At a strategic session on the policy, agriculture commissioner Murtala Dabo discussed initiatives to improve women’s access to arable land.

Mr Dabo said women’s participation in agriculture is not just about equality but also vital for the state’s economic growth.

“Women’s participation in agriculture is not merely about equity, it’s essential to our economic development,” he said.

He emphasised that women, from labourers to small farmers and entrepreneurs, must be positioned to contribute to and benefit from Kaduna’s agricultural economy.

The strategic discussions also looked at specific interventions that could support women-led agricultural businesses and improve their roles across the agricultural value chain.

From survival to business. These women’s stories show that vegetable farming is becoming more than just a way to feed their families.

For Asabe Daniel, it provided a livelihood after she lost her job.

For Maria Kabiru, access to seeds and training opened a new income source and inspired her to teach other women.

For Fatima Mohammed, onion farming became a job after she struggled to find work.

For Hannatu Adamu, carrot farming has helped her finances and her family’s nutrition.

And for Halima Yusuf, farming offered a chance to be economically active after years as a housewife.

But their experiences also show the limits of what personal determination can achieve.

Land remains hard to access. Fertiliser and seeds are costly. Water is scarce during the dry season. Capital is limited, while agricultural extension services do not always reach the farmers who need them.

For these women, the next step is not simply to keep farming; it is to grow.

To move from small plots to larger farms.

From selling fresh produce to processing.

From individual efforts to organised women’s farming groups.

And from household survival to sustainable agricultural businesses.

Women have shown what they can achieve with limited resources.

The question is whether institutions, governments, and agricultural support programmes can provide the land, finance, supplies, technology, and knowledge needed to turn those small farms into successful businesses.

For women like Asabe, Maria, Fatima, and Hannatu, vegetable farming has already changed what a small piece of land can mean.