Livestock contribute 8% to Country’s Agricultural GDP, Minister calls for Women Empowerment in Livestock Sector
By: Goodluck E. Adubazi, Abuja.
The Honourable Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has called for increased investment in women’s participation in the livestock sector, describing it as key to unlocking Nigeria’s agricultural potential and achieving inclusive national development.
Speaking at the Blueprint Newspapers Lecture and Award Ceremony held at the Abuja Continental Hotel on Tuesday, 22nd July 2025, the Minister lauded the media organization for fostering critical conversations on national growth and development.
Themed “Exploring the Potential of Livestock,” the event focused on leveraging livestock to strengthen Nigeria’s economy and food systems. Sulaiman-Ibrahim highlighted the sector’s contribution of over 8% to the country’s agricultural GDP and emphasized the crucial role of women—who constitute nearly 70% of the informal livestock workforce—in driving sustainable growth.
“We cannot unlock the full potential of livestock without meaningfully including and empowering women,” the Minister said.
She outlined her Ministry’s ongoing efforts to transform women from “survival mode to nation-building” through targeted social protection and economic empowerment initiatives under the Renewed Hope Social Impact Intervention Programmes, in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s development agenda.
A flagship of these interventions, the Women, Agriculture, and Value Chain Empowerment (WAVE) Programme, was launched in Nasarawa State in June 2025 by President Tinubu. The programme aims to integrate women into agricultural value chains—including livestock—by improving access to funding, technology, markets, and inputs.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim revealed that the programme has already started yielding results. “Women empowered in livestock production improve output by up to 30%, enhance household nutrition, and drive intergenerational progress,” she said.
As part of early implementation gains, 250 widows were recently enrolled in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), while hundreds of rural women across Nasarawa and Kaduna States received financial support, including ₦1 million direct grants and ₦50,000 support funds for smallholder farmers.
The Minister also spotlighted the World Bank-supported Nigeria for Women Project, which has positively impacted over 500,000 women through access to finance, skills, and markets.
In her address, she called on development partners, financial institutions, state actors, and the private sector to support gender-inclusive policies in livestock and agriculture not merely as charity, but as “smart, sustainable economics.”
“When you invest in women in livestock, you invest in national food security, rural development, and intergenerational prosperity,” she added.
The Minister concluded by commending Blueprint Newspapers for creating a platform to elevate issues of national significance and congratulated the awardees recognized at the ceremony.
