Assessing the Gender Inclusion Strategy of WACOT Rice Ltd in the USAID-Assisted Argungu Outgrower Expansion Program
Research conducted by Habiba Suleiman and Abdullahi Sani, Strategic Partnerships Department, Tropical General Investments Group.
ABSTRACT
The study evaluates the gender inclusivity of Wacot Rice Ltd in the USAID-assisted Argungu Outgrower Expansion Project. Nigeria is faced with evident challenges in women’s participation in agriculture due to limited access to resources and prevailing gender norms. Women in agriculture produce far less per hectare compared to their male counterparts. To address this issue, WACOT Rice Limited’s (WRL) Outgrower initiative targets women smallholder farmers in Kebbi State, providing them with training, inputs, and market linkages. Using a mixed-method design, this study examines the project’s impacts on women farmers. Data were collected from purposively selected women beneficiaries and gender officers across four Local Government Areas. The findings indicated a significant increase in women’s participation and yield, with average yields per farmer increasing from 1.084 to 4.054 metric tons. Women reported improved livelihoods, increased income, and food security. However, the challenges found include rising production costs due to inflation and fuel subsidy removal, as well as infestations of migratory birds destroying large hectares of land for smallholder farmers. The study recommends wider collaboration with the government, private sector, NGOs, and donor agencies to scale the impact of the program beyond the four local governments in Kebbi State to the country at large. Support and training on alternative sources of energy, such as solar irrigation systems and community water management systems, are required to enable women farmers to maximize their productivity by increasing irrigation frequency.
Keywords: Gender Inclusivity, Smallholder farmers, Wacot Rice Limited, Outgrower, Women in Agriculture.
1.1 Background to the Study
One of the major impediments to women’s participation in agriculture in Nigeria is limited access to agri-financing, farmland, extension services, and market linkages.
According to World Bank (2022), challenges faced by women farmers stem from entrenched gender norms, insufficient resources to procure farm inputs, unequal distribution of information and resources within households. Additionally, researchers have identified factors such as access to land, and credit as significant contributors to low female participation in agriculture (Sasa, Adebayo, & Maurice, 2022). These factors, among others, hinder women farmers’ contributions to food security and economic development.
Specifically, female farmers produce 30% less per hectare compared to their male counterparts (World Bank, 2020). The gender gap in productivity is attributed to women using fewer inputs, having limited access to extension services, cultivating less profitable crops, and employing less productive labor. Moreover, women farmers are increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as floods, droughts, pests, and diseases, which affect their farmland and livelihoods. In addition, women are 10% less likely to engage in the agricultural sector than men, and they are 25% less likely to be primary plot managers compared to men (World Bank, 2022).
A study conducted by Lemma, Gizaw, Mulema, Etafa, and Wieland (2020) revealed that granting women access to productive resources and advisory services significantly increases their yields. Sepahvand (2019) similarly observed that women’s production could rise by 20% to 30% with equal access to productive resources. Consequently, to empower women by providing them with access to productive resources and advisory services, Wacot Rice Limited incorporates women’s inclusion into its outgrower program, deliberately targeting smallholder women farmers. These women receive tailored trainings on good agricultural practices, access to quality agricultural input financing, extension services, and market linkages through premium-priced off-take agreements for their paddy. It is against this background that this research seeks to assess the extent to which WRL has promoted gender inclusion in dry season rice farming in Kebbi state with a view to determine its impacts on their yield and livelihoods.
1.2 Statement of Problem
Kebbi State, located in northern Nigeria, is a region where culture strongly influences gender roles in agriculture and various social and economic activities. Women farmers in this region and Nigeria in general face considerable challenges, being 19% less likely than their male counterparts to cultivate high-value cereals, as highlighted by the World Bank in 2022. This discrepancy stems from their limited access to productive labor, essential farm inputs, credit, and financial resources, hindering their ability to make targeted investments crucial for agricultural growth.
Research has demonstrated that providing certified and improved farm inputs such as seeds, fertilizer, and agro-chemicals, coupled with access to extension services and weather information, can significantly enhance the adaptation and yields of women farmers (Quarshie, Abdulai, and Fraser 2021; IFPRI 2022; World Bank 2022).
Wacot Rice Limited (WRL), a member of the Tropical General Investment (TGI) Group, established in 2017 and headquartered in Argungu, Kebbi State, has been implementing a rice-outgrower scheme to support host community development while sustaining its supply chain. This initiative supports farmers with certified farm inputs, extension services, and capacity-building on good agricultural practices thus enabling them to cultivate paddy for the company’s premium Big Bull market. To further expand its impact-driven outgrower scheme, the company entered a $10 million co-investment partnership with the USAID-funded West Africa Trade and Investment Hub (WATIH) in December 2020 during the Covid Pandemic to onboard 5,143 smallholder farmers, with a 15% women inclusion.
Recognizing the importance of understanding the local context and cultural dynamics in the Northern part of Nigeria, WRL adopted community-led development strategies to promote women’s inclusion. Collaborating closely with relevant stakeholders at the community level, the company identifies and empowers women farmers through a contract farming arrangement which gives women access to agricultural input financing, access to mechanization support, trainings, and extension services. It also incorporates financial inclusion to mainstream women into the formal financial system. The program further established a dedicated gender team which recruited and trained female extension workers and agronomists to interface with the farmers. This approach resulted in a wider acceptance across target farming communities, thereby enabling access to economic assets and opportunities aimed at transforming the livelihoods of rural women across agrarian farming communities in Kebbi State.
1.3 Objectives of the study
- To ascertain the WRL-USAID AOEP strategies for women inclusion in dry season rice farming
- To examine the impact of the intervention on dry season women farmers in Kebbi State
- To examine the challenges of women farmers under the AOEP
1.4 Literature Review
This section provides a review of empirical studies related to the area under study. Thus, several studies have been carried out on women participation in agriculture and factors responsible for their low contribution to agricultural development in Africa at large and Nigeria in particular.
Sasa, Adebayo, and Maurice (2022) conducted a review of constraints to women’s participation in agriculture and economic development in Nigeria. Their work highlights the need for government policies to prioritize women in agriculture and provide them with incentive such as granting access to agri-financing through their cooperatives.
Building upon this broader policy recommendation, Huyer et al. (2021) delve into gender specific challenges in adapting to climate change. Their findings show that men have greater access to irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides, while women rely more on traditional practices. This indicates a need for targeted support to equip women farmers with resources for climate resilient agriculture.
The studies of Mulema et al. (2015) and Rijke (2017) address the role of extension services in bridging the gender gap. They emphasize that effective gender integration, achieved through capacity building of agents at the grassroot level is crucial for enhancing women farmers’access to information, advisory services, and technology adoption.
Shifting the focus to socioeconomic determinants, Aimua, Adofu, and Okwori’s (2023) examine how factors like farmland size, cooperative membership, age, education, credit access, and household size influence women’s participation in agriculture in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Their emphasis on cooperative groups aligns with WRL’s approach, further supporting the idea of collective action as a means of empowerment for women farmers.
Finally, the study by Obi, Akwiwu, Uche, Abuta, and Onwusika (2023) directly assesses the impact of capacity building on women’s involvement in climate-smart agriculture (CSA) initiatives. Their findings demonstrate the positive influence of CSA training on women farmers’ practices. This underscores the importance of the private sector, alongside the government, in providing training and resources to women, aligning with WRL’s efforts to enhance women farmers’ resilience to climate change. WRL integrates women into its climate-smart agricultural practices while supporting them in forming cooperative groups, recruiting and training female extension agents to provide them with extension services, providing training on good agricultural practices and yield enhancement techniques to improve their resilience to the impacts of climate change.
1.5 Methodology
1.5.1 Research Design
The study employed a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches.
1.5.2 Sampling and Sample Size
The program encompasses 887 women beneficiary farmers distributed across the Argungu, Augie, Suru, and Dandi Local Government Areas of Kebbi State. These farmers constitute the study’s population across the four LGAs under the AOEP program. A sample size of 10% of the population was drawn for the study. Purposive sampling was utilized in selecting women farmers and women extension workers under the AOEP program. This enables the researchers to receive specific information on women’s participation in agriculture, as well as peculiar data on the impacts and challenges of the intervention on women farmers.
1.5.3 Sources of Data Collection
The research utilized primary and secondary data sources. Secondary data were derived from the baseline report of the WRL/USAID program, annual surveys, and endline survey of the program. Primary data was collected through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with women cooperatives and women extension agents, respectively, to complement the secondary data.
1.5.4 Technique for Data Analysis
Secondary data collected was analyzed using content and descriptive statistics. Thematic analysis was employed in analyzing qualitative data collected through FGDs and KIIs.
1.6 Results and Discussion
In this section, results from the data collected using both secondary and primary sources were presented and analyzed concurrently to reinforce the findings of one source with another.
Table 1.1 showed the percentage of women onboarded in the outgrower scheme of the WRL/WATIH project against the target. At the baseline only about 1% of women farmers were involved in the dry season farming. The program has achieved 19% (68 women farmers) which is about 4% above the target of 15% and 18% different from the baseline data respectively. This indicates that the approach adopted by WRL AOEP for onboarding women farmers is effective in women inclusion of the program.
FAO (2023) reported that women in agricultural households remained significantly disadvantaged in land ownership compared to men. Therefore, the gender gap in agricultural production remained substantial, favoring men. Granting women access to agricultural land will increase their productivity, food security, and household income.
To address the gender gap in access to land, deliberate efforts were made under AOEP. This involve collaborating with relevant stakeholders at community to identify and register women farmers for the program.
Figure 1.1 presents the distribution of women in the program with respect to their access to land and method of acquisition, where 89.7% of the farmlands used by the smallholder women farmers in the dry season rice farming in Kebbi state were owned by them, while 10.3% rented and gifted respectively.
During the interviews on land ownership, women farmers stated that some inherit their farms, some rent, and some purchase. However, findings from the study show that approximately 54% of women obtained their lands through inheritance, 23% through renting, and 23% through purchase. On average, their farms are usually one hectare in size. Nevertheless, many women farmers participating in the AOEP program do not have complete control over their agricultural land but operate under the guidance of their husbands. Moreso, the result is in tandem with that of Sasa, Adebayo, & Maurice, (2022) which revealed that women participation in agriculture is dependent on their level of access to land.
The average farm size of smallholder farmers in Kebbi State is 1.052 hectares, with the average farm size of women being 0.946 hectares. This implies that there was not much difference between the farm size of men and women farmers under the AOEP program.
Women Inclusion and Cooperative Formation
WRL organized women into groups and registered them as cooperatives, which serve as organized platforms for managing the outgrower farmers. Cooperative and individual bank accounts were also opened for the women cooperatives to promote financial inclusion of the unbanked population in the rural areas thereby aiding ease of transaction with WRL. Interviewees reported that they have women farmers’ cooperatives and hold meetings once or twice a month. They reported that each member contributes between N50 to N100 a month to serve as a source of revenue for the cooperative. A respondent from Yola Women Cooperative in Augie stated that their members are consistent with their monthly dues. Findings revealed that most female cooperatives do not choose cooperative leaders via elections but mostly by consensus. Criteria for selection include a potential leader’s commitment to the association’s activities, character, and trustworthiness.
Apart from cultivating rice, participants of the AOEP engage in petty trades such as selling soybean cake, rearing livestock, tailoring, local rice processing, making groundnut oil, making mats, and grinding. Few women also cultivate other crops such as pepper, maize, millet, beans, and cassava. Despite these various businesses, all the women farmers agree that rice farming is the most profitable for them.
Women Farmers and Access to Productive Resources
One of the factors responsible for the gender gap in agriculture is the limited access of women farmers to productive resources. To address this gap, WRL provides women with extension services, farm inputs (such as fertilizer, seeds, insecticides, and pesticides), and markets for their produce to enhance their productivity in a sustainable manner.
From Figure 1.2, concerning access to agricultural services and farm inputs (such as extension services, agricultural inputs, credit facilities, markets, etc.) for women farmers, 50% of respondents reported that women have equal access to ownership of agricultural land, while the remaining 50% reported otherwise. Regarding access to agricultural services, including extension services and farm inputs (such as fertilizer, certified seeds, pesticides, and herbicides), 73.8% of respondents indicated that women farmers have equal access, whereas only 26.2% reported unequal access for women. On the topic of the unique challenges faced by women farmers, 66.7% of respondents acknowledged that women encounter distinct farming challenges compared to men, while 33.3% disagreed.
In Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) conducted across four Local Government Areas (LGAs) under the AOEP, all female smallholder farmers expressed satisfaction with their participation in the project. They highlighted that the project provided them with agricultural inputs and training, enabling them to expand their rice farming activities. Additionally, most participants attested to the high quality of fertilizers provided by WACOT, noting that their yields using the company’s fertilizer surpassed those achieved with other fertilizers they had previously used. The result is related to the findings of the Lemma, Gizaw, Mulema, Etafa, and Wieland (2020) study which revealed that granting women access to productive resources and advisory services significantly increase their yields.
Women Access to Training on Good Agricultural Practices
In the Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), female farmers stated that they had received training on good agricultural practices such as row planting, water and weed management, fertilizer application, transplanting, harvesting, threshing, and winnowing. They also reported that they had implemented the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Yield Enhancement Techniques (YET) they had been taught on their farmlands, especially row planting and fertilizer application, which they said has significantly increased their farms’ yield. An interviewed farmer explained that field officers visit their farms and advise them on improved farm management techniques.
On capacity building, all the FGD participants revealed that they were trained on GAP, and their association also trained their members who were not available during the initial training sessions. An informant stated that: “I have been taught how to prepare nursery, how to prepare farmland for transplanting, weeding and fertilizer application”. Obi, Akwiwu, Uche, Abuta, and Onwusika (2023) observed that training women farmers on climate smart agricultural increase their adoption of technology and application of good agricultural practices.
Impacts of the WRL/WATIH-USAID AOEP
The impacts of the intervention are discussed based on women inclusion in agriculture, yield, and livelihood of the women farmers.
Impact on Women Participation in Farming Activities
In all four locations under AOEP, while most of the women stated that they did not participate directly in all farming activities, some indicated that they were involved in certain aspects of rice cultivation such as weeding, transplanting, threshing, and winnowing. They primarily assist in supervising the farms alongside their husbands during the cultivation process. This could be attributed to cultural norms, as some women mentioned that their husbands wouldn’t support their involvement in farming beyond the mentioned activities. These women typically rely on their husbands, children, or hired labor for their farming activities. However, it is important to note that the number of women participating in rice farming under the AOEP has increased significantly. This could be attributed to consistent enlightenment, mobilization, encouragement, as well as stakeholders’ engagement, especially with community leaders and husbands. WRL also made deliberate efforts to enable women to afford more of their agricultural production costs by training them in activities such as soap making and briquette making from waste rice husk.
Impact on Women’s Yield
The impact of the intervention on yield per hectare of land cultivated by women farmers under the program is summarized on the following table:
The average yield per farmer stood at 2.055 MT as at the baseline assessment, while the average yield per farmer over the course of project implementation stands at 4.287 MT per farmer. Female farmers recorded a significant increase in yield over the course of the project to harvest an average of 4.054MT from the 1.084 MT recorded at the baseline before implementation. This indicates a significant increase in yield for women farmers. The finding is consistent with that of Sepahvand (2019), which revealed women’s production increased by 20% to 30% when they had equal access to productive resources as men.
Impact of the WRL/WATIH AOEP on Women’s Livelihood
All the female smallholder farmers in the Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) held across 4 LGAs under the AOEP stated that they were pleased to participate in the project because it has empowered them and increased their yield, production capacity, household food security, and income. Through this project, some of them were able to purchase livestock, meet their family’s needs, finance marriages for their daughters, and acquire assets. They also reinvest a portion of the proceeds from rice farming into other businesses.
The women farmers highlighted that the scheme had a significant impact on their lives and that of their families. They expressed that because of the scheme, many of them have risen out of poverty, constructed buildings, settled debts, conducted marriage ceremonies without resorting to borrowing money, improved their dietary intake, attend pilgrimage, ensured their children attend good schools, purchased clothing for their children, and managed medical expenses. They are also better able to support their husbands in managing the household and family affairs.
Impact of the AOEP on Women farmers’ sales and income
The impact of the program on women’s sales of farm-produced goods is presented in the following table. These sales directly influence their income, which in turn affects their livelihoods
The baseline assessment revealed that the average revenue per farmer for each farming season stood at N380,656.26. This figure has increased significantly to an average of N1,224,897.12 in 2023. Additionally, the average price per 75.9 kg bag of paddy has risen from N13,466 in 2021 to N23,238.42 in 2023, as indicated in the table above. Sales for female farmers also significantly increased from N160,000.5 to N1,208,397.84 in 2023. This implies an increase in the income of women farmers, thereby impacting their purchasing power and standard of living.
Results of the interviews conducted revealed that the average number of bags produced by women in the 2023 farming season is 35 bags, which they claimed to be higher than the 15 to 20 bags they harvested from the same farm in the 2022 farming season. A bag of paddy goes as high as N25,000 in 2023 farming season, which is far better than the previous season with average price of N17,000 per bag. They also claimed to have sold more bags of paddy in 2023 compared to previous seasons for they experienced better yields from their rice farms in 2023.
Briquettes Making Training
The National Bureau of Statistics (2023) reported that half of the Nigerian population (50.6%) are multidimensionally poor and use dung, wood, or charcoal as their main cooking fuel. To reduce deforestation and further increase their income, an environmentally friendly energy-generating source was introduced to the women farmers. 400 women were trained on briquette making to serve as biofuel. WRL provided briquettes making equipment and trainings for female farmers on briquettes making using waste material (rice husks) from their harvest. This initiative aims to create renewable briquette coals, which can be utilized for cooking in homes and sold to other members of their communities for additional income.
Figure 1.3 above illustrates that the average total farming costs across the survey respondents amounted to N663,525.99, with 14% of the farmers’ expenditure allocated towards irrigation. This is likely attributable to the increase in petrol costs for fueling water pumps used in irrigation. Agri-input costs also account for a significant portion, comprising 38% of the total farming costs, while Labor and Equipment account for 19% and 13% respectively, primarily due to the rising cost of goods and services. Land rent costs constitute 7% of the farming expenses, while Storage and Transportation costs make up 5% and 3% respectively. Results from the interview revealed that most of the women farmers could not confirm the exact amount they spent on land cultivation, but they estimated it to be around N400,000.
From the figure 1.4 above, responses to questions relating to challenges unique to women farmers indicated that respondents perceived specific challenges faced solely by female farmers. The challenges identified by the respondents are summarized in Figure 1.4 above. Additionally, an additional challenge noted during field monitoring conducted throughout the project reveals a reluctance among men to allow women (wives) access to financial inclusion support. Reports indicate that there is a prevailing belief that such support may lead to female independence, potentially resulting in rebellion and marital problems.
During the Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), factors contributing to the rising cost of production for farmers this year were highlighted. These factors include the high cost of fuel, cash scarcity associated with the naira redesign policy implemented in March 2023, high fertilizer costs, high labor hiring costs, and general inflation. Other challenges identified from the KIIs and FGDs include the high costs of fertilizer and fuel required for irrigating their farms.
It is important to note that the average yield per hectare for the 2023 season was expected to be higher than the recorded 4.0028 MT per farmer. Several factors were identified by the women farmers contributing to this shortfall, including fuel price inflation, which affected farmers’ ability to irrigate their farms as frequently as necessary for maximum yield results. Additionally, the cash crunch caused by the naira redesign policy impacted farmers’ access to fuel for irrigation and funds for labor wages and equipment purchases. Furthermore, high winds in certain areas affected farmers’ yields as they needed to irrigate more frequently to prevent their farmlands from drying up. Another factor was the recent influx of pests, including an insurgence of quelea birds in about 3 LGAs of the AOEP.
1.7 Findings
The deliberate efforts of the WRL/WATIH program to include women through community-driven development have led to more women accessing productive resources such as farm inputs (certified seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, and insecticides). Training women extension services to interface with women farmers have reduced the cultural barriers that previously discouraged women from engaging in agricultural activities. They received training on good agricultural practices and yield enhancement techniques, which were applied to increase their productivity.
The program has significantly impacted the productivity of women farmers by increasing their yield from 1.084 metric tons before AOEP to 4.054 metric tons after the program. This increase, coupled with the market linkage provided by WRL to women, has led to a significant increase in their income, thereby impacting their livelihoods.
There was also a significant increase in the cost of production due to inflation and the removal of subsidies on petrol thereby affecting the frequency of irrigation to maximize output. Additionally, some women have experienced pest infestations of migratory birds on their farmland, resulting in women losing their farm produce for the season, thereby affecting their income, means of livelihood, and contribution to food security and economic development in the country.
1.8 Recommendations
Subsidies on agricultural inputs are necessary for women in agriculture to reduce their drudgery and cost of production, thus encouraging more women to participate in primary agriculture with higher income returns. Gender-based agricultural budgeting can be implemented by the government to specifically target women in agriculture.
Support and trainings on CSA, agroforestry, alternative sources of energy, such as solar irrigation systems and community water management systems, are required to enable women farmers to maximize their productivity by increasing irrigation frequency. This is especially critical due to recurring incidents of climate-induced flooding and drought which destroy farmlands across these communities annually.
Addressing the quelea bird issue also requires collaboration with the government, donor agencies, private sector, and academia to identify solutions to the migratory birds attacking smallholder farmers which is increasingly a problem across the West African region. These collaborations are key to sustaining gains and promoting women empowerment, collective economic growth and food security in the country.
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