Benue State is often called Nigeria’s “food basket” — and much of that harvest is grown by women who rarely control the income it generates. Across Idoma farming communities in Okpokwu Local Government Area, women manage the planting, tending, and harvesting of yams, cassava, and vegetables, yet market access and pricing power have traditionally stayed out of their hands. The Women’s Agri-Business Fund was created to close that gap directly — putting capital, training, and market access into the hands of the women already doing the work.
Small Grants, Real Ownership
Rather than large, hard-to-manage loans, we structured the program around micro-grants: modest, targeted amounts of capital paired with hands-on agricultural and business training. This kept the barrier to entry low while giving participants genuine ownership over how the funds were used.
Through this initiative, we supported:
- 200 female entrepreneurs across Idoma farming communities in Okpokwu
- Training in sustainable farming techniques, crop diversification, and basic bookkeeping
- The formation of shared community market stalls to reduce individual overhead
- Ongoing mentorship from local agricultural cooperatives
From Subsistence to Small Business
Many participants entered the program growing food primarily for their own households. With training in crop rotation, storage, and pricing, a significant number transitioned into selling surplus at local markets — some for the first time in their lives earning independent income.
The ripple effects extended beyond the participants themselves. Several women reinvested early profits into their children’s school fees or pooled resources to expand shared market infrastructure, strengthening the local food economy as a whole.
Building a Market, Not Just an Income
A key part of this program’s design was community-level infrastructure — helping participants organize shared market stalls so that individual sellers weren’t competing for scarce customer traffic, but instead building a recognizable, reliable local market together.
Looking Forward
Early results have been strong enough that we’re now developing a second phase, aimed at connecting these local markets to buyers in Otukpo and Makurdi — creating a pathway from subsistence farming to sustainable small business for more Idoma women across Benue State.