From Garden to Market: How women’s vegetable farming is transforming household livelihoods in Kaduna

Asabe Daniel grew up watching her father working on his farms.

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

A resident of Wusasa village in Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Ms Daniel now combines vegetable farming with making masa, a baked rice breakfast delicacy mostly eaten in many northern states, to support herself.

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

Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES, Ms Daniel said she learnt the basics of farming from her father but had to deepen her knowledge after turning to agriculture to achieve 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 communities, where small vegetable farms are increasingly becoming sources of food, income and household stability.

‘I want to turn tomatoes into tin tomatoes’

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

But a familiar obstacle stands in the way: a lack of capital.

She needs money to buy seeds, fertiliser and other farm inputs, as well as secure additional land for cultivation.

She described access to land as one of her biggest challenges. She pays to use the small piece of land she currently cultivates.

Her story illustrates a major barrier facing women farmers in Nigeria: while agriculture provides an important source of livelihood, women often struggle to access the resources needed to expand.

Land, finance, technology and other productive resources remain difficult for many women to obtain, particularly in communities where traditional norms often favour men in ownership and control of agricultural assets.

‘My husband encouraged me’

For Halima Yusuf, her husband encouraged her to start vegetable farming.

A full-time housewife for about 10 years after marriage, Ms Yusuf said her husband, who sells chickens and chicken feed, encouraged her to start farming so she could have a source of 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 of the other women interviewed, Ms Yusuf said she has not encountered major challenges as a woman farmer because her husband has provided the support she needs.

But for others, limited access to land and capital nearly kept 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, had always been interested in farming.

But lack of money and land discouraged her from taking the first step.

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 improved vegetable farming techniques.

Ms Kabiru started with cabbage during the dry season, then moved to onions.

She cultivated the crops on a small piece of land in front of her house, with her husband helping her to 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 thrived.

“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 encouraged Ms Kabiru to go beyond her own farm.

She created 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 enterprise.

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

But her ambition is now limited by the size of the land available to her.

She wants to acquire a bigger farm so she can expand her cultivation using improved seeds.

Her experience mirrors that of several other women whose farms have become profitable but whose ability to grow their businesses remains constrained by access to land and other inputs.

‘Vegetable farming has changed my life’

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

She began farming after completing her national youth service programme and failing to secure a job.

Her brother, who now lives in Saudi Arabia, provided her with capital. At the same time, her friend, Isma’il Danladi, a farmer, taught her how to cultivate 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 greatest 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 major challenge.

She said insufficient water during the dry season affects the quality of the onions she produces.

‘Carrots also improved my household nutrition’

For Hannatu Adamu, vegetable farming benefits go beyond income.

Ms Adamu, who has cultivated carrots for five years, said the crop has improved her household’s nutrition while also giving her greater 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 input costs.

She identified fertiliser and seeds as some of her greatest difficulties and called on the government to subsidise farming inputs to help lift farmers out of poverty.

Fertiliser support

Women farmers are among the key beneficiaries of the Governor Uba Sani administration’s latest free fertiliser distribution, an intervention aimed at reducing production costs and strengthening the capacity of smallholder farmers.

The programme, which began with the distribution of 500 truckloads of fertiliser and the deployment of tractors, targets 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 it was the third consecutive year of the administration’s fertiliser intervention programme, with particular attention being paid to women and young farmers.

He said rising input costs had made it difficult for smallholder farmers to maintain or expand production.

At the redemption centre, women beneficiaries welcomed the intervention, describing it as timely support as fertiliser and other farm inputs became increasingly unaffordable.

Amina Suleiman, who cultivates maize, rice and beans, said it was the first time she had benefited from a government agricultural intervention. In contrast, 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.

“I use the fertiliser for my tomatoes, while my husband will also use it on his maize farm,” she said.

Other beneficiaries, including Husaina Musa from Dogarawa and cabbage farmer Ashiru Mohammed from Muchia, also thanked the government, with Mr Mohammed saying the support could help 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 to acquire improved 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 numerous women’s groups in Zaria, Giwa and Sabon Gari local government areas.

The training covers improved methods of cultivating vegetables, rearing animals and starting small-scale businesses.

Mr Inusa said agricultural workers have visited rural communities for about 15 years to train women to cultivate vegetables, rice and maize.

They also provide seeds and fertiliser, particularly before the rainy season.

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

The groups are also exposed to health education and climate-smart agriculture.

According to Mr Inusa, the women are taught how to identify suitable crops for their land and determine what to grow to maximise profit.

They are also trained in pest control, including which chemicals to use, when to plant to reduce pest attacks, and how to minimise chemical use so their produce remains largely organic.

The extension gap

Despite these efforts, Mr Inusa said a major gap remains between agricultural extension workers and farmers in Kaduna State.

He said many local government areas have extension workers who do not actively reach farmers, leaving rural communities without access to up-to-date agricultural knowledge.

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

He also advised local governments to register women farmers’ groups.

Such registration, he said, could make it easier for the women to access loans, farm inputs and other forms of agricultural support.

Why women farmers matter: Women’s growing involvement in vegetable farming is significant in Kaduna State, where agriculture remains 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 per cent to the state’s Gross Domestic Product.

Women are involved in crop production, livestock, processing and marketing.

Yet they often face greater difficulties accessing land, credit, extension services and farm inputs.

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

The policy identifies limited access to productive resources as a major constraint to women’s participation in agriculture.

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

For women operating small farms or cultivating food crops around their homes, access to fertiliser, seeds and other inputs can therefore directly affect how much they produce and the income available to their families.

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Kaduna government’s intervention

The Kaduna State Government has also identified women’s participation in agriculture as part of its broader economic empowerment agenda.

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

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

Mr Dabo said women’s participation in agriculture matters not only from an equality perspective but also for the state’s economic development.

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

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

The strategic discussions also examined sector-specific interventions that could support women-led agricultural enterprises and strengthen their participation across the agricultural value chain.

From survival to enterprise. These women’s stories show that vegetable farming is increasingly more than a subsistence activity.

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 eventually inspired her to train other women.

For Fatima Mohammed, onion farming became a job after she struggled to secure employment.

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

And for Halima Yusuf, farming provided an opportunity to become economically active after years as a full-time housewife.

But their experiences also reveal the limits of what individual determination can achieve.

Land remains difficult to access. Fertiliser and seeds are expensive. 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 stage is not simply to keep farming; it is to expand.

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 enterprises.

Women have already shown what they can achieve with limited resources.

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

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