The Federal Government says more than 162,000 women in Taraba State have benefited from the Nigeria for Women Project and its Scale-Up program, as authorities seek to expand access to finance, agricultural processing, healthcare, and business opportunities for women at the grassroots.
Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, disclosed the figures during an inspection visit to Zing Local Government Area, where she met beneficiaries and assessed projects being implemented under the Nigeria for Women Project Scale-Up, NFWP-SU.
According to figures presented during the visit, 162,445 women have so far been mobilised and supported through the programme’s pilot and scale-up phases in Taraba State. More than 6,900 Women Affinity Groups have also been established, while ₦3.548 billion has been disbursed in livelihood grants.
Participating women have additionally mobilised more than ₦2.388 billion in savings through their groups, an outcome the minister described as evidence that access to finance, when combined with organisation and training, can strengthen women’s ability to build sustainable livelihoods.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the visit was designed to determine whether government investments were producing measurable results in communities.
> “This visit is about seeing the impact on the ground, listening to our women and ensuring that the resources of the Federal Government are reaching the people they are intended to serve. We are here to monitor progress, evaluate results and strengthen what is working,” she said.
One of the major components of the programme in Taraba is the establishment of agricultural processing facilities intended to help women move beyond selling unprocessed farm produce.
The minister said 40 processing centres had been established across three local government areas. They comprise 26 groundnut processing centres, 13 rice processing centres and one oil-palm processing centre.
For many small-scale producers, processing can make the difference between selling agricultural produce at relatively low farm-gate prices and participating in more profitable parts of the value chain.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the facilities were therefore expected to support increased productivity, job creation and greater participation by women in commercial agriculture.
“These processing hubs are not just buildings or machines; they represent economic opportunities. They provide the pathway for our women to move from primary production to value addition, create jobs, increase productivity and strengthen Nigeria’s food and agricultural value chains,” she said.
The next challenge will be ensuring that the processing centres remain productive over the long term. Equipment, access to electricity and other forms of energy, maintenance, reliable supply of raw materials and access to buyers will all be important if the facilities are to achieve their intended economic impact.
The minister called for stronger collaboration involving the Taraba State Government, financial institutions and private-sector investors to connect the women and their enterprises to larger markets.
Beyond grants, the programme operates through Women Affinity Groups, which bring participants together for savings, training, enterprise development and other forms of support.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim said livelihood grants of between ₦30,000 and ₦60,000 had been provided to thousands of beneficiaries.
However, she also drew attention to the more than ₦2.388 billion that women had saved through their groups, urging beneficiaries to maintain proper financial records and ensure transparency in the management of collective resources.
She said sound record-keeping could improve women-led enterprises’ ability to attract financing and operate in larger commercial markets.
The figures released during the visit show that 3,604 Women Affinity Groups were created during the pilot phase, while another 3,296 groups have been established under the scale-up programme.
During the pilot phase, 85,842 women were reportedly reached, exceeding an initial target of 54,000. The scale-up phase has since mobilised another 76,603 women, bringing the combined number to 162,445.
The programme is also extending beyond direct financial assistance.
According to the minister, 2,500 women have been enrolled in the Taraba State Contributory Health Insurance Scheme to give them access to healthcare.
Some participating groups have also used social emergency funds to support health facilities and community needs, including providing hospital beds and clean water facilities.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim said this broader approach was important because economic vulnerability among rural women is often connected to healthcare costs, limited access to skills and weak social protection.
“The strength of NFWP-SU is that it goes beyond giving women money. It builds financial discipline, enterprise capacity, digital skills, social protection and community resilience,” she said.
Another component of the programme focuses on climate-friendly economic activities.
The minister said 170 women master trainers had been trained in briquette production and were passing the knowledge to other members of Women Affinity Groups.
Briquettes can provide an alternative fuel source while creating another potential income stream for participating women.
The initiative reflects efforts to link women’s economic empowerment with environmentally sustainable businesses, although its longer-term success will depend on whether producers can develop viable markets for their products.
Taraba State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Child Development, Mrs Mary Sinjen, who represented Governor Agbu Kefas during the visit, said the state government remained committed to working with the Federal Government on women’s economic empowerment.
She described the Nigeria for Women Project Scale-Up as an intervention capable of helping women move from subsistence activities into more commercially viable agricultural businesses.
“The transition into the Nigeria for Women Project Scale-Up has breathed new life into our local communities, moving our women from basic subsistence livelihoods into viable, commercial-scale agricultural business owners,” Sinjen said.
She said the 40 Livelihood Collectives established in the state showed the potential of organising rural women, improving their financial knowledge and providing resources for productive activities.
The commissioner also praised women in Zing and other participating communities for their participation and resilience.
Women play a major role in farming, food processing and informal trade across Nigeria, particularly in rural communities. Yet many operate with limited capital, weak access to formal credit, inadequate processing equipment and restricted access to larger markets.
Programmes such as NFWP-SU could therefore have an impact beyond individual beneficiaries if participating businesses become sustainable.
Successful women-led enterprises can increase household incomes, support local employment, improve food processing capacity and strengthen economic activity within rural communities.
But the scale of funding and number of beneficiaries will not, on their own, determine whether the programme succeeds.
Long-term outcomes will depend on whether grants lead to profitable businesses, whether processing centres continue operating efficiently, whether beneficiaries gain reliable access to markets and whether transparent monitoring is maintained.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the Federal Government intended to continue giving women at the grassroots a central role in its economic inclusion policies under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
She also encouraged established Women Affinity Groups to mentor newly formed groups, continue saving regularly, develop digital skills and organise themselves into stronger Livelihood Collectives capable of attracting larger grants and commercial financing.
“We will leave no woman behind. Our commitment is to ensure that every woman, regardless of where she lives, has an opportunity to participate meaningfully in the economy,” the minister said.
Her visit to Zing included meetings with beneficiaries, inspections of livelihood and processing activities and engagement with community stakeholders.
For the women involved, however, the most important measure of success will ultimately be whether the programme produces businesses and income streams capable of surviving long after the initial grants and government interventions have ended.
Federal Government says 162,445 women in Taraba have benefited from the Nigeria for Women Project, with ₦3.548bn in grants, savings schemes and 40 processing centres supporting rural businesses.
