Women in Farming and Enterprise (WIFE)

Transforming Rural Women into Changemakers Launched in 2008, the Women in Farming and Enterprise (WIFE) program was ICDA's response to a stark reality: rural women in Nigeria account for the majority of agricultural labour yet own the minority of farmland, access the least finance, and earn the lowest incomes from their work. WIFE was designed to change that — not incrementally, but fundamentally. What WIFE Does WIFE operates through community-based training clusters, linking rural women directly to agronomic knowledge, market intelligence, financial services, and peer support networks. Participants learn to move beyond subsistence farming and into commercial agriculture — treating their land, labour, and produce as assets to be maximised. Core Components Agronomic training: Modern farming techniques, input optimisation, crop rotation, and post-harvest handling to reduce waste and increase yield. Enterprise development: Converting farm output into products — processing, packaging, branding, and retail — to capture more value along the chain. Financial literacy: Savings discipline, cooperative formation, credit access, and insurance awareness to build financial resilience. Market linkages: Connecting participants to buyers, aggregators, processors, and export channels through ICDA's partner network. Mentorship: Pairing first-cohort graduates as mentors for new participants — creating a self-sustaining ecosystem of knowledge transfer within communities. The WIFE Cooperative Model ICDA encourages WIFE participants to form cooperatives — legally registered bodies that can access group loans, purchase inputs in bulk, and negotiate collectively with buyers. Several WIFE cooperatives have grown into significant agricultural enterprises in their communities, employing younger members and contributing to local food security. Impact Since 2008, WIFE has reached over 5,000 rural women across Nigeria. Surveys of program graduates show average income increases of 40–60% within the first year of program completion. Many graduates have diversified into value-added processing — tomato paste, palm oil refining, dried spices, and grain milling — creating micro-enterprises that employ their neighbours. WIFE has also generated measurable improvements in household nutrition, school enrolment rates, and women's decision-making power within their families and communities. How to Participate WIFE programs are delivered in partnership with state agricultural development programs, NGOs, and community leaders. Participation is free or heavily subsidised for eligible women. Contact ICDA to find the nearest active cohort or to propose a new community cluster in your area.

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