Poverty and Gender mainstreaming in Nigeria

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), poverty is defined as follows:

 “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Or live below $2 dollars per day.”

In sub-Saharan Africa, of which Nigeria is a part, poverty is often associated with food and nutrition insufficiency, lack of affordability to necessities of living and education. In Nigeria, majority of the population engage in agriculture as their economic mainstay, mostly in rural areas. Despite this, over 126 million of the entire population of 180 million (about 69.70 percent), live below the poverty line.

In wondering why, despite the huge labor force, resources spent over the years by the federal government to improve agricultural production in the country or make it an alternative major source of national income has failed woefully, one tends to think of other “not so discussed” factors impeding agricultural development in Nigeria. In this country (Nigeria), one cannot talk about poverty alleviation or reduction without talking about agriculture, and one cannot talk about agriculture without talking about the women, especially in rural areas.

According to FAO, women make up to 60-80 percent of the agricultural labor force in Nigeria and dominate in food and livestock production, processing of food and fish products, marketing of peasant farm surplus as well as transportation of farm products between the farm and home. Majority of women in the rural areas engage in one form of agriculture or another, and in those areas, one will find the poorest in the country. Nigeria is dominated by a patriarchal society, and this has affected many facets of the countries' development. In agricultural production, socio-cultural gender roles have impeded women from fully utilizing their potentials in agribusiness development as stated by Ogwumike, (2001).

According to the Institute for Strategic Development:

“Humiliation and exclusion are drivers of poverty, as well as consequences of it. Discrimination, whether based on gender, ethnicity, sexuality or other grounds can lead to exclusion and restricts pathways out of poverty”.

Can it be said that the discrimination and the marginalization women face in Nigeria are blocking the pathways to poverty reduction and thus development? In my opinion gender equality is a sure pathway to development and poverty reduction. If women, who are mostly the drivers of our agricultural sector, had been pulled along by making government projects and agricultural interventions gender sensitive and by mainstreaming the core issues women in agriculture face, perhaps our agricultural sector would be developed by now, and agriculture would be an alternative source of foreign revenue, comprising a greater proportion of a boosted GDP.

Gender inequality is one of the main causes of poverty and a barrier to agricultural development in Nigeria. According to some researchers, the lack of access to land inheritance, finance and education of the “girl to women” face in Nigeria can be attributed to the poverty rate we have in the country. Due to our cultures and traditions it is still preferable by most families to send their male children to school at the expense of their female children, women are not allowed to own properties or inherit any property, household roles or chores give women limited time to explore other opportunities that can improve their livelihood. Domestic violence is on the increase in many families and women and children are the most vulnerable. These aspects are the “not so discussed” issues which are impeding our pathways to poverty alleviation or reduction.

It is high time government and all stakeholders of development started regarding gender mainstreaming as a tool for poverty alleviation and economic development. According to researchers, African cultures, religions and traditions inhibit women from truly realizing their potentials, but women's economic empowerment has been identified by researchers are a veritable means of ending household poverty. So, if government or organizations should be embarking on projects or programs aimed at addressing agricultural issues and making meaningful progress in poverty reduction, gender mainstreaming should be seen as a required tool for development.

Written by:

Kevin Ogbajie
A Gender equality Consultant and Advocate in Nigeria.