Standing in knee-deep floodwater, Viviane Tavershima gazed over her farm in Agada, Benue State. Her farm manager had called, earlier that morning in September 2021, to inform her that the farm was deluged.

She had planted the 12-hectare land with hibiscus, melon, groundnut, rice, maize, soybeans and tubers.

“I didn’t know that place was prone to flooding until the previous year,” she said.

It is not easy wading through a flooded farmland. For Ms Tavershima, it is even more complicated. Due to a spinal condition that affects her mobility, she walks with the aid of crutches and wears specially adapted sandals. In a muddy terrain, movement becomes even more difficult for her.

Ms Tavershima said she begged the villagers to help salvage the crops.

“The flood hadn’t covered it completely. I asked the locals around to assist because we could dig. They refused. What they did was steal the crops instead,” she said.

The flood eventually destroyed about eight hectares of crops. She was only able to save some tubers, including yam and orange-fleshed sweet potato.

Despite the losses and her physical challenges, she speaks calmly about her experiences, often breaking into a smile while describing some of the most difficult moments of her farming journey.

A study conducted by the Advocacy for Women with Disabilities Initiative found that at least 1,118 women with disabilities engaged in agriculture across 27 states reported facing significant barriers to farming and livelihoods. The challenges are compounded by climate change, which is increasing flooding, extreme heat and erratic rainfall. The study found that women farmers face a 30 per cent yield gap compared to men due to limited access to land, agricultural inputs and extension services.

Most respondents earned less than ₦50,000 per month, while many lacked accesses to credit, assistive technologies and disability-inclusive agricultural programmes, leaving them particularly vulnerable to climate-related shocks.

Why the risks are growing

A climate change expert, Esther Ajah, said rising temperatures, prolonged heat waves, erratic rainfall patterns, and flooding have significantly worsened conditions for Nigerian farmers in recent years.

She noted that data and seasonal climate predictions from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) have consistently warned of extreme weather events, including delayed rainfall and heat stress.

“The heatwaves recorded in the last two to three years have been particularly severe. Farmers are increasingly experiencing crop losses as a result of excessive heat, while food spoilage has become more common,” she said.

According to her, climate change has accelerated land degradation and contributed to declining agricultural yields. Citing global statistics, she said one-third of the world’s agricultural land is already degraded, while more than 700 million people lack access to basic food, underscoring the growing link between climate change and global hunger.

In Nigeria, she said, the consequences are evident across multiple sectors. Farmers are losing livestock, crop production has declined in several areas, and fishing communities are recording reduced catches.

“Many fishing communities report that fish stocks are no longer what they used to be. Climate change is affecting aquatic ecosystems and reducing productivity,” she said.

Ms Ajah also highlighted inadequate storage and cooling facilities as a major factor contributing to post-harvest losses. She noted that poor storage infrastructure continues to undermine both food security and the country’s agricultural export potential.

She cited the cocoa sector, one of the largest contributors to Nigeria’s non-oil export earnings, as an example of an industry affected by insufficient investment, land degradation and poor storage systems. Similar challenges, she said, are affecting the oil palm sector.

Beyond climate-related factors, Ms Ajah identified several human-induced problems worsening environmental degradation. These include poor waste management, indiscriminate land clearing, inadequate environmental assessments, and poorly designed infrastructure projects.

She explained that blocked drainage systems, waste disposal into waterways and poorly terminated flood-control structures often exacerbate flooding in vulnerable communities.

“Climate change is not acting alone. Anthropogenic activities such as poor waste management and unsustainable land-use practices are amplifying its impacts,” she said.

The expert further warned that climate change is deepening existing social and economic challenges, including insecurity and rural poverty. According to Ms Ajah, smallholder farmers, indigenous populations, women and other vulnerable groups remain among those most affected.

She said climate-related disruptions are contributing to declining food production, increasing food prices and reducing access to nutritious food for millions of people.

“Climate change is amplifying existing vulnerabilities and increasing the number of people who do not have access to adequate food and quality nutrition,” she added.

Studies have shown rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and increasing flood incidents across Nigeria.

A 2024 study found that very strong heat stress now affects large parts of the country, while flood extents increased significantly between 2018 and 2024.

According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), more than 5.2 million people were affected by floods across 35 states in 2024, while more than 1,200 lives were lost.

Beyond the flood

For Ms Tavershima, the challenges of farming extend beyond a single flooding incident.

Navigating farmlands is already difficult because of her disability, but climate-related events often worsen the situation. During the rainy season, wet and muddy areas can make movement impossible, forcing her to hire people to carry her around the farm.

“The least I pay is N2,000 for someone to carry me. The other time I paid a guy N5,000 to carry me around, but the work was too much, and he even got tired. They brought a wheelbarrow halfway. We crossed the water, and when we reached another flooded part, he carried me again,” she said.

Ms Tavershima was also allocated a government-supported farming site in Bamada, Benue State, where boreholes were provided to support dry-season farming. However, insecurity in the area prevented her from making full use of the opportunity.

Aside from flooding, extreme heat is another challenge. She said high temperatures cause physical discomfort, reducing the amount of time she can spend on the farm. The heat also affects crop yields, leading to financial losses.

“Apart from our environment not having workable systems, global warming is doing a lot,” she said.

According to her, many local farmers continue to rely on traditional farming practices even as changing weather conditions demand new approaches.

“These local people insist on local seeds. I use hybrid seeds and fertiliser. Anything hybrid, if you don’t use fertilizer, you won’t get results,” she said.

“Because of global warming and these changes, their farms are no longer yielding. They now see your own farm as an escape route because they live there and visit your farm regularly. Some end up stealing from you.”

She believes that many farmers refusing to adapt to changing environmental realities is worsening food insecurity in their communities.

“All these things fail because they won’t heed advice. When the effects of global warming take place, everybody is at a loss. They have land, but they are getting hungry because they are refusing to adapt to the environmental changes that are coming.”

When climate shocks become financial crises

The losses from flooding were not an isolated incident. Successive farming seasons pushed Ms Tavershima deeper into debt and forced her to reconsider her future in agriculture.

She recalled losing about N4 million after a failed farming season in 2022. Hoping to recover, she invested again in subsequent years, but the returns never came.

“This year again, I cultivated three hectares and spent over N1 million. I didn’t get anything in return,” she said.

According to her, the repeated losses have crippled not only her farming activities but also her food-processing business, which depends on farm produce as raw materials.

She had planned to use proceeds from farming to get processing equipment and reduce her dependence on contract manufacturers. Instead, she is struggling to keep both businesses afloat.

“The main reason for my insistence on farming was to get enough money to buy machines for my processing business,” she said. “But every year, I go deeper into debt.”

Ms Tavershima currently has two NAFDAC-certified products but says a shortage of raw materials and working capital has forced her to suspend production for months.

“Since last December, I haven’t sold any processed products because I don’t have the money to buy raw materials,” she said.

After years of losses, she has decided to scale back farming operations and focus on processing.

“I officially quit. It’s not worth it anymore,” she said.

Accessing credit has also proven difficult. She believes financial institutions are reluctant to lend to farmers because of the risks associated with agriculture and are even less willing to support farmers living with disabilities.

“They will inspect the farm, ask you to open accounts and meet all the requirements, but in the end, nothing happens,” she said.

Similar experiences, different realities

Theresa Odu, an Abuja-based farmer, said she repeatedly lost her vegetables in 2023 and 2024.

“Between March and April of 2023 and 2024, the weather was very hot, my vegetables were dying,” she said.

She started watering the vegetables using a hose. However, the method was not effective. “It takes a long while to water with a hose” she said.

Another farmer, Dorcas Taarzor, also complained about changing weather patterns.

“We expected rain from April or May, but up till now nothing. We normally plant rice by April or early May. For the three-month variety, by August, you should be harvesting. But we can’t harvest it by August because the weather is really changing things.”

Like Ms Tavershima, Ms Taarzor has also suffered losses from flooding.

“Last year and two years back, my three hectares rice farm were all flooded. It was a big loss. My maize farm was also affected last year. Two hectares lost.”

Adapting to changing climate

Faced with rising temperatures and unpredictable weather, some farmers are adjusting their farming methods.

Mrs Odu turned to irrigation in 2025, after repeatedly losing vegetables to extreme heat.

“I spent about N10 million. To go into this drip irrigation system, you need a borehole, solar and other accessories.”

For Ms Taarzor, adaptation has meant changing planting schedules and choosing crop varieties that can better withstand floods.

“The flood normally comes by September, so I plant very early, especially if it is maize, so that before September, I harvest. For rice, I plant a variety that I can harvest at that time, too. Some varieties of rice can withstand flood. It is called Odo-Odo. We’ve tried to adjust our planting date and all that,” she said.

Little or no support

The women interviewed had different experiences on support from government and development programmes.

Ms Odu has never benefited from one, but Ms Taarzor was involved in projects supported by GIZ and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.

“After my service, I was recommended. I did a programme with FMARD (Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development). I applied for the N-Power programme and I was shortlisted. I was among the enumerators of farms. We go to your farm, we capture you and all that.

“Based on my performance, I was recommended by the Benue office when this company came and said they needed extension agents that can take mechanisation to farmers.

“They recommended me based on my performance in agriculture. I’ve trained farmers for over four years on good agricultural practice under GIZ. They give you a machine to render services to people on their farms. I’m here in Agasha helping other farmers with mechanisation.”

Ms Odu’s experience was frustrating.

“I’m a member of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, Abuja chapter. They asked us to open an account with either Bank of Industry or Bank of Agriculture. We paid either N5,000 or N10,000. Up till today, I have not received my account number, not to talk of a loan.”

Policy gaps

Nigeria has adopted policies aimed at improving women’s participation in agriculture and strengthening climate resilience. The Revised National Gender Policy in Agriculture (2025–2030) identifies women and persons with disabilities as priority groups for agricultural support and climate adaptation interventions.

Yet the experiences of the women interviewed for this report suggest a gap between policy intentions and realities on the ground.

Government response

Responding to concerns about the impact of climate change on women farmers, a gender specialist at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMARS), Wasiu Oyeleke, insisted that the government is implementing climate-smart agriculture programmes targeted at vulnerable groups, including women and youth.

Mr Oyeleke said the ministry, in partnership with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and development partners such as the World Bank, provides farmers with seasonal climate forecasts and early warning information to help them prepare for droughts, flooding and changing rainfall patterns.

He added that government programmes are also promoting drought-resistant and pest-resistant crop varieties. According to him, the ministry is currently supporting farmers through the Korea-Africa Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (KAFACI), which promotes climate-smart agriculture and drought-tolerant rice varieties to improve yields and strengthen food security.

What needs to change?

Environmental researcher Ebere Akwuebu said many women farmers already possess local knowledge that helps them identify climate-related risks and disasters.

She believes government interventions need to become more targeted and responsive to local realities.

According to her, the government should develop toolkits tailored to the specific climate challenges faced by women in different regions of the country and strengthen awareness around early warning systems.

She noted that climate impacts vary across regions, with erosion and flooding more prevalent in southern Nigeria, while drought and water scarcity remain significant challenges in northern communities due to their proximity to the desert and the shrinking Lake Chad Basin.

Ms Akwuebu also identified insecurity as an emerging challenge that increasingly compounds the effects of climate change on rural livelihoods.

“The government should intensify awareness-raising on early warning systems,” she said, adding that adaptation measures must reflect the realities and needs of women in different communities.

A delayed rainy season in 2026 pushed the planting cycle back to late April and May, leaving rural communities highly vulnerable to impending seasonal floods. For female farmers, these disruptions trigger an immediate downward economic spiral.

New beginning

After years of battling floods, heatwaves, crop losses and mounting debt, Ms Tavershima has begun planning her next chapter.

She intends to relocate to Enugu to focus on food-processing. For now, she shuttles between Nasarawa and Benue states for her farming activities. For her, adaptation no longer means adjusting planting dates or choosing different crop varieties. It means starting over.

This reporting was completed with the support of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID)

The Benue State Government has endorsed and launched a five-year Strategic Food Security Plan aimed at revitalising agricultural production, improving farmers’ livelihoods and addressing the impact of insecurity on food production across the state.

The plan was recently unveiled under the Enhancing Food Security and Peacebuilding in Nigeria through Strategic Planning Project (EFSPP) and brought together government officials, farmers, academics, traditional rulers and other stakeholders.

Speaking at the launch, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Benjamin Ashaver, urged ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to take ownership of the plan to ensure its successful implementation.

Represented by the Governor’s Technical Adviser on Agriculture, Danjuma Adejo, the commissioner also called on local government councils, traditional institutions and farming communities to embrace the initiative and sustain the collaboration that produced the strategy.

Mr Ashaver formally endorsed the state’s five-year food security plan. He reaffirmed Governor Hyacinth Alia’s commitment to its implementation, including a mid-term review in 2028 and an end-term evaluation in 2031.

He commended the policy team of the Supply Chain Research and Innovation Hub (SCRIH), led by Ajibola Oladipo and Shalem Shiekuma, for developing the plan.

The commissioner, however, lamented that years of attacks by armed herders had displaced thousands of farmers, disrupted farming activities and reduced agricultural output in the state.

“Benue State’s agricultural fortunes have, in recent years, been tested by forces beyond the ordinary challenges of farming. Insecurity has driven farmers from their farmlands. Displacement has fractured our planting and harvest seasons. Land-use conflicts between herders and farming communities have destroyed the trust that once held rural communities together,” he said.

Presenting the Strategic Food Security Plan to the state government, Akange Edward said the document provides a framework for stabilising agricultural production, strengthening land governance, rebuilding rural economies and improving logistics and market systems.

READ ALSO: Amidst Benue Insecurity, IGP’s visit, Governor Alia renews call for state police

According to him, the strategy is designed to tackle the underlying factors undermining food production and rural livelihoods across the state.

Mr Edward said the recurring attacks on farming communities had exposed deeper structural challenges affecting both agriculture and peacebuilding.

“The challenge confronting Benue is not merely agricultural underperformance, but structural fragility at the intersection of food systems and conflict dynamics,” he said.

He noted that although Benue is widely regarded as Nigeria’s “Food Basket of the Nation” because of its fertile land, abundant water resources and resilient farming population, insecurity, displacement, land-use conflicts, climate pressures and inadequate infrastructure have significantly weakened agricultural productivity.

The Strategic Food Security Plan is expected to serve as a roadmap for improving food production, strengthening resilience among farming communities and supporting sustainable peace and economic development in the state.

A long-awaited rainfall should have been received with joy by Khalid Umar and other farmers in the Pandogari district of Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State. In these rural communities, a downpour prompts farmers to rush to their fields to spray pesticides and plant seeds. Instead, a recent one became a trap. Within hours of the rain stopping, armed bandits encircled the farmlands on 15 June, forcing Mr Umar to abandon his motorcycle and run on foot for his life.

Some villagers were not as fortunate. That afternoon, the assailants killed Dauda Galadima, a resident of the nearby Ruba village. They also abducted five farmers on their fields, including Nasiru Yakubu and his son, Bilyaminu. After their family paid a five-million-naira ransom, the bandits released the father but kept the son for more money.

A similar attack had occurred a day earlier. Mr Umar told PREMIUM TIMES that bandits raided a farm plantation on 14 June, killing two farmers and kidnapping four women and a man identified as Haruna Dattijo. Upon hearing the news of his abduction, Mr Dattijo’s mother reportedly slumped and was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

For peasant farmers, avoiding the fields is not an option. In these rural communities, farming is the sole means of survival. Left to fend for themselves, residents are now devising localised security measures to protect their communities and stave off starvation.

“We are devising local security initiatives just to continue farming,” Mr Umar explained. “We now assign individuals to climb the tallest trees to act as sentries. Their job is to monitor the horizon and alert those working on the ground the moment they spot any suspicious movement toward the fields.”

Yet, even these makeshift early-warning systems are not enough, Mr Umar said. In several parts of the community, agricultural activity has stopped because of the bandits. He estimated that roughly half of the region’s farms have been abandoned.

The rising toll

Since the onset of this year’s rainy season, the violence has escalated drastically. At least nine people have been killed and approximately 20 others abducted in the Pandogari district.

Mr Umar stated that the casualties span all sectors of rural life. Among those killed was Abubakar Idris, a staff nurse at the Kagara General Hospital—the council headquarters—who was murdered on his farm. Recently, he added, the community evacuated the remains of two women murdered on their family farms.

As the rainy season peaks, the window for planting is rapidly closing. Mr Umar warned that without a decisive shift in security strategy to protect the agricultural periphery, these communities face not only the immediate threat of violence but a catastrophic food crisis.

The limit of military operations

While a military base is stationed in Pandogari town, locals argue that its current operational strategy leaves the surrounding agricultural areas highly vulnerable.

A resident, Garba Haruna, noted that the soldiers are static, adopting a defensive posture instead of launching offensive operations into the bush.

“The military base is strategically positioned on the bandits’ primary transit route, effectively blocking them from invading Pandogari town itself. However, recognising this bottleneck, the bandits have simply altered their path by bypassing the military checkpoint,” Mr Haruna said. “The armed groups are now filtering directly into the isolated farmlands—areas where the military cannot provide security cover—and picking off vulnerable farmers one by one.”

Birnin Gwari – Kaduna State

In June, tragedy struck the Kuyello District of the Birnin Gwari Local Government Area in Kaduna State when armed bandits invaded the Kujijiro farmlands, killing at least nine farmers. According to local sources, the victims were working on their fields when the heavily armed attackers suddenly arrived and opened fire.

Ishaq Kasai, a security expert and community leader, told PREMIUM TIMES that farmers in the Birnin Gwari axis are routinely killed or abducted while working their land.

The attacks dealt a blow to the fragile peace in the Birnin Gwari Emirate, which had been brokered by the government between armed bandits and crop farmers. The region, regarded as one of Kaduna State’s primary agricultural hubs, is now facing a resurgence of violent crime.

In a separate incident on 15 June, armed bandits killed another farmer in Kasuwar Magani, a village in the Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The victim, Baba Bala—popularly known within the community as Sarkin Daji—was reportedly killed on his farm.

On 3 July, in the Birnin-Gwari Emirate, armed bandits attacked local communities, killing at least nine farmers and abducting an unspecified number of villagers.

On that day, the attacks began around 3 p.m. Residents said the bloodshed was triggered by a failed robbery attempt in which two armed bandits had attempted to snatch a farmer’s motorcycle.

A resident, Ibrahim Garba, said the incident ended in the death of one of the bandits.

“The other bandit fled and returned with a heavily armed gang that unleashed a ruthless assault on farmers working in the vicinity, killing nine of them”, Mr Garba narrated.

Local authorities confirmed the names of some of the deceased as Habibu Danko, Zaharaddin Gumu, and Maibaka Mayana. Others are Umar Maibaka, Yusufu Dankatakaki, and Shaf’iu Kagadama.

Mr Garba said this latest massacre followed another attack on 2 July, when armed bandits killed a man identified as Ya’u Gayam on the Birnin-Gwari–Kaduna Road and stole his motorcycle.

“The situation is becoming unbearable. Our people cannot even go to their farms without facing the threat of attack,” the distraught resident, Mr Garba, lamented.

The security commissioner in Kaduna State, Sule Shuaibu, and that of Niger State, Maurice Magaji, did not respond to phone calls or text messages from PREMIUM TIMES in the course of this story.

The agricultural sector and challenges

In 2026, Nigeria’s agricultural sector has an optimistic growth trajectory. Data from Veriv Africa’s Macroeconomic Outlook 2026 reveals a thriving non-oil sector, with agricultural commodities dominating the nation’s export growth. The report projects stable growth in agriculture throughout 2026. Currently employing approximately 45 per cent of the national workforce, the industry remains a vital engine for economic expansion, even as structural bottlenecks frequently cap its full potential.

Nigeria’s agricultural sector demonstrated progressive improvement throughout 2025, laying a strong foundation for the current year. Agriculture contributed over ₦17.8 trillion to the nation’s GDP in the third quarter of 2025 alone. By the end of Q3 2025, the sector’s total output reached ₦30.5 trillion, with crop production accounting for 66 per cent of that value.

According to the 2025 Agricultural Performance Survey (APS) Report by the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), the sector recorded sustained growth in key staples—including maize, rice, sorghum, millet, cowpea, yam, and cassava—compared to 2024. This surge in productivity was driven by improved extension delivery and technology integration, which ultimately contributed to a nationwide reduction in food prices. Furthermore, farmers demonstrated remarkable resilience by expanding their acreage and adopting modernised farming practices.

This domestic strength translated into a formidable presence in the global market, heavily supported by liberalised trade channels through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). In the first half of 2025, Nigeria’s non-oil export earnings surged to $6.11 billion, spurred by rising global demand. Total export volume reached 8.02 million metric tonnes. Cocoa and its derivatives led the charge, accounting for $1.99 billion of the total export value.

These metrics underscore a banner year for the agro-sector, creating strong momentum that is projected to carry into 2026.

READ ALSO: Bandits kill nine farmers, abduct many in Kaduna attacks

However, despite these statistical triumphs, long-standing systemic vulnerabilities continue to stifle productivity and threaten to undermine 2026 growth projections. The primary threat to the sector’s expansion is a persistent climate of insecurity. The North-west and North-central regions remain particularly volatile, creating high-risk farming environments. Security breaches have forced many smallholders, such as those in Pandogari district, to abandon their land, resulting in a significant loss of cultivated acreage and potential crop output.

Despite reports of successes in military operations in those areas, farmers struggle to cultivate more land as the country fails to provide tangible, localised security measures for rural agrarian communities. While Nigeria’s agricultural sector possesses immense momentum and global market appeal, its long-term expansion will remain strictly capped until the government successfully secures its primary production zones and addresses core infrastructural deficits.

Local authorities and community leaders warn that if the military fails to flush out the bandits and reclaim the rural spaces decisively, the total collapse of this farming cycle will spike food prices and trigger widespread hunger.