The Federal Government has said no fewer than 162,445 women have been economically empowered in Taraba State through the Nigeria for Women Project Scale-Up (NFWP-SU), as part of efforts to strengthen rural livelihoods and promote women’s economic inclusion.
Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, disclosed this during an inspection visit to Zing Local Government Area of Taraba State to assess the implementation and impact of the programme.
Speaking during the visit, the minister said the project aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and is aimed at ensuring that government investments translate into measurable improvements in the lives of women at the grassroots.
“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,” she said.
According to her, the programme has established more than 6,900 Women Affinity Groups (WAGs), disbursed N3.548 billion in livelihood grants and mobilised over N2.388 billion in savings among participating women.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim noted that 40 processing centres had been established across three local government areas in Taraba State, including 26 groundnut processing centres, 13 rice processing centres and one oil-palm processing centre.
She described the facilities as critical to helping women transition from subsistence farming to value addition and 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 minister commended beneficiaries for their financial discipline, noting that grants ranging from N30,000 to N60,000 had been disbursed to thousands of women, while members had also mobilised significant savings through their groups.
She further highlighted the programme’s climate-smart initiative, which has trained 170 women as master trainers in briquette production to promote green enterprises and environmental sustainability.
Providing further details, Sulaiman-Ibrahim said 3,604 Women Affinity Groups were established during the pilot phase of the project, while an additional 3,296 groups were formed under the scale-up phase.
She added that 85,842 women benefited during the pilot phase, surpassing the initial target of 54,000, while another 76,603 women had been mobilised under the scale-up programme.
Beyond economic empowerment, the minister said the project had facilitated the enrolment of 2,500 women into the Taraba State Contributory Health Insurance Scheme, enabling them to access free healthcare services.
She also praised beneficiaries for using social emergency funds to support community healthcare needs, including the provision of hospital beds and clean water facilities.
“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.
The minister called on the Taraba State Government, private-sector investors and financial institutions to strengthen partnerships around the processing hubs and women-led enterprises to expand market access, create jobs and boost food security.
Earlier, the Taraba State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Child Development, Mrs. Mary Sinjen, who represented Governor Agbu Kefas, commended the Federal Government for prioritising the state in the assessment visit.
She described the Nigeria for Women Project Scale-Up as a transformative intervention that has helped move women from subsistence-level activities into commercial agricultural enterprises.
“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,” she said.
Sinjen reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to sustaining its partnership with the Federal Government to advance women’s economic empowerment and community development.