Nigerian Women Farmers Rise Above Climate and Disability

When floodwaters swallowed Viviane Tavershima's 12-hectare farm in Benue State in 2021, she faced a challenge most farmers never consider: navigating knee-deep mud on crutches. But this farmer, who manages a spinal condition while growing hibiscus, rice, maize, and soybeans, represents a quiet revolution happening across Nigeria.

Tavershima walks with crutches and specially adapted sandals due to her mobility challenges. When floods destroyed eight hectares of her crops, she asked local villagers for help salvaging what remained, but they refused and instead stole some of her harvest.

She saved some yams and sweet potatoes despite the losses. Today, she shares her story with a calm smile, determined to keep farming.

She's not alone in facing these compounded challenges. The Advocacy for Women with Disabilities Initiative studied 1,118 women farmers with disabilities across 27 states and found they face significant barriers that climate change is making worse.

These women earn less than 50,000 naira monthly and lack access to credit, assistive technology, and disability-inclusive farming programs. Climate change expert Esther Ajah explains that rising temperatures, heat waves, erratic rainfall, and flooding have severely worsened conditions for all Nigerian farmers in recent years.

The challenges are real and growing. Women farmers already face a 30 percent yield gap compared to men due to limited access to land, equipment, and support services, and climate-related disasters are widening that gap.

But these farmers aren't giving up. Despite heat waves that have intensified over the past three years and floods that affected 5.2 million people across 35 states in 2024, women like Tavershima continue cultivating their land.

Why This Inspires

What makes this story remarkable isn't just the obstacles these farmers face but their determination to keep growing food for their communities. They're proving that resilience comes in many forms and that disability doesn't diminish capability when proper support exists.

Their persistence is already drawing attention to the need for better infrastructure, climate-adapted farming techniques, and inclusive agricultural programs. Every hectare they plant represents hope that Nigeria's farming future can become more accessible and sustainable for everyone.

These 1,118 women are showing Nigeria and the world what's possible when determination meets purpose, one harvest at a time.