How agribusiness changed my life — Widow

Mrs. Okla Joab, a primary school teacher, has urged women in Gombe State to embrace agribusiness to achieve financial independence and boost food security.

Joab spoke in an interview with the newsmen in her Daban Fulani community, in Kwami Local Government Area of Gombe State, on Thursday.

She said agribusiness presented the best opportunity for women to become financially independent.

The teacher said that many women lacked respect from their spouses because they were not contributing to the upkeep of their households, hence the need to venture into agribusiness to become financially buoyant.

According to her, agribusiness is one vast area that can be harnessed with little capital for financial freedom.

She said that when women, especially rural ones, are equipped with income-generating opportunities through agribusiness to meet their necessities, reliance on others becomes minimal.

Narrating her story, Joab, a mother of two who lost her husband 12 years ago, said she had been finding life difficult since the breadwinner departed.

She said that her salary as a teacher was not sufficient to meet her household needs.

“But in 2023, the Sasakawa Africa Association came to our community with support and agriculture extension services, providing us with inputs and encouraging women to go into agribusiness.

“I embraced the initiative, and since then, my life has been improved, as I no longer complain like before because we were taught how to add value to produce.

“I now process agricultural produce, sell it, and make good money, and I am now meeting the needs of my children without delay.

“We formed an association through support from Sasakawa, and in less than a year, we have over N200, 000 in our account.

“We now provide loans to empower other women in any agribusiness of their choice.”

Joab said most of their women in the community were now supporting their households and earning respect from their husbands and children.

“Don’t sit at home doing nothing; you can buy produce, process it at home, and sell it; you will make money and not be asking for petty cash from your spouses,” she advised.

Supreme News reports that SAA is an international non-governmental organisation focusing on enhancing farmer access to inputs and entrepreneurial skills to improve livelihoods and achieve food security.