Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development Designated National Secretariat for the UNESCO REF Young Women in Agriculture Programme
UNESCO REF Media Centre | Young Women in Agriculture
The National Centre for Women Development will coordinate the national implementation of YWA, connecting the programme with Nigeria’s frameworks for women’s empowerment and sustainable development.
ABUJA, Nigeria. The Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development (NCWD) has been officially designated as the National Secretariat for the UNESCO REF Young Women in Agriculture (YWA) programme. The designation places the federal institution charged with the advancement of Nigerian women at the centre of the national effort to empower young women through agricultural innovation, skills development and sustainable livelihoods.
Global alignmentAlignement mondialThe global commitments this story advances. Open to see how.
- SDG2
SDG 2, Zero Hunger (primary)
ProvisionTarget 2.3: double the productivity and incomes of small-scale producers, in particular women
How the designation respondsTraining, certification and income for young women in agriculture
- SDG5
SDG 5, Gender Equality
ProvisionTarget 5.5: women’s leadership; Target 5.a: equal rights to economic resources
How the designation respondsYoung women as leaders of food production
- SDG1
SDG 1, No Poverty
ProvisionTarget 1.4: equal rights to economic resources
How the designation respondsIncome opportunities for participants
- SDG8
SDG 8, Decent Work
ProvisionTarget 8.6: reduce youth not in employment, education or training
How the designation respondsAgribusiness employment for women aged 18 to 35
- MP
Maputo Protocol
ProvisionArticle 15: right to food security
How the designation respondsWomen at the centre of national food security
- AU
African Union Agenda 2063
ProvisionAspiration 6: development driven by women and youth
How the designation respondsYoung women as drivers of agricultural transformation
- SDG17
SDG 17, Partnerships
ProvisionTarget 17.17: public and civil society partnerships
How the designation respondsA federal institution as national coordinator of a civil society programme
- BDPA
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
ProvisionWomen and the economy; institutional mechanisms for women’s advancement
How the designation respondsNational women’s development institution leads delivery
The decision gives the YWA programme an institutional home within the Federal Government’s own architecture for women’s development. It ensures that a campaign of national scale, mobilising 12 million young women across the six geopolitical zones, is coordinated through an established public institution with the mandate, convening authority and experience to sustain it.
Advocacy and approval
Plaidoyer et approbation
The designation followed sustained advocacy by Dr Mrs Elizabeth Egbetokun, UNESCO REF YWA National Advocate and then National President of the Police Officers’ Wives Association, who engaged stakeholders to align the request with Nigeria’s goals for women’s empowerment and agricultural transformation.
The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NCWD, Dr Asabe Vilita Bashir, formally approved the designation.
“This recognition by UNESCO REF is both an honor and a responsibility.”
Dr Asabe Vilita Bashir, Director-General, National Centre for Women Development
Dr Bashir affirmed the Centre’s readiness to assume the national mandate and to serve as a hub for innovation, collaboration and empowerment. She committed the Centre to ensuring that young women across Nigeria gain access to skills, mentorship and opportunities in agriculture and beyond.
Role of the National Secretariat
Rôle du Secrétariat national
As National Secretariat, NCWD will:
- Coordinate the national implementation of the YWA programme.
- Foster collaboration among government, development partners, the private sector and communities.
- Ensure the programme’s alignment with national and international frameworks for women’s empowerment and sustainable development.
What YWA delivers
Ce qu’apporte le programme YWA
YWA increases young women’s participation in agriculture through training, mentorship and access to modern technologies, contributing to food security, poverty reduction, economic diversification and community resilience. The economic rationale is compelling: the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that closing the gender gaps in agrifood systems would raise global GDP by nearly US$1 trillion and reduce the number of food-insecure people by 45 million.
Significance
Portée
The designation marks a decisive step in the institutionalisation of the YWA programme. By anchoring national coordination in a federal institution dedicated to women’s development, UNESCO REF and NCWD have given the programme the continuity and public accountability that a mobilisation of this scale requires.
ENDS
Notes to editorsNotes aux rédactions
About Young Women in Agriculture (YWA). YWA is a UNESCO REF flagship programme under the SIP-ALPHA framework that equips young women aged 18 to 35 with agribusiness education, certification and income opportunities, with a national target of 12 million women.
About NCWD. The Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development is a federal institution in Abuja dedicated to research, training and programmes for the advancement of women in Nigeria.
About UNESCO REF. The Read and Earn Federation for UNESCO (UNESCO REF) works to strengthen human and institutional capacity across Nigeria and Africa through education, research and professional development, in alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Media enquiries. UNESCO REF Media Centre, [email protected]