The bedrock of agriculture and agricultural development in developing countries of sub-Saharan Africa is rural development, without which all efforts at agricultural development will be futile. A large majority of the farmers operate at the subsistence, smallholder level, with intensive agriculture being uncommon. A characteristic feature of the agricultural production system in such countries, Nigeria inclusive, is that a disproportionately large fraction of the agricultural output is in the hands of these smallholder farmers whose average holding is about 1.0-3.0 hectares. Also, there is very limited access to modern improved technologies and their general circumstance does not always merit tangible investments in capital, inputs and labor. Household food and nutrition security relies heavily on rural food production and this contributes substantially to poverty alleviation. Consequently, the first pillar of food security is sustainable production of food. It has been noted that in the early 1980s, while the population grew rapidly, food production and agricultural incomes declined in many African countries. In many of the countries the diminishing capacity of agriculture to provide for household subsistence increased the workload shouldered by women as men withdrew their labor from agriculture. Hence the increased attention that is being given to the role of smallholder subsistence agriculture in ensuring food security of the continent, since some 73% of the rural population consists of smallholder farmers. The bulk of the poor, some three-quarters according to a recent World Bank estimate, live in rural areas where they draw their livelihoods from agriculture and related activities. Evidently, development, food security and poverty alleviation will not be truly achieved without rapid agricultural growth. Assisting the rural poor to enhance their livelihoods and food security in a sustainable manner is therefore a great challenge. Broadly put, increases in agricultural productivity are central to growth, income distribution, improved food security and alleviation of poverty in rural Africa. In all of these, the rural woman plays a pivotal role and she is crucial to the overall success of efforts directed at agricultural development in rural areas.

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