A partnership with Advocacy for Women with Disabilities Initiative in Nigeria (AWWDI) is one of the first projects to commence as part of the Africa-Australia Partnership for Climate Responsive Agriculture. ACIAR asked co-founder and Executive Director Ms Patience Ogolo-Dickson about her work driving a national disability-inclusive agenda to shape policies, amplify voices and transform agricultural inclusion.
Patience, what are your earliest memories or impressions of agriculture and food security? Was there a moment when you realised that agriculture often overlooks women with disabilities?
Growing up in a village in Nigeria, I was surrounded by women working to secure food for their families, whether through small backyard gardens or community plots. I noticed early on that, while agriculture was central to daily life, people with disabilities were rarely included in these activities. Not because they didn't want to contribute, but because nothing, from tools to expectations, was designed with them in mind.
It wasn't just an isolated incidence, but a pattern that became impossible to overlook. In community after community, I met women quietly farming without ever being recognised as farmers. Some told me they didn't attend training sessions because the venues weren't accessible or because the officers never considered their needs. That stayed with me, as their experiences echoed my own: doing the work but remaining unseen.
Can you share a story or experience that has stayed with you, positive or painful?
What stayed with me is not just a single story but the overall picture. I have met women who farm close to their homes because distance or terrain makes larger plots difficult to reach. Others explain that extension visits happen in ways that do not benefit them, because information is delivered in formats they cannot use. Despite these challenges, the determination of these women is powerful. Their resilience is what inspires me to do what I do.
What experience led you to start the Advocacy for Women with Disabilities Initiative (AWWDI)?
As a woman with a physical disability, I realised early on that many of the barriers women with disabilities face are not about ability. They are about exclusion. I kept meeting women across different disability groups who experienced the same things: being left out of decisions, services and policies that affect their lives. At some point, a group of us decided that if we didn't organise for ourselves, no one would prioritise our issues. That was the beginning of AWWDI.
How has AWWDI engaged with agriculture so far?
We have 136 self-help groups in 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory. In these groups, women have been supporting each other in small yet meaningful ways, pooling savings, sharing seeds or cultivating small plots together. These are large-scale initiatives, expressions of resilience and economic independence.
At what point did agriculture and climate become strategic priorities for AWWDI?
When we listened closely to our members, agriculture, food and livelihood security kept coming up. Many women with disabilities rely directly on farming or small livestock for income. Climate shocks, floods and droughts deeply impact them. It became clear that agricultural policy cannot be inclusive if it overlooks women with disabilities. That's why partnering with ACIAR under the Africa-Australia Partnership for Climate Responsive Agriculture felt like the right step.
Through the project 'The Impact of Agriculture in Nigeria on Women with Disabilities', the partnership with ACIAR is helping to explore how agriculture impacts women with disabilities by conducting stakeholder sessions with women with disabilities, extension officers, agricultural experts and policymakers. We are also documenting experiences related to access to land, inputs, climate impacts and the opportunities women themselves identify.
What kinds of data do you feel have never been captured before in Nigerian agriculture?
We are examining areas often missing from agricultural data, including how communication barriers affect access to extension services, how mobility issues shape the types of farming women can undertake, and how climate shocks specifically affect those reliant on home-based agriculture. These personal experiences are rarely reflected in official datasets.
If you could name three policy changes you hope this study will influence, what would they be?
- Integrating disability into agricultural data and planning frameworks
- Making extension and climate-smart programs accessible by design
- Creating funding pathways for organisations of persons with disabilities to co-design agricultural programs
You have said AWWDI is 'small, but loud'. What does being loud look like in the agricultural space?
It means being present where decisions are made and refusing to be invisible. It means women with disabilities speaking for themselves in stakeholder meetings, climate dialogues and consultations, and helping policymakers understand what inclusion looks like in real terms.
Are there particular climate shocks that disproportionately affect women with disabilities in agriculture?
Floods are especially challenging. Many women with mobility impairments rely on home-based gardens that are easily destroyed. Climate shocks deepen existing inequalities unless systems intentionally address them.
What would a disability-inclusive agricultural system look like in 10 years?
Women with disabilities would appear not only as farmers, but also as researchers, extension officers, cooperative leaders and innovators. Accessibility would be built into every program, not added later. My dream would be for a disability-inclusive agricultural innovation hub, training women with disabilities, supporting adaptive technologies and positioning them as leaders in Nigeria's food system transformation.
What message do you want governments to hear?
Disability inclusion is not charity, but a strategy. When you exclude women with disabilities, you weaken the food system. When you include them, you strengthen resilience, justice, and productivity.
