The subject of food security continues to be a major discourse in Nigeria and across the world and this has made some stakeholders to submit that women have an important role to play.

This submission was made at the inaugural PricePally Impact Summit, which was held on May 22 and 23, 2025, in Lagos. Organised by Nigeria’s leading online grocery platform, PricePally, the summit was a thought-provoking dialogue on food accessibility and an affirmation that the impact of women cannot be overemphasised when it comes to building sustainable, affordable, and accessible food systems in Nigeria.

With the theme “From Farm to Table: The Future of Fresh Foods – Sustainable, Affordable, and Accessible,” the two-day event gathered a rich mix of farmers, policymakers, agritech experts, financiers, food entrepreneurs, and distributors. However, it was the women innovators, leaders, and changemakers who offered some of the most urgent, insightful, and future-facing perspectives on Nigeria’s agro-economy.

Notable women at the summit included the Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems in Lagos State, Abisola Olusanya; the Chief Operating Officer at PricePally, Jummai Abalaka; Partnership Manager at Coamana Market, Head of Sales and Partnerships at Leky Mills, Tracy Dabul; Maureen Unogu; and Head of Agribusiness Development and Strategy at Sterling Bank, Vera Iheanacho; among others.

Jummai Abalaka opened the event with a welcome address that set the tone for inclusive dialogue. As the head of operations at Nigeria’s foremost online grocery platform, she embodies that women are not only participants in Nigeria’s food system but also the brains behind its transformation.

Further, Maureen Unogu highlighted her organisation’s deliberate engagement of Northern Nigerian women through call centre roles, breaking traditional barriers and placing women at the centre of agricultural intelligence and customer connection.

Vera Iheanacho added her voice by sharing how women could take advantage of organisations that are creating more flexible and inclusive financing models for female farmers, including trust-based systems and non-traditional collateral options.

Hon. AbisolaOlusanya spotlighted the impact of PricePally and how it’s creating an enabling environment for farmers, irrespective of their gender, and winning the admiration of the government.

“PricePally is at a critical juncture in the history of Nigeria’s food systems. When we have disruptions in the supply chain of food – COVID for instance – which creates ripple effects for farmers, offtakers and consumers, and when you have the likes of PricePally who are able to plug that gap, it creates an enabling environment for farmers, while delivering maximum value to the consumers. These are the right set of businesses that the government would want to support.”

To celebrate the strides women are making in the food ecosystem, Mariam Tolani of Mariam Farm and several other women were honoured with awards at the summit. Mariam joined other participants in applauding PricePally’s initiative and its growing impact on the industry.

“I couldn’t believe it. I’m truly grateful to PricePally for this award. If we had more companies like PricePally in the industry, everyone would be inspired to become a farmer,” she remarked.