Today, we are exploring the gender gaps in agriculture and how we can empower female farmers in Nigeria. And I have just the perfect speaker for that. So with a clapping ovation, join me as I welcome our guest for today, Grace Fosin, the country director at MEDA. Now, she's one of my favorite women at the forefront of gender equality and women empowerment in Nigeria. Hi, Grace. Thank you so much for joining the Let's Talk Agriculture podcast show. I'm really excited to have you here today. Thank you. I can't wait for us to do this. Thank you, Sharon. Thank you, Sharon. The pleasure is mine. I'm happy to be here. Thank you. Thank you so much once again for joining. So I really want to make sure that you've received your blessings for the year because, I mean, we can't go and start the year without our blessings, can we? Thank you. Thank you very much. Okay. So I'd like to start with your personal experiences as a woman in the agriculture sector. I mean, I'm sure you must have had some difficulties at some point in your life. I mean, you've been through some sort of challenge through this phase of your life. I mean, considering we are in a male-dominated industry. So maybe you can share how you dealt with it. I mean, how it was like, because I know, I know, I know you know what I'm talking about, but. Of course, Sharon, you should ask me. I respect that. And as a woman in agriculture from the northern part of Nigeria, in fact, not Eastern Nigeria to be precise, it's interesting that my journey in this field, in the sector, began when I went to school. I took on that course. And just about four of us women taking the course amidst about 30-something men. You know, so it was a challenging time for us because we went to learn how to drive tractors, how to do all of these things. And for women, they're thinking, this is not something that, you know, it's a field that women should or it's not very popular, you know. But we were committed and we weathered the storm, the challenges. And we were able to come through. It's very interesting. I love the soil. For me, I'm somebody that I'm very, very passionate about farming. I'm passionate about agriculture. And so I grew from a family, a heritage of agriculture people. So that resonates with me even while I was in school. The challenges are there because basically, for everything, they prioritize men. So when it comes to agriculture, it's about giving land or imputes, whatever. Even in the course of my work that I am currently on, you see that the women actually don't get the first, you know, they are not prioritized. They don't get the first place in terms of maybe giving out land when you go to the agri-development program to secure a piece of land for the season. So you see this. These are all bottlenecks that women in agriculture face right from when they, as farmers in the field or as people who are working in the marketplace, everywhere, men are prioritized. Even though we want to talk about gender balance and all, but we still find it playing out in several places where we work. So that has been lingering. And I believe it's getting better, but we haven't conquered it all. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. I am very, very certain that that whole gender balance thing is something that we are still going to continue working on because whether we like it or not, they are still going to show, give that preference to men. But then it's just about having more women coming out and still playing their roles. And that's why I really admire you and appreciate you for coming out and taking up leadership roles, you know, to inspire and educate more women. And if you'd like to advertise your business or your brand on the podcast, do be able to reach out to us as well. Podcast at letstalkagriculture.com. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letstalkagriculture/message