Analysis of Participatory Communication in Gender Mainstreaming for Women’s Empowerment: a Case Study of the Usaid Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Project (2018–2023)

The inability of governments at all levels and the development partners to effectively communicate women empowerment issues using participatory communication continues to be a challenge to achieving women's empowerment. This study was conducted to gain insight into the role of participatory communication in gender mainstreaming and women's empowerment using the United States Agency for International Development USAID Feed the Nigeria Agribusiness Project as a case study. Data were collected from Focused Group Discussions of 11 women USAID project beneficiaries purposively selected in Makurdi, the Benue state capital. The data collected were analysed using a descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The study found that participatory communication played a vital role in the understanding of women's empowerment issues. It established that women understand gender mainstreaming and empowerment issues better through participatory approaches. The study concluded that participatory communication enabled the women not only to understand the importance of empowerment but also facilitated their active participation in issues affecting them. The study recommended that governments at all levels, development partners such as NGOs, and the private sector should deploy participatory communication in the implementation of projects and interventions targeting gender mainstreaming and women's empowerment.