WOFAN empowers over 680,000 community partners in two years across 9 states

By Aliyu Inuwa Mansir On Jan 4, 2025

WOFAN , community partners , states, Salamatu Garba — Dr. Salamatu Garba

The Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN) has empowered over 680,000 community partners across nine states in Nigeria within two years.

This was disclosed by the Country Director, WOFAN-ICON2 Project, Dr. Salamatu Garba, during WOFAN’s annual review meeting on Tuesday with stakeholders in Kano. Dr. Garba highlighted the achievements of the WOFAN Icon2 Project, which has been operational for two years since its inception in 2023, and shared plans for its third year in 2025.

Dr. Garba emphasized WOFAN’s ongoing efforts to amplify women’s voices and strengthen their roles in community decision-making. “Already, two women supported by WOFAN have been appointed as leaders in their communities, serving as treasurer and vice president in local groups,” she noted.

‘’For persons with disabilities (PWDs), WOFAN aims to provide specialized support, including hearing aids in collaboration with ENT specialists to them, ‘’Garba said.

“In terms of inclusivity, this project will support people with disabilities not only with tricycles and motorbikes, as we did in 2024, but also with hearing aids for those with hearing challenges. We’ve partnered with specialists in ENT care to assist in this regard.’’

According to her, the WOFAN-ICON2 Project, implemented in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation’s “We Can Work” program, seeks to empower one million PWDs across seven African countries. This aligns with the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works Strategy, which aims to create dignified work opportunities for 30 million young people in Africa by 2030.

‘’WOFAN’s initiatives also extend to micro agro-marketers. “Micro agro-marketers, often overlooked, are a focal point of our initiatives for 2025,” Dr. Garba explained. The organization plans to organize these marketers into groups, link them to financial aid through the WOFAN Startup Grant, and support improved operations, hygiene, and nutritional standards.

She outlined WOFAN’s plans to enhance mechanization efforts through partnerships with agricultural institutions, facilitating spare parts fabrication and training local artisans in equipment maintenance and operation.

The country director highlighted the organization’s green energy initiative, which introduces the DEHOSCA machine for rice processing. This machine produces coarse shells suitable for eco-friendly briquettes, reducing reliance on charcoal and promoting environmental sustainability.

“Our primary goal is to improve the quality of life for all stakeholders and contribute significantly to food security in Nigeria,” Dr. Garba emphasized.

The Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of WOFAN, Sadiq Hassan Zakaria, highlighted the achievements of the WOFAN Icon 2 Project. “The project, implemented across nine states in Nigeria, has significantly improved the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, women entrepreneurs, logistics providers, and persons with disabilities,” he said. Since its launch in 2023 as a scale-up of the successful Icon 1 Project, the initiative has reached over 675,000 community partners in two years.

Zakaria detailed WOFAN’s efforts in capacity building, noting that over 1,142 extension workers were trained in areas such as ICT-led agriculture, good agronomic practices, and market linkages.

‘’These workers have provided hands-on training to farmers, enhancing agricultural productivity. Farmers also received high-quality seeds, fertilizers, and chemicals promptly, which improved their farming outcomes,” he added.

“Other notable achievements include: Equipment Support: Simple hand-held farm equipment reduced labor intensity and costs while boosting productivity. Startup Grants: Women entrepreneurs received startup grants and access to makeshift centres equipped with water sources and processing equipment like rice polishers and groundnut oil extraction machines, boosting productivity and income.”

“Mobility Aids: Over 4,000 tricycles and modified motorbikes were distributed to enhance mobility and economic participation of PWDs.

“Logistics Support: Financial assistance and 321 tricycles distributed to logistics service providers to facilitate the transport of goods from farms to markets at subsidized rates, increasing income generation and improving the livelihood of the service providers.”

Zakaria noted that farmers achieved bumper harvests during wet farming seasons, significantly contributing to food security. “Community mentorship has also been pivotal, with trained participants mentoring others and fostering sustainable agricultural practices,” he said.

WOFAN Icon 2 Project Finance Manager, Abdurrashid Abdulaziz spoke about cash interventions provided to cluster groups in Kano, Jigawa, and Kaduna states.

According to him, each cluster, comprising 150 individuals, contributes a total of N450,000. WOFAN then supplements this amount with an additional N1,050,000, creating a capital of N1.5 million as a startup grants to women processors to purchase raw materials for processing. “We have intervened in 108 clusters across the project states,” he stated. The total intervention amounts to N113.4 million.

Speaking about the intervention, he mentioned that in the past, farmers would harvest ten to fifteen bags of crops from one hectare of land. However, with the timely intervention from WOFAN and the Mastercard Foundation, which is a qualitative initiative, some farmers are now recording harvests of seventy, eighty and even ninety bags of crops.

Professor Sani Miko, Chairman of the Board of Technical Advisers for WOFAN, praised the organization’s efforts. “WOFAN has consistently impacted lives, creating means of livelihood for people with disabilities, farmers, and rural women. As the WOFAN Icon 2 Project enters its third year, I am confident that more lives will be touched, and the project’s support will be doubled,” he remarked.

Through its comprehensive agenda, WOFAN continues to empower communities, promote inclusivity, and foster sustainable development in Nigeria and beyond.