In an initiative targeted at enhancing food security and addressing youth unemployment, the Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN) has distributed farm inputs to 3,000 youth farmers’ groups across eight northern Nigerian states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The programme, which is designed to attract young individuals to modern farming practices through improved access to agricultural tools and best agronomical practices, is part of the Year 3 activities of the WOFAN-ICON2 Project, funded by the Mastercard Foundation.
During the event, the Founder and Executive Director of WOFAN, Dr. Salamantu Garba, highlighted that this support is a one-time grant aimed at empowering young people, particularly women, to achieve dignified and sustainable livelihoods through agriculture.
Her words: “This initiative is not a loan; it’s a startup grant designed to enhance our youths’ interest in farming by providing access to financial services, best agronomical practices, community savings schemes, and modern agricultural tools and technologies”.
Furthermore, Dr Garba emphasized that the initiative lays a strong foundation for participants to establish profitable agribusinesses while fostering dignity and self-reliance.
The distributed inputs, which include improved seeds, NPK and Urea fertilisers, as well as agrochemicals, will support the wet season cultivation of rice, maize, sorghum, and groundnuts across Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Nasarawa states, and the FCT.
Each of the 3,000 youth groups received a 50 kg bag of improved seeds, four bags of NPK fertiliser, two bags of Urea, and six litres of agrochemicals, adequate to cultivate one hectare of land.
In total, WOFAN has allocated 300,000 kg of seeds, 1,200 metric tons of NPK fertiliser, 900 metric tons of Urea, and 36,000 litres of pesticides for farming activities throughout the 2025 dry and wet seasons.
At the flag-off in the FCT, WOFAN’s Business and Coordination Manager, Mr. Taiwo Olawale, noted that 80 percent of the community partners involved are women.
He stated that the initiative is specifically designed to eliminate financial barriers that often hinder young Nigerians, particularly women and persons with disabilities, from participating in productive and profitable farming.
In her remarks, WOFAN Director of Strategies and Innovation, Hajia Maimuna Lawal, said the WOFAN-ICON2 initiative provides these grants so that young people can commence farming without incurring debt.
“In an economy where raising capital poses significant challenges, the WOFAN-ICON2 initiative provides these grants so that young people can commence farming without incurring debt.
The profits they generate can be reinvested in their farms for the next season. Over time, this will not only secure their own livelihoods but also enable them to create employment opportunities for others”, she said.
One of the beneficiaries of the intervention, Hajiya Khadija Tijjani from Tudun Wada, expressed gratitude to WOFAN and the Mastercard Foundation for their commitment to supporting women farmers.
“This kind of support is life-changing for women like us. Many people don’t believe women can succeed in farming, but this grant gives us a strong starting point. We’re grateful, and we promise not to disappoint”, she said.
The WOFAN-ICON2 Project, which is funded by the Mastercard Foundation, aims to support 675,000 young Nigerians across nine states over five years. It aligns with the Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy (2021–2030), which seeks to enable 10 million Nigerian youth, 7 million of them women, to access dignified and fulfilling work.
ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then