Group empowers 225,000 young farmers with farm inputs

The Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN), a non-governmental organisation with focus on empowering small-scale farmers recently provided 225,000 farmers with farm inputs to improve their productivity and overall livelihoods across 10 states in Northern Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory.

The empowerment is part of the Integrated Community-led Scale-up (ICON2) Project, which is expected to provide employment and employability opportunities for youths in the agricultural sector.

The 225,000 young project partners are part of the 675,000 partners planned to be reached by the ICON2 Project over a period of three years, starting from 2023.

After the third year of empowerment, WOFAN is billed to continue to support 675,000 partners for another two years to strengthen their networks and facilitate improved access to finance and profitable markets.

The inputs include 300,000kg of improved seeds, 42,000 bags of 50kg fertiliser, 36,000 liters of pesticides and assorted processing tools.

They would be provided to groups formed by the 225,000 young project partners in the first year for dry and wet season farming.

Furthermore, the inputs would also form the seed capital for a community-led input and equipment revolving scheme to create sustainable access to critical inputs and equipment for the young project partners.

Additional two sets of 225,000 young farmers and processors are to be mobilised in the year 2024 and 2025 to make the total number of benefiting partners of 675,000.

The intervention is expected to create at least 675,000 direct employment and employability opportunities for 675,000 farmers and millions of indirect opportunities for youth across five years.

The ICON2 Project, which is co-funded by the MasterCard Foundation (MCF) and supporting several partners, is being implemented in Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Nasarawa, Plateau states and the Federal Capital Territory.