The Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN), in collaboration with Palm Valley Nigeria Limited (PVNL), has empowered over 52,000 women and youth farmers with farming inputs.
This initiative has made significant strides in ensuring food sufficiency in Nasarawa, Benue, and Kaduna States through the Integrated Community-led Network of Hope (ICON2) project.
Funded by the Mastercard Foundation, the ICON2 project aims to provide decent job opportunities to 10 million farmers and processors aged between 18 and 35 years over the next five years.
Salamatu Garba, Founder and Executive Director of WOFAN, revealed these achievements during the flag-off of input distribution for the 2024 wet season and onboarding of 420 new clusters and peer leaders in Lafia.
Garba highlighted that the five-year project seeks to strengthen agricultural enterprise value chains, generate employment for 675,000 youths, and enhance income for women farmers and processors. She mentioned that the association initially flagged off 65,000 hectares of land in Nasarawa State and aims to cultivate a total of 1,733 hectares with PVNL’s support in Nasarawa, Benue, and Kaduna.
The distributed inputs include urea, NPK golden fertilizer 20-10-10, Faro 67, Aflatoxin, Samaz 55 Maize, pre and post-emergency herbicides, among others. Garba advised the farmers to utilize these resources effectively to increase their livelihoods and improve yields.
Ezekiel Jatau, Project Manager and CEO of Palm Valley Nigeria Limited, emphasized the importance of self-development for women and called on men to support their growth beyond societal expectations. He reiterated the organization’s commitment to inclusivity by involving persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups in their empowerment schemes.
Nasarawa State Commissioner for Agriculture, Umar Abubakar Dan’akano, commended WOFAN and PVNL for the empowerment program and urged beneficiaries to maximize the inputs for optimal results. He assured continued support from the state government to ensure food sufficiency in the state.
