WOFAN Newsletter – VOL 1, Q1/Q2. Nov 2022-April 2023

May 5, 2023

Dear friends and partners,

It brings me great pleasure to present to you our newsletter for Q1 and Q2, 2023. In this edition, we will share with you how our collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation is making a signiﬁcant impact on the lives of farmers in Nigeria. In the ﬁrst quarter, we trained more than 600 extension workers in ten states in northern Nigeria to provide support to smallholder farmers. Our eﬀorts resulted in 225,000 young farmers and processors across ten northern states receiving inputs for dry season production. In spite of a ﬂood in Jigawa state, WOFAN women demonstrated resilience. WOFAN Bagauda branch commissioned a borehole to enhance access to safe drinking water. WOFAN also marked International Women’s Day with a DigitAll training on innovation and technology for gender equality. WOFAN also conducted group formation and leadership training to equip the extension workers with the skills and knowledge required to establish and lead eﬀective farmer groups in their respective communities. In Q2, we trained and provided extension workers with the necessary tools to utilize ICT-led agricultural applications to enhance agricultural productivity.

We are proud to report the progress and successes achieved. We remain committed to empowering smallholder farmers, particularly women and youth, to improve their livelihoods and enhance food security in Nigeria. We appreciate the support and partnership of the Mastercard Foundation and all our stakeholders who have contributed to the achievement of our goals. As we look to the remaining half of the year, we are optmistic about the prospects for further progress and impact. Thank you for your continued support.

Hajia Salamatu Garba
Founder/Executive Director, WOFAN

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WOFAN Equips Extension Workers with ICT Skills to Enhance Agricultural Productivity

April 24, 2023

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Abuja – The Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN) has organized a two-day training and demonstration workshop focused on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in agriculture practices and climate change adaptation. Attendees were trained on the use of various ICT-led agricultural applications, including Survey123, the RiceAdvice app, and moisture meters.

The training which took place in Abuja, had participants drawn from FCT, Nasarawa, Benue, Southern Kaduna, and Adamawa states.

During the event, Yahaya Yusuf of Sane Konsult facilitated on the use of ArcGIS Survey123 application for farm mapping. He explained the objectives of the training, which aimed to equip the Extension Workers with the skills required for GIS Mapping, in addition to understanding the framework of the software for effective mapping of cooperative farms in the WOFAN-ICON 2 project ahead of input distribution.

Yahaya explained that the ArcGIS Survey123 is a tool used to collect data via mobile devices, both online/offline. “It uploads data securely for further analysis and visualization,” he said.

Hajia Marya Lawal, the ICON-2 FCT Team Lead, emphasized the need for proper storage with the right moisture content. She added that ICT-led agricultural practices are essential in this digital era and urged participants to ensure effective step-down to other extension workers and community partners.

Jatau Solomon, another facilitator, presented on RiceAdvice, an Android-based decision support tool for smallholder rice farmers. He explained that the software is designed to assist extension workers in advising farmers on good agronomy practices ahead of the farming season, which can improve the way farmers cultivate their lands and increase revenue generation. Solomon highlighted that the objective of RiceAdvice is to improve the livelihoods of smallholder rice farmers, increase their productivity, and sustainably integrate them into the rice value chain through tailor-made recommendations on nutrient management.

The RiceAdvice application helps farmers identify the best combination of fertilizers to use based on nutrient requirements and fertilizer prices, and helps farmers make better-informed decisions through specifically trained extension agents or service providers. The app is downloadable at no cost.

During the event, participants were provided with Android phones, moisture meters, and GPS devices to support and backup their data and farmers’ details.

The training event successfully equipped extension workers with essential skills to effectively use ICT-led agricultural applications and devices, further enabling them to communicate these technologies to farmers in their respective communities.

WOFAN Trains Extension Workers on Good Agronomy Practices in Nigeria

April 24, 2023

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ABUJA, 12 APRIL 2023-In an effort to improve the skills of extension workers on Good Agronomy Practices (GAP), the Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN) in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation organized a 2-day Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop for 60 Extension Workers. The training aligns with the Integrated Community-led Network of Hope (ICON2) objectives and was attended by participants from FCT, Nasarawa, Benue, and Southern Kaduna State.

The primary objective of the workshop was to equip the Extension Workers with the necessary knowledge and skills for GAP to improve food production in Nigeria. The trainers provided detailed explanations on the different stages of growth in rice crops, land preparation, nursery bed creation, seed treatment, fertilizer application, weed control, and pest and disease management. Also, methods of seed treatment were discussed as a precautionary measure to identify the percentage of seeds that are viable, as well as protect the seeds against nematodes and other harmful pests and diseases that could cause damage.

“With this training, I have learnt how to grow major crops like rice, from land preparation to harvesting. This training has further empowered me to deliver all I have learned to Community Partners,” expressed Miss Ella Adamu, an Extension Worker from Kaduna.

The Founder and Executive Director of WOFAN, Hajia Dr Salamatu Garba, emphasized that the objective of the training was to train super trainers on GAP for a step-down to 7,500 cooperatives across the project states. The step-down will commence immediately after the training, and the exercise will be monitored through the Commcare application.

“Through this workshop and many like it, WOFAN is taking strategic and intentional steps towards improving food security in Nigeria and empowering women, youths and less privileged members of society with the necessary knowledge and skills to promote good agronomy practices,” she emphasized.

The ICON 2 project, which is funded by the Mastercard Foundation, aims to support 675,000 young people across 10 Nigerian states over a period of 5 years. This initiative aligns with the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works-Nigeria (2021-2030) strategy, which seeks to enable 10 million young Nigerians, including 7 million young women, to secure dignified and fulfilling employment.

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About WOFAN

The Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN) is a Nigerian non-governmental organization established to improve and promote the economic, social, and political empowerment of rural women and youth in Nigeria.

About Mastercard Foundation

The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa to access dignified and fulfilling work.

Mu Rungumi Noman Zamani – Let’s embrace modern farming

January 30, 2023

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WOFAN trains Extension Workers on ICT for Data Capturing, Agricultural Productivity and Market Linkages

January 30, 2023

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ABUJA, 27 January 2023– As part of the Integrated Community-led Network of Hope (ICON2) project activities, the Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN), in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, has trained over 600 extension workers on the use of the ICON 2 Commcare app across 10 northern states in Nigeria. The 13-day training commenced on Wednesday, January 11, 2023, and ended on Friday, February 27, 2023. The training was designed to equip participants with the necessary operational skills needed to enable farmers carry out accurate input distribution

The ICON-2 Commcare app is a software as a service (SaaS) hosted on the CommCare platform which helps organizations achieve their monitoring and evaluation goals. This innovative project management software was designed to track and manage the implementation of WOFAN’s project efforts among the farmers in their respective regions, which would in turn help the management make informed decisions. The software’s functionalities include the collection of farmers’ bio-data through farmer registration, field mapping, input distribution, and surveys. It allows users to create data collection forms, track project progress, and generate reports and dashboards to easily view project performance. It also enables users to monitor project implementation in real-time and make changes as needed. In addition, the ICON 2 Commcare software provides advanced mobile features such as offline data collection, case management, and automated reminders to ensure that project progress is tracked accurately.

Participants received instructions on areas such as best communication practices with farmers, customer service, problem-solving, and conflict resolution. Additionally, the training included interactive activities, such as role-playing and team-building exercises, to help participants gain a better understanding of the software. They were also issued tablets configured to contain the Commcare app, as well as power banks to allow for extended use.

Miss Biem Ruth, a participant from the Federal Capital Territory, said, “the tablets we were given today would be a great tool for creating a database of farmers, which would help us to better understand the needs of the farmers, target areas for improvement, and ensure that farmers in each state have access to the resources they need.”

“The intended impact of this training is to build a strong relationship between the extension workers and the farmers, increase the accuracy of data related to farmlands through geo-mapping, aid farmers carry out accurate input distribution, create a well-trained group of advisors to help the farmers, and enable WOFAN to efficiently and effectively measure and evaluate their projects live,” said Hajia Salamatu Garba, WOFAN’s Executive Director and Country Director of the ICON 2 Project.

“Additionally, this training will help farmers gain a better understanding of the latest advancements in agricultural technology and better equip them to make informed decisions about their farms,” she said.

The ICON 2 project is funded by the Mastercard Foundation to support 675,000 youths, across 10 Nigerian states over 5 years to develop and maintain sustainable livelihoods and have an improved quality of life, in line with the Mastercard Foundation’s bold Young Africa Works-Nigeria (2021-2030) strategy to enable 10 million youth in Nigeria, (7 million young women) to secure dignified and fulfilling employment.

About WOFAN

The Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN) is a Nigerian non-governmental organization established to improve and promote the economic, social, and political empowerment of rural women and youth in Nigeria.

About Mastercard Foundation

The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa to access dignified and fulfilling work.