In celebration of this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD), 8th March 2025, the Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN) will distribute 5,400 bags of high-quality rice as startup packs aimed at enhancing the business capital of smallholder female produce marketers across the nine WOFAN targeted states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Nassarawa states, and the FCT.
This distribution will serve as the first phase of the initiative.
It reports that International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global annual event celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
According to a statement by WOFAN today, the program will expand to include two additional batches, ensuring that all 162,000 targeted micro-produce marketers receive various forms of in-kind grants as start-up support.
The launch event will occur simultaneously in Kano, Yola, and Nassarawa on Saturday, March 8th, at various WOFAN regional offices and headquarters.
This distribution marks the flag-off of the WOFAN ICON2 mini-project’s agricultural in- kind grant support, which aims to uplift 162,000 female micro-produce marketers in the targeted states many of whom currently earn less than N2,000 per day from their small-scale agricultural or value-added enterprises.
Founder and Executive Director of WOFAN, Hajia Salamatu Garba, expressed enthusiasm for this initiative, stating, “This year’s IWD theme resonates strongly with WOFAN’s mission through the ICON2 project, which is funded by the Mastercard Foundation.
“Our goal is to accelerate efforts that promote job opportunities, dignity, inclusion, and equity for all women and girls, including those with disabilities. The rice distribution starter pack for micro food vendors is commencing on IWD and is set to empower women running micro-businesses such as rice vending, frying bean cakes, and other small-scale sales, many of whom earn less than N2,000 daily or are widows or even among the underserved.”
WOFAN has facilitated the formation of these women into functional groups of 30 members each to boost their small agribusinesses offered them training in group management, food hygiene, financial literacy and opening bank accounts and liaising them to financial institutions.
The WOFAN ICON2 Project seeks to uplift 675,000 youths, including PWDs, over the next five years across nine Nigerian states.
This initiative aligns with the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works-Nigeria strategy (2021-2030), which aims to empower 10 million youth in Nigeria, including 7 million young women, to secure dignified and fulfilling employment.
