WOFAN ICON 2
Target Impact
The Integrated Community-led Network of Hope Scale-up (WOFAN-ICON2) Project is a 5-year intervention aimed at creating decent and sustainable employment opportunities for 675,000 youth aged 18 to 35 across ten states in Nigeria, namely Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau, Nasarawa States, and the FCT.
Scale economic empowerment of youth aged 18–35 to engage in and benefit from decent and sustainable livelihoods (540,000 or 80% of the youth to be female). Also, it enhances 22,500 farmer groups and producer associations by strengthening them to influence change processes supportive of the economic advancement of youth while improving market systems.
Status: Active
Country
Nigeria
Period
2022 – 2027
Industries
Agriculture
Impact to Date
157,630
The project has already recorded 157,630 youth-in-work, of which 78% are female, which is remarkable. The project has an outreach number of 245,787 (74% female and 25,580 DDI outreach).
120%
Handheld labour-saving equipment has decreased drudgery, reduced harvest time from 72 hours per hectare to six hours per hectare, enhanced output by 120 per cent, and decreased post-harvest losses by more than 65 per cent.
Mini community centres provided micro-processing equipment, enhancing accessibility, processing capacity, and quality while also raising the average household income.
Conversion of farm waste to briquettes and compost was incorporated, improving animal feedstock, reducing tree felling for firewood, and reducing greenhouse emissions.
The project also advocated for girls' education, water, sanitation, and VVF, and women gained agency, voice, and respect from their husbands.
Partnership Focus
Improve livelihoods and sustainable financing for participating individuals, households, and communities.
Improve technological solutions to farming and post-harvest processing.
Increase the agency and voice of young people, especially women.
Create and build community cohesion and outreach.
In Partnership With
Women Farmers Advancement Empowerment Foundation (WOFAN) was formed in 1993 in response to the plight of rural women in Northern Nigeria, who are economically disadvantaged and rely on local/ Indigenous technology.
WOFAN aims to improve and promote the economic, social, and political empowerment of rural women and young people to transform agriculture into business and to develop positive linkages across all the agricultural value chains, including access to finance and technical know-how. Over the years, WOFAN has supported thousands of households to scale and diversify their income. WOFAN has also constructed and supported hundreds of water and sanitation facilities in schools and Islamiyah centres across Northern Nigeria to support rural access to safe drinking water and education and has improved the livelihoods of the girl-child and women.