The Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN) has provided 15 Volkswagen Golf cars to agricultural extension trainers in Kano and Jigawa states to improve access to farming communities, strengthen farmer education and expand rural livelihood opportunities.
The vehicles were provided through a community savings scheme under the organisation’s ICON2 project, with beneficiaries contributing 50 per cent of the cost while WOFAN covered the remaining amount through its revolving support model.
The initiative is aimed at addressing transportation challenges that often prevent agricultural extension workers from reaching farmers in remote communities with training, technical advice and information on improved farming methods.
WOFAN Founder and Global Advocate, Dr Salamatu Garba, said the intervention would enable super trainers, extension workers and community leaders to carry out their duties more effectively while helping farmers transport produce to markets.
Garba explained that the vehicles would also provide beneficiaries with opportunities to earn additional income by transporting goods and passengers when they were not being used for extension activities.
She said the arrangement combined personal savings with institutional support to give rural workers access to productive assets that might otherwise be beyond their individual financial capacity.
Under the scheme, super trainers organise themselves into groups, usually comprising seven or eight members, and save towards half the cost of a vehicle over an agreed period. WOFAN provides the balance to complete the purchase.
The organisation said the model builds on its previous support for women farmers, young people and agricultural marketers through the provision of tractors, threshers and other productive equipment.
Beyond transportation, the super trainers play an important role in agricultural knowledge-sharing. They train extension workers, community leaders and cluster leaders, who subsequently pass the information on to farmers within their communities.
Improved mobility is expected to help the trainers reach more farming settlements, organise training sessions and strengthen the flow of information between agricultural professionals and farmers.
Chairman of WOFAN’s Technical Board, Professor Sani Miko, described the initiative as an example of how collective savings and shared responsibility could improve economic opportunities for vulnerable groups.
He urged the beneficiaries to maintain the vehicles properly and use them responsibly, while commending the organisation for supporting productive asset ownership.
Some beneficiaries, including Sadiya Ibrahim, Hajiya Bilkisu from Jigawa State and Isyaku Yahaya from Garun Mallam in Kano State, welcomed the intervention, saying it would improve their ability to reach farmers and conduct training activities.
WOFAN said it planned to extend the programme through further distributions of vehicles and pickups to additional participating clusters.
The organisation, which works in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, supports women farmers, young people and persons with disabilities through agricultural training, financial inclusion and community-based livelihood programmes.
