Brief Profile of Hajia Salamatu Garba

     Founder/ Executive Director-Women Farmers Advancement Network- WOFAN

Hajia Salamatu Garba is a Nigerian and has a Bsc in Botany and Msc in Plant Pathology from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria. She received her Gender Trainers and Development Post Graduate Certificate from the Centre for International Development and Training, University of Wolverhampton, in the UK. She was honoured with a Doctorate Degree from the Institute of Excellence in Dubai for her Enormous leadership and Community Development Initiative across the African region.  Hajia Salamatu is the founder of the Women Farmers Advancement Network- WOFAN formed in 1993 while she was still a lecturer at two Nigerian Universities, ABU Zaria and Bayero University, Kano

Hajia Salamatu Garba is a Nigerian and has a Bsc in Botany and Msc in Plant Pathology from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria. She received her Gender Trainers and Development Post Graduate Certificate from the Centre for International Development and Training, University of Wolverhampton, in the UK. She has  bagged a Doctorate Degree from the Institute of Excellence in Dubai for her Enormous leadership and Community Development Initiative across the African region.  Hajia Salamatu is the founder of the Women Farmers Advancement Network- WOFAN formed in 1993 while she was still a lecturer at two Nigerian Universities, ABU Zaria and Bayero University, Kano.

 WOFAN was formed as a response to the plight of the rural women in Northern Nigeria, as people who are voiceless, poor and absolutely dependent on poor resources through the use of local/ indigenous technology. The low literacy level and lack of awareness on many socio- economic issues of the rural women was also the bedrock for the establishment of WOFAN and interest in rural development!  – WOFAN’s aim is to improve and promote the economic, social and political empowerment of rural women and youths to transform agriculture into business and develop positive linkages across all the agricultural value chains including access to finance and technical know -how. WOFAN over the years has supported Thousands of households scale up and diversify their income, constructed and supported hundreds of schools and Islamiyya centers across Northern Nigeria to support rural education and improved livelihood of the girl-child and women empowerment (www.wofan-ng.org).

Hajia Salamatu Garba has served in various capacities including:

1. National consultant for UNICEF- Nigeria, targeting 21 states in Nigeria on water and sanitation(WASH)  advocacy and policy issues.  
2. Lead Consultant for the   USAID-Nigeria- Water project, between 2006- 2012, targeting Sokoto, Kano and Bauchi states to improve access to safe drinking water and enhance food security reaching out to over 15,000,000 beneficiaries through rain fed and irrigation agriculture,  an issue that has contributed greatly to the plight of the female gender in Northern Nigeria.  
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4. In terms of sustainable agriculture and environment, she is currently the Lead Consultant and Gender specialist of a German(GIZ),  funded competitive African Rice Initiative- CARI/WOFAN project , targeting 8000 small holder Rice and groundnut farmers and processors in Northen Nigeria
5.  Hajia Salamatu  has also served at various consultancy capacity with organizations such as OXFAM, British Council, IDRC Canada, IFAD projects , the world Bank, Wilton Park- UK, women for water partnership-Netherlands  to mention but a few. 

 She received several awards within Nigeria and across the globe including in November 2006, when she was honoured for the first distinguished award in grassroots mobilization in UK by the Commonwealth Business Council in partnership with NEPAD and Women In Agriculture and Environment Network. She was also honoured for life time achievement & leadership award by Institute of Excellence- Dubai. In  2012 she received the  “Valued and Inspirational leadership” award, by the Nigerian Leadership Initiative (NLI) and in   2013 “Rare GEM AWARD on MDGs” by the United Nations Information services (UNICS) and WODEF (Women’s Optimum Development Foundation)  in Lagos-Nigeria. 

 In 2015 Hajia (Dr) Salamatu Garba was also honored for Values in Leadership by CVL Ltd/Gte in partnership with  the Economic committee of West Africa ECOWAS as the team leader of the  2014 agric friendly NGO in Nigeria for reaching out and supporting over 5 million rural women and youths in 6 Northern states of Nigeria.