In an exciting step towards making rural communities better places and giving the people the opportunity to take charge, Urbanet is organising a special training for 110 selected Village Agents (VAs) to ignite their passion for change and progress, ensuring the success and sustainability of the GROW2 project. The number cuts across the seven districts of Urbanet’s operation within the Northern and Savannah Regions and is led by Project Coordinators and Officers.

The primary focus of this training was to educate them on the purpose of the project and equip them with the necessary skills and capabilities to assist Women Smallholder Farmers (WSHFs) to improve their livelihoods. Other aspects of the training included taking them through their roles as VAs, knowing the core mandates of the project and what it seeks to achieve, education on Village Savings and Loans (VSLAs), and other modules of the GROW2 Project. Village Agents are also to serve as leaders of the GROW2 project at the community level, taking charge of representing clients and assisting project officers in contacting and providing the needed support to the clients.

Urbanet’s Project Officers that led the training emphasised the need for VAs to support WSHFs, perform their roles as expected, and seek assistance from project officers when facing problems. They encouraged VAs to take up the mantle and ensure that the impacts of the project are sustained. They added that it was important for them to ensure that the WSHFs received the necessary support by representing them well and keeping in touch with project officers.

The recruitment and training of VAs commenced earlier this month, and most communities have been covered already. This is to ensure that clients of the project have leaders within their communities who will serve as their representatives and also a link between them and their respective project officers to maximise success for both parties. The selected and trained agents so far have shown great enthusiasm for the new role and are willing to support their Project Officers in their own ways.