Agro-dealers Empowered to Promote Mitigation Products Sample Clauses

Agro-dealers Empowered to Promote Mitigation Products. During year 1, the project identified 76 agro- input dealers in the project area. During year 2, these dealers will be trained along with new dealers identified by the project. During the value chain mapping exercise, the project observed that in the absence of effective agricultural extension service, the agro-input dealers are important sources of extension advice to farmers. The project also noted that many of these input dealers are not well informed and most have never received any form of training. Many of them sell counterfeit inputs which contribute to high levels of contaminants in grains. To address these issues, training will be provided to dealers on the topics listed above. They will also be provided general business managementsupport to increase their overall capacity, which will increase the likelihood of their ability to procure and sell high quality inputs to farmers and other key actors in the maize and soybean value chains. The project will continue to monitor the dealers each quarter to assess their adoption of best practices. Those dealers that adopt these practices will be linked with project farmers and other value chain actors who purchase agro-inputs, which will provide a financial incentive for dealers. These dealers will also be linked with major agro-input supply companies to facilitate their ability to stock high quality inputs. These dealers will also serve as extension agents for beneficiaries, and where feasible, receive support in establishing demonstration plots near their dealerships to exhibit the benefits of the high quality inputs they sell.

Agro-dealers Empowered to Promote Mitigation Products. During the second year the activity worked with 122 agro-input dealers. All of the agro-input dealers were trained on the following: safe handling of inputs, dealing with counterfeit and illegal agro-inputs, major pests and diseases of maize and soybeans, and business management best practices. In the third year the project will expand monitoring of dealers that began in year 2, visiting different dealers regularly to assess their adoption of best practices. Those dealers that adopt these practices will be linked with project farmers and other value chain actors who purchase agro-inputs, which will provide a financial incentive for dealers. These dealers will also be linked with major agro-input supply companies to facilitate their ability to stock high quality inputs. Dealers who show good adoption of best practices will be trained to serve as extension agents for beneficiaries. High performing agro-input dealers will be linked to Feed the Future Nigeria Agri Business Investment activity to enable them to have access to loans to help in expanding their businesses.