In myAgro’s new Village Entrepreneur model, vendors aka village entrepreneurs (VEs), are taking over the field agents’ task of mobilizing and enrolling farmers. As VEs take on greater responsibilities, field agents are able to manage six villages instead of the previous four. This higher farmer to field agent ratio will cut operational costs and allows myAgro to scale more quickly.
In this new model, VE’s responsibilities go beyond selling scratch cards. The key to success of this model is making sure that these VEs are capable of taking on these new tasks. VEs are trained on skills like how to navigate the smartphones and conduct financial planning with farmers. Although the VEs learn to work independently, the field agents continue to follow up with VEs and offer support throughout enrollment season. Likewise, field coordinators check in with field agents to ensure everything runs smoothly.
“I visit the villages three or four times per week,” says Khadim (far right), who is field coordinator of Toubatoul in Senegal. In this photo, Khadim oversees the work of field agent Serigne (third from left) as he supports VE Mbene (second from left) to enroll a farmer. “These visits are important because they allow me to observe the agents coaching the VEs.”
At the end of the visit, Khadim takes some time to meet with the agent and discuss how the day went. “If something is missing in the coaching, I remind them what they learned during the trainings and offer feedback. I also applaud them on what they do well. During this specific visit, I gave some feedback to field agent Serigne when we left a farmer’s house, so I was able to see how he applied my feedback when we went to another farmer’s house. These visits really motivate the agents and VEs to do their work even better,” Khadim adds.
