The Agency for the Development of Women and Children (ADWAC) has recently held training for the executive committee members of Solisita Vegetable Marketers’ Association on marketing, business and investment plans in Central Baddibu, North Bank Region.

Speaking at the occasion, Faburama Fofana, the project officer, said that the objective of the training was to expose and equip the executive members with marketing skills. “The rationale for the training of Solisita Marketers’ Association is to plan, coordinate and implement marketing functions of the organisation with a view to reducing constraints experienced by women vegetable growers in the Njaba kunda eco-zone” he said.

According to him, ADWAC anticipated that a well equipped executive members with relevant skills will be able to buy vegetables from the growers at a reasonable price, to be determined by the association and sell to the middlemen for profit. This he noted would be ploughed back to the association. “The executive members of Solisita Vegetable Marketers’ Association were trained on market and competitive analysis, business strategy and operating plans, sales records and projections, financial analysis, sales forecast, capital outlays, operating costs, expenditure, profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow. Currently the organisation is poised to ensure vegetable production which will be followed by marketing of the produce in the dry season,” he remarked.

Fofana revealed that ADWAC has plans to conduct trainings for the members of the executive committee in marketing, processing and preservation of the produce so that they will add value to the vegetables produced. He disclosed that the agency has given out a grant of D138, 600 to the association as a start up capital for the marketing of the vegetables. The organisation will also utilise this fund to implement subsequent trainings and purchase inputs for members for future use. “By this strategy I believe that ADWAC can focus on providing backstopping through its empowerment process.

The association will be held accountable for the marketing support fund to which ADWAC will be made a co-signatory. This will enable the agency to closely monitor the use and performance of the fund,” Fofana added. In conclusion, he said ADWAC cannot be continuously providing funds for all its future operations and he therefore called for support to the association to generate additional income for future operations of the organisation.