Windhoek
The Farmers’ Support Project (FSP) has launched an advertising campaign seeking to acquire the experience and knowledge of a mentorship consultant to provide hands-on technical and practical advice.
The FSP is a governmental project supported technically and financially by the Federal Republic of Germany through the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and is implemented and co-funded by the Agricultural Bank of Namibia, in partnership with the farmers’ unions.
Its objectives are to enhance the competencies, knowledge, skills and attitude of farmers and to support farmers to improve their farming practices and enhance the interface between farmers and service providers in the agricultural sector.
A major component of the FSP is the on-farm guidance and mentoring, which is built on respect and trust needed to motivate and encourage farmers to implement newly acquired knowledge and skills. This component aims to develop the goals and vision of farmers, increase their competency, introduce new technologies and improve their farming practices in a sustainable manner.
Mentoring is a developmental partnership through which one person shares knowledge, skills, information and perspectives to foster the personal and professional growth of someone else. The power of mentoring is that it creates a one of a kind opportunity for collaboration, goal achievement and problem solving.
Agribank says a mentor must facilitate personal and professional growth in an individual/mentee by sharing their knowledge and insights that they have been acquired through years of experience. Agribank also explains the functions of such a mentor as teaching the mentee about specific issues and topics, and coaching the mentee on particular skills to facilitate the mentee’s growth by sharing resources and networks.
The mentor should also challenge the mentee to move beyond his or her comfort zone, create a safe learning environment for taking risks and focus on the mentee’s total development. Last, but not least, the mentor should guide the mentee to set realistic goals,” Agribank said.
To learn more about the requirements for the post, Basil van Rooyen can be contacted at agribank.com.na or basil.van@giz.de.