A burgeoning democracy improves the lives of rural dwellers. Therefore, government officials and politicians should endeavour to fulfill their manifestos, especially as they pertain to rural areas.

This much was said yesterday by the Executive Director, Agricultural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin, Kwara State, Mrs. Comfort Jolayemi, when some 100 rural populace at Jimba Oja in Ifelodun local council were being empowered through an ARMTI initiative.

The programme, packaged under the institute's Village Alive Development Initiative (VADI), according to Jolayemi, is a directive of the Federal Government, which is determined to improve on the socio-economic status of the people at the grassroots.

Under the scheme, which is run in conjunction with some commercial banks, soft loans are granted registered people to boost their businesses and vocations. Such loans have no repayment duration, only that beneficiaries who repay are entitled to further loans.

Jolayemi warned the beneficiaries not to see the loans as government largesse but a motivating fund to bolster their status. According to her, "VADI initially started as a project for women. After a while, we felt that men were equally interested in the activities. ARMTI is mainly helping in providing credit facilities to encourage them to engage in micro credit businesses.

"The aim is to improve their living conditions. We give the loans according to their requests. Some get N200,000 for a start, others N250,000. The earlier they pay, the more assess they will have to fresh loans. We are still expecting more people joining the scheme."

She listed VADI activities to include the establishment of demonstration farms for teaching beneficiaries on modern best practices in agriculture, multiplication and distribution of high-yield seed varieties to beneficiaries and, capacity building programmes in group dynamics, conflict management, enterprise identification, management and fund mobilisation.

The Baale of Jimba Oja, Jimoh Oyewale, acknowledged that the programme has given tremendous economic succour to the villagers, whom he described as studious and assured that they would repay the loans according to the pre-contracts.

Villages that had benefited from the scheme include Elerinjare, Falokun Oja, Apa-Ola and Fufu.