Let A = circle plus(i)A(i) be a Gerstenhaber algebra generated by A(0) and A(1). Given a degree -1 operator D on A(0) circle plus A(1), we find the condition on D that makes A a BV-algebra. Subsequently, we apply it to the Gerstenhaber or BV algebra associated to a Lie algebroid and obtain a global proof of the correspondence between BV-generators and flat connections.