Agro technical officer job at Human Capital Business Solutions (HCBS) Limited | Apply Now

Program Design and innovation

• Support PEAL team to design and plan activities on Agriculture extension for targeted project community.

• Provide new insights on agricultural program innovations, especially in the context of climate resilience

• Review project designs and ensure agricultural components are realistic and feasible to the respective communities based on availability, soil, water, etc. and provide feedback where required.

Technical Support

• Assist to identify new methods of planting, fertilizing, harvesting and storing of crops to achieve optimum land usage and yield;

• Identify micro-organisms and insects, parasites, and weeds harmful to crops and advise on control measures;

• Examine topographical, physical and soil characteristics to determine its most effective crop yield potential;

• Provide technical support regarding emerging issues and points of concern in the areas of agriculture, from planting to the use of organic fertilization and pesticide to post-harvest management;

• Work with Project staff and government officers to conduct follow-ups on community and household gardens where there are concerns and/or emerging agricultural issues;

• Support the project team to identify the seeds to be passed on to the next beneficiary;

• Provide support on all agricultural pilot initiatives from idea to implementation to evaluation, such as keyhole gardens, backyard gardens, etc.;

• Work with procurement officers to guide on seed specifications and verification.

Facilitation and Training

• Conduct refresher training as needed for Project staff and local government extension officers in the East including but not limited to:

• Project methodology on land preparation (community gardens, nursery beds and household gardens, compost pits, etc.);

• Project methodology on post-harvest management and seed pass-on;

• Application of natural forms of fertilization;

Natural forms of pesticide use;

• Conduct practical training and refresher training with selected Community Agricultural Trainees (CATs) in each cluster of operation. Trainings to focus on but not be limited to:

• Project methodology on land preparation (community gardens, nursery beds and household gardens, compost pits, etc.);

• Project methodology on post-harvest management and seed pass-on;

• Application of natural forms of fertilization;

Natural forms of pesticide use;

• Develop and update training materials for Project staff and extension officers;

• Develop and update training materials for CATs in local languages;

• Develop guides and 1-pager for community members use in local languages.

Project Management

• Identify key issues and risks for clusters and provide mitigations and solutions while maintaining a risk log;

• Ensure successful planting, germination, and harvests across clusters based on organizational targets;

Plan, execute and update monthly work plan;

• Conduct data collection on key metrics, including yield, germination and trained community agricultural trainees;

• Support the Planning, Evaluation and Learning team with agricultural reporting and analysis, providing feedback and recommendations;

• Create and introduce new ideas and initiatives/pilot projects taking them from idea to implementation and evaluation;

Administration and Coordination:

• Attend district and staff meetings in person and/or virtually to discuss key agricultural issues, areas of success and areas in need of improvement to brainstorm possible solutions and next steps.

• Complete weekly financial requests, submissions and reconciliations to the District Head;

• Take photographs to share and for data repository;

• Other requirements might be required by their direct supervisor and/or management.