Regional Agriculture Officer

The Regional Agriculture Officer will ensure effective planning and design, and successful  implementation and supervision of Agriculture extension interventions including cropping and  livestock in Raising The Village’s partner last mile communities, as part of our core  methodology. 

This role will involve working with our Venn team to identify and assess the key Agricultural extension needs in partner communities, supporting the Procurement team in the development and management of supply contracts in accordance with project budgets and timelines, and collaborating with program implementation staff, local authorities, and communities to deliver Agricultural extension interventions. 

The incumbent in this role must have and demonstrate an understanding of agricultural technologies like composting, organic pesticides, soil, and crop management. The incumbent should also be able to advise partner communities on basic aspects of household health, nutrition and feeding, hygiene, breeding, and care of animals. During the implementation of the project’s activities, the Regional Agriculture Officer will be required to provide feedback to relevant partners and the local authorities with the aim of improving the overall quality of Agriculture interventions.

Program Design and innovation 

• Support the Venn team to design and plan activities on Agriculture extension within the project implementation regions. 
• Provide new insights on agricultural program innovations, especially in the context of climate resilience in the region. 
• 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 in identifying new methods of planting, fertilizing, harvesting, and storing crops to achieve optimum land usage and yield; 
• Identify microorganisms 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 concerns in the areas of agriculture, from planting to the use of organic fertilization and pesticide to post-harvest management; 
• Work with RTV staff, community champions, and government officers to conduct follow-ups on community and household-based 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.; 
• Conduct seed verification activities to ensure good quality seeds are available at household levels. 
• Conduct soil profiling and data analysis and provide technical advice on the best practices for increased crop production. 
• Work with procurement officers to guide on seed specifications and verification. 

Facilitation and Training 

• Conduct refresher training as needed for RTV staff and local government extension officers in the designated regions, including but not limited to:
  • RTV methodology on land preparation (community gardens, nursery  beds, and household gardens, compost pits, etc.)
  • RTV methodology on post-harvest management and seed pass-on.
  • Application of natural forms of fertilization.
  • Natural forms of pesticide use.

• Conduct in-person field training with selected Agric Champions in each cluster of operation. Trainings are to focus on but not be limited to:
  • RTV methodology on land preparation (community gardens, nursery beds, and household gardens, compost pits, etc.)
  • RTV methodology on post-harvest management and seed pass-on.
  • Application of natural forms of fertilization.
  • Natural forms of pesticide use.

• Participate in the development of training materials for RTV staff and extension officers.
• Develop and update training materials for Agriculture champions in local languages.
• Develop guides and 1 -pager for community members to use in local languages. 

Project Management 

• Demonstrate an understanding of fundamental Project Management principles and best practices. 
• Identify key issues and risks for clusters and provide mitigations and solutions while maintaining a risk log; 
• Monitor planting cycles, germination, and crop yield/harvests across clusters to ensure success based on organizational targets; 
• Plan, execute, and update a personal monthly work plan, in-line with annual performance goals and objectives; 
• Collect and record key data metrics, including crop yield, germination, and community agricultural training performance metrics; 
• Support the Venn team with agricultural reporting and analysis, providing program adoption feedback and recommendations; 
• Participate in innovation and support implementation of pilot projects, from ideation to implementation and evaluation;  

Administration and Coordination: 

• Attend district, cluster, and staff meetings 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; 
• Capture and document -field data to the RTV data repository in line with RTV’s data protocols; 
• Other requirements, as might be required, by their direct supervisor and/or management.

• University Degree of Science in Agriculture in both animal and crop husbandry, community  development, Agriculture Extension, or related fields, 
• Minimum 3 years of work experience in the agricultural field.
• Experience in community development programming.
• Understanding of organic pesticide use for treatment and prevention measures.
• Understanding of soil management and crop and pest management. 
• Strong facilitation skills with expertise in relaying information from a scientific/technical level to individuals with varying levels of literacy and understanding abilities. 
• Organizes workload effectively while remaining aware of changing priorities and competing deadlines.
• Accurately completes multiple tasks to meet deadlines while taking into consideration special assignments, frequent interruptions, available resources, and multiple reporting relationships. 
• Strong training & facilitation skills. 
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written English. 
• Fluent in major local languages used in RTV areas of implementation. 
• Proficient in Microsoft Office or Google for Work Suite.
• Energetic and physically able to hike on high terrain, ability to travel 80% of the time.
• Can work independently but is also a strong team player. 
• Able to think outside of the box to provide plausible solutions to issues and challenges.