Junior Agribusiness Consultant - (Irrigation, Storage & Value Addition) at SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

Project Brief

The project titled “Sustainable Energy for Smallholder Farmers (SEFFA) in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda’’ will support smallholder farmers in accessing and using renewable energy to improve their livelihoods and increase their resilience to climate change. In the agricultural sector, the project will focus on the dairy and horticulture value chains, to increase production, reduce post-harvest losses and improve processing, while also contributing to GHG emissions reduction. The project will therefore promote productive use of energy (PUE) through interventions to enhance the distribution and use of solar-powered technologies and energy services for irrigation, cooling, and drying. The project is supported by IKEA Foundation’s partnership with Energising Development (EnDev).

Job Description
Assignment Scope

The project will provide support to enhance the distribution and use of the solar-powered pumping, cooling, and drying technologies in six counties including Machakos, Makueni, Kajiado, Meru, Kirinyaga, and Muranga. This will involve technical assistance and capacity building support to the private sector to develop or enhance the last mile technical and business capacities, as well as awareness creation, behavior change campaigns, and capacity building at the level of individual farmers, farmer groups, cooperatives, and women or youth groups.

The project will cover six counties that have been categorized as follows. 

1. Cluster One: Machakos, Makueni, Kajiado.
2. Cluster Two: Muranga, Kirinyaga and Meru.

Role of the Junior Agribusiness Consultants

The project will require two Junior Agribusiness Consultants to cover the county clusters indicated above. Each Junior Consultant will be responsible for only one cluster but may on a need basis be required to provide support to the second cluster.  

Working in close collaboration with the project team and the respective actors at the local level, the Junior Agribusiness Consultant will facilitate the day-to-day planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of the project activities (provided below) at the county level, with a specific focus on farmer engagement and the rural last-mile distribution channels for the solar-powered irrigation, cooling and drying technologies being promoted by the project. This role will involve the following activities:

1. Identify and recruit rural user groups and rural market entry points including smallholder farmer organizations (cooperatives or other farmer groups and women/youth groups), and the related local businesses of agricultural value chains such as the input providers, off-takers, aggregators, processors, and extension service providers.
2. Identify, recruit, and sensitize the rural/local technology promoters, sales agents, vendors, or retail outlets to develop and build the last mile distribution channels and networks for the solar-powered systems being promoted by the project.
3. Collecting market information including undertaking needs assessments at the level of farmers and the rural distribution channels and analyzing market trends to help understand the local markets for the solar-powered systems being promoted by the project.
4. Organizing and facilitating networking and match-making events to facilitate strategic partnerships to ensure improved access to markets and expand rural distribution.
5. Collaborate with the rural solar pumps distribution and retail networks to plan and implement:
6. Product-specific market activations to promote the distribution and use of solar-powered irrigation, storage, and value addition technologies and energy services.
7. Capacity-building and training activities including a series of training workshops, advisory sessions, and targeted study trips.
8. Undertake practical demonstrations and user/technology training for the smallholder farmers and farmer organizations, to enhance proper use, operation, and maintenance of the technologies being promoted by the project.
9. Support farmer training on agricultural practices to enhance the sustainable use and maximize benefits of solar-powered irrigation, cold storage, and drying technologies and energy services.
10. Support to enhance implementation of the awareness and behavior change campaigns at the county level, to enhance full acceptance and shift to renewable energy technologies and services among farmers and farmer organizations.
11. On a need basis, provide support to sensitize the rural/local credit organizations to encourage lending for the purchase of solar water pumps, while also creating awareness on the availability of SWP micro-credit.
12. Undertake the field-based monitoring and reporting including the collection of the monthly sales data from the project beneficiaries.
13. In close consultation with the project team, collaborate with relevant projects, development partners, development initiatives, and government bodies (in both energy, agriculture, and water sub-sectors) to enhance the implementation of project activities at the county level.
14. Contribute towards knowledge development based on the project’s experiences, best practices, and market trends.

Resources 

1. Resources will be provided through SNV’s operational structures and guidelines and in line with project-specific budget lines.

Project Duration

1. These project activities will be implemented from March 2022 to September 2023.
2. Deliverables expected from the Junior Consultant
3. Monthly work plans.
4. The achievement of pre-agreed activities and results targets.

Monthly progress reports including:

1. Narrative reports on activities undertaken, lessons/challenges, market trends, and insights (in line with the project’s reporting requirements).
2. End-user sales reports and data analysis are updated monthly using project reporting templates.
3. Monthly bills and timesheets in line with SNVs billing and time reporting systems and guidelines.

Qualifications

1. Minimum of bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, namely Agriculture, Marketing, Engineering, Commerce, Business Management, or International Trade.
2. Three years of experience in the agribusiness sector or the off-grid energy sector, preferably working with farmers to promote irrigation, preservation, value additions, and/or use of technologies for irrigation, cooling, and/or drying. 
3. Practical field-based experience in supporting smallholder farmer organizations (cooperatives or other farmer groups), women/youth groups, and other related local businesses of agricultural value chains.
4. Experience in building rural networks and distribution channels will be an added advantage.
5. Ability to work independently and proactively with minimal supervision, generate project implementation ideas and relevant contacts. 
6. Excellent communication skills, including proven technical writing and presentation skills.
7. Analytical and numerical skills, with the ability to synthesize information/data, present results, and draw meaningful conclusions.
8. Excellent organizational and time management skills and ability to adhere to strict deadlines.