Organic Section Operation Officer at Baraka Agriculture College

Background Information: Organic farming is a type of agriculture that relies on different techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost, and biological pest control.

Fertilizers and pesticides can be used by organic farmers only if they are considered natural, so this excludes any synthetically made fertilizers or pesticides, plant growth regulators, hormones, antibiotics, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Organic farms can produce anything that a non-organic farm can such as vegetables, beef, pork, eggs, corn, milk, and much more. There are also organizations like SLO (Sustainable Local Organic) Farmers’ Cooperative, that consist of organic farmers in the area that pool together their products to compete with larger production agriculture

Job Description: Baraka Agriculture College Farm is one of the income generating units that practice organic farming for training and selling of organic products.

We are currently looking for an Organic Section Operation Officer.

As an organic section operation officer you will be responsible for the efficiency and growth of production plans. Our production starts from the seed and continues until our high quality product is sold. You will manage casual laborers and must ensure that they are effective and follow farm and safety standards.

Requirements:

• Extensive experience and a proven track record with organic production minimum of 2 years
• Experience in Harvesting skills of the organic produce/products
• Experience in creating operation and production Budget and working within budget parameters
• Experience in full scope of Organic Crops from Seed to Sale
• Good people skills with the ability to learn and teach financial analysis, planning, recordkeeping, and labor management skills
• Ability to encourage and motivate people working in organic section
• Knowledge of soil and nutrient management, crop rotation and succession planting, plant pathology, pest and weed management and post harvesting handling
• Supervisory Experience
• Organized and Multi-tasking oriented.
• Ability to contribute ideas on how to expand and diversify the operation
• Excellent communication skills
• Proficiency with computer skills (Excel, Word, Email)
• Ability to make independent decisions

Responsibilities & Duties:

• Operate daily, and weekly production plans that increase efficiency and productivity
• Track daily labor and product yields.
• Verify accuracy and quality of product
• Troubleshoot operation and quality issues
• Monitor organic sites on daily basis; track soil health and water quality
• Oversee equipment handling and organize repairs and maintenance
• Responsible for Department Budget
• Responsible for Organic Crops from Seed to Sale
• Working closely with other enterprise heads
• Other duties as assigned
• Oversee daily operations in the organic livestock production
• Ensure sufficient supply to college kitchen and green market on daily basis

Education:

• Diploma in organic farming with 2 years of working experience in organic farm or certificate in SARD or General Agriculture with 3 years of working experience in an organic farm.
• The person MUST have passion for organic farming.

Ideal Candidate:

Our Ideal candidate will have an extensive production background, with knowledge of Organic crop management; including soil, crop rotation, succession planting, weed management, harvesting, livestock management etc. She/he must work well with people, have great problem solving skills, and knows how to motivate others.