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Organizational Description
Tanager, an ACDI/VOCA affiliate, empowers people to realize life-changing economic and social opportunities. Given the complexity of issues being encountered by communities today, we operate not in a single domain but at the nexus of market systems, food systems, social systems, and climate systems. Specifically, we have 30 years of experience integrating gender empowerment and nutrition into agriculture, connecting people across the production supply chain, fostering access for women and other marginalized groups, and unlocking sustainable, climate-smart economic opportunities for all.
Tanager South Africa is implementing the Imbewu Farmer Development project in the O.R. Tambo Region in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa between 1 April 2022 – 31 December 2024. The goal of the project is to increase agriculture productivity and incomes of smallholder maize farmers in Eastern Cape (EC), South Africa by facilitating their inclusive access to commercial markets. The funding for the project comes from the John Deere Foundation.
Assignment Summary
Tanager is seeking an Agronomist who can provide agronomic support to smallholders and lead farmers for the Imbewu Farmer Development project. This position will be the project point of contact with lead farmers, agriculture input providers, mechanization providers, maize storage facilities, and maize buyers, among others. This position will be based in Mthatha and report to the Imbewu Team Lead.
The program is currently supporting 2,810 farmers across 44 demo plots and 2 aggregation plots in various locations within the O.R. Tambo District Municipality. The agronomist will be required to conduct field visits and trainings on topics related to Good Agricultural Practices
Responsibilities
- Conducting training sessions on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), covering topics such as soil health management, pest and disease control, efficient water use, and post-harvest handling.
- Regularly visiting demo plots and farmers’ fields to monitor crop progress, identify issues, and offer timely guidance to improve yields and farm management.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for lead farmers, agriculture input providers, mechanization providers, maize storage facilities, and maize buyers, ensuring effective communication and coordination between all parties involved.
- Provide tailored agronomic advice and support to smallholder farmers and lead farmers, ensuring they implement best practices to enhance crop productivity and sustainability.
- Collaborating with input providers to ensure timely and adequate supply of seeds, fertilizers, and other agricultural inputs to farmers.
- Facilitate connections between farmers and maize buyers, ensuring that produce meets quality standards and that farmers receive fair market prices.
- Overseeing the operations of aggregation plots, ensuring that they function efficiently as hubs for storing and processing maize before it reaches the market.
- Support the MEL team in capturing key indicators and coordinate project data collection to enable fact-based donor reporting on the intervention’s results and impact.
- Provide technical inputs to work plan and technical deliverables.
Other duties as assigned
Qualifications
Education and Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in agricultural science, agribusiness, agricultural extension or related field.
- 5 years of relevant experience in agricultural project implementation promoting smallholder farmers livelihoods
- Experience in the grain production sector will be considered as an added advantage.
- Ability to communicate fluently in English.
- Ability to communicate in local language i.e.. Xhosa or Zulu is a requirement.
Skills and Capabilities
- Proficiency with MS Office, including Excel and Word and other communication tools (i.e., Teams, Zoom, SharePoint).
- Good organizational and interpersonal skills.
- Accuracy, attention to detail.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills in English & Regional Language
- Willingness to travel within & outside the region as and when required.
Reports/Deliverables
- Use and dissemination of detailed GAP training materials covering soil health, pest control, water management, and post-harvest practices.
- Bi-weekly or monthly reports on demo plot visits, crop progress, farmer challenges, and recommendations.
- Updates on the supply of seeds, fertilizers, and the facilitation of farmer-market connections, ensuring timely input and fair pricing.
- Regular field visits to the demo plots and constant collaboration with the rest of the Technical team and HQ office.
Level of Effort and Activity Details
It is anticipated that the scope of work assignment will be completed within 50 working days from the issuance of the purchase order.
| Activity | Estimated Days |
| Use and dissemination of detailed GAP training materials and regular field visits to the demo plots and constant collaboration with the rest of the Technical team and HQ office. | 40 |
| Bi-weekly or monthly reports on demo plot visits, crop progress, farmer challenges, and recommendations | 10 |
| Total | 50 |
Billing/Invoicing
All allowable costs for this activity, including air fare ticket, M&IE, labor and miscellaneous expenses will be charged to Tanager Project Code TAN116. Additional expenditures will be reimbursed based on expense reports backed by receipts. Allowable expenditures consist of phone/data charges related to the consultancy, photocopying, and other expenses approved in writing in advance. Per diem for meals and incidentals as well as hotel lodging and travel costs will be provided when the consultant travels away from their home of record, details must be cleared by the supervisor in advance for any and all travel.
To Apply
Please submit your resume to southafricarecruitment@tanagerintl.org by or before September 30, 2024. Please include the position title in the subject line of the mail. Please submit your resume along with a cover letter. Please include your long-term employment history and any relevant short-term consulting work. Due to the high volume of applications, we are not able to respond to inquiries via phone. Only those candidates considered for an interview will be contacted. Tanager is an equal-opportunity employer. Women, minorities, and people from diverse groups are encouraged to apply. Please be aware that Tanager does not charge any fee in any step of recruitment.
