Production and Crop Agronomy Training at IESC Tanzania

Production and Crop Agronomy Training
Location Tanzania
Department Programs
Employment Type Volunteer

The Feed the Future Tanzania Agri-Finance Project
Scope of Work
Production and Crop Agronomy Training

Program Description:
The
Feed the Future Tanzania Agri- Finance Project is an access to finance
project working to improve access to finance for smallholders, women,
youth, and micro, small, medium (including large) enterprises (MSMiLs)
in Tanzania by improving the agri-finance ecosystem and strengthening
the capacity of both borrowers and lenders. The Feed the Future Tanzania
Agri-Finance Project will prioritize interventions that increase
availability and adoption of priority technologies, including
climate-smart technology, and create more inclusive agricultural finance
ecosystems, enable expanded and sustained lending and investment, and
increase productivity and incomes.

Project interventions will
support 20 financial institutions, 15 demand-side institutions including
agricultural enterprises and women and youth groups, train 300
financial institution staff, and reach 18,000 borrowers with $21 million
in agricultural finance facilitated in Tanzania. The Feed the Future
Tanzania Agri-Finance Project will utilize a system-driven, private
sector-led approach to target agricultural market coordination failures
and develop commercially oriented solutions that will sustain and scale
agri-financing. The project includes two
interconnected strategic objectives to achieve tangible, positive impact
for smallholder farmers, women, youth, agro-enterprises, and financial
institutions.

Objective 1: Improve income and bankability of smallholders, women, youth and micro, small and medium (including large) enterprises.
The
Feed the Future Tanzania Agri-Finance Project will deliver targeted
technical capacity strengthening and direct training and coaching to
smallholders, women, youth, and MSMiLs beneficiaries in financial and
money management skills and tools, business planning, finance and
investment, development of business funding proposals, records keeping,
loan applications, and loan repayment and/or savings strategies.

Objective 2: Strengthen financial institution operational capacity to expand agri- lending.
The
Feed the Future Tanzania Agri-Finance Project will provide targeted
support to supply side financial institutions to develop new
agri-finance products and improve operational capabilities and
efficiencies, build capacity and strengthening their motivation to
expand agri-lending to smallholders, women, youth, and MSMiLs – with a
focus on priority and climate-smart technologies such as irrigation,
inputs, storage, and value addition.

The Feed the Future
Tanzania Agri Finance Project is an access to finance project working to
improve access to finance for smallholders, women, youth, and micro,
small, medium (including large) enterprises (MSMiLs) in Tanzania by
improving the Agri finance ecosystem and strengthening the capacity of
borrowers and lenders. With a particular emphasis on priority
technologies, including climate- smart technologies.

The Feed
the Future project is working to create more inclusive agricultural
finance ecosystems, enable expanded and sustained lending and
investment, and increase productivity and incomes. The Recipient
interventions will increase supported financial institutions from 9 to
20, train 300 financial institution staff, and reach 18,000 borrowers
with $21 million in agricultural finance. The project will utilize a
system-driven, private sector-led approach to target agricultural market
coordination failures and develop commercially oriented solutions that
will sustain and scale agri-financing.

Problem Statement:
The
performance of the agricultural sector is critical for poverty
reduction and food security. In Tanzania smallholder farming is by far
the most common profession among families living in poverty. However,
most of their farms produce only a fraction of their potential.
Pyrethrum farmers for example, produce an average of 350kg for an acre
against the proven potential of 600kg and above. This is mainly due to
poor agronomic practices which also result in low pyrethrins content of
1.1% against the potential of 1.4% and above. In addition, farmers are
not able to invest in their farms due to lack of finance, especially for
labor which is one of the biggest needs in the pyrethrum.

Training
smallholder farmers, particularly youth and women, in pyrethrum
production and crop agronomy skills will help farmers to manage their
land, effectively cultivate their crops, and improve their farms
productivity and quality that would significantly assist farmers to
obtain premium prices and earn enough income to repay their loans in
full without straining their household’s cash flows, and improve the
local economies, food security and livelihoods. Trainings provide
opportunities to smallholders, youth, and women to learn crop production
best practices and how to properly utilize inputs and other resources
to improve productivity and quality of their crops throughout the season
and to better manage both the business and agricultural aspects of
their farms.

One pyrethrum processing company and an off taker
of pyrethrum produces from smallholder farmers youth and women, and
which have been selling high-quality pyrethrum crude oil/extract on the
global market for production of organic pesticides, is 100% dependent on
small holder farmers to deliver the required quantity and quality
(measured in pyrethrin levels, moisture content and other lab-assessed
indicators) of pyrethrum.

Despite the company’s efforts to
support farmers with quality seeds and better prices, their investments
did not yield a significant increase of quality and yield. However, when
the company partnered with Lutheran World Relief to provide agronomy
training to farmers, participating farmers increased production of
pyrethrum from 2,500MT in 2020 to 4,200MT in 2023.

Therefore,
the Feed the Future Tanzania Agri-Finance Project in collaboration with
the company is recruiting a regional or international volunteer expert
to provide tailored and learn-by-doing pyrethrum production and crop
agronomy trainings to 270 smallholder farmers youth and women, and
extensions officers working with the project host organization in Iringa
region of Tanzania and recommend and promote the adoption and
applications of agricultural best practices to improve the quality and
yields of pyrethrum in the Njombe region. With the adoption of better
agronomy practices, small holders in the region will be able to access
better prices and second payment to improve their bankability and
incomes to participate in profitable agricultural activities, which,
ultimately, increases agricultural sector productivity and livelihoods.

Objectives of the Assignment:
1.
Develop and provide a tailored “learn by doing” production and crop
agronomy training to 270 pyrethrum farmers, youth and women and
agriculture extension officers in Makete district of Njombe region.
Production and crop agronomy training may cover the following areas:

• Introduction to pyrethrum production and crop agronomy best practices
• Importance of good agricultural practices (GAP) in pyrethrum production
• Site selection and land preparation
• Soil fertility and nutrient management
• Effective nursery preparations, seed, and seedlings production
• Planting and weeding
• Assessment of produce maturity and harvesting
• Pre-harvest handling practices
• Pests and diseases control

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2.
Enhance skills and build capacity of pyrethrum farmers, youth and women
and agriculture extension officers in recommended agricultural best
practices to improve crop productivity and quality.
3. To promote the adoption and application of good agricultural practices in pyrethrum production and post-harvest handling.
4.
Identify and recommend further initiatives and actions that can be
implemented by the off takers to improve productivity and quality of
pyrethrum produces from smallholder farmers.

Country Schedule for Assignment:

MODE OF APPLICATION: