HEALTH, AGRICULTURE, AND NUTRITION DEVELOPMENT FOR SUSTAINABILTY (HANDS): AGRONOMIST CONSULTANT
Post Title :
Agronomist Consultant
Title:
Development of strategic implementation plan and training manual for non-staple crops with emphasis on soybean cultivation
Locations :
River Gee and Grand Gedeh Counties, Liberia
Application Deadline :
December 5, 2012
Starting Date :
December 10, 2012 (Flexible)
Duration of Contract :
7 weeks
Purpose:
The following Terms of Reference (ToR) describe the nature and conditions of work for an external consultant (hereafter referred to as “The Consultant”) to be contracted by Opportunities Industrialization Centers International (OICI). The Consultant will lead the planning and development of OICI’s Health, Agriculture, and Nutrition Development for Sustainability (HANDS) non-staple crop farming strategic implementation plan and program training manual for agricultural field agents.
Background:
Recovering from 14 years of civil war and more than 20 years of political instability, Liberia is in the process of economic, social, and infrastructural recovery. As a consequence of the country’s ongoing political turmoil, Liberians’ limited access to food, water, and sanitation services has led to chronic malnutrition and diminished livelihoods, particularly in rural areas where households and communities depend largely on agricultural practices for survival.
In June 2010, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Food for Peace (FFP) awarded Opportunities Industrialization Centers International (OICI) a five-year, Title II Multi-Year Assistance Program (MYAP) Grant in Liberia. Together with Liberia OIC (LOIC), the World Initiative in Soy and Human Health (WISHH), and Malnutrition Matters (MM), OICI is now implementing the Health, Agriculture, and Nutrition Development for Sustainability (HANDS) program with the goals of increasing food security, reducing malnutrition, and increasing educational attainment among some of Liberia’s most vulnerable rural populations in the southeastern counties of Grand Gedeh and River Gee. An estimated 34,589 residents are expected to benefit directly from the HANDS program. The strategic objectives and intermediate results of the HANDS program are detailed below:
Scope of Work:
The consultant will design a non-staple community farming plan with specific emphasis on soybean farming given the biophysical and social conditions of the target communities. The consultant will present recommendations on non-staple crop agricultural development strategies that the HANDS program can undertake for beneficiaries to improve their livelihoods. The final report will include the relative advantages and disadvantages of different approaches in terms of their relevance and anticipated impact, methods to improve crop production, farming systems, best practices based on a review of existing literature and discussions with bilateral partners, access to markets, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability. Strategies shall focus on a holistic approach to examining farmer livelihoods while integrating the other components of the HANDS program, and incorporate agricultural product value chain including production, harvesting, storage, transportation, and marketing. Specifically the consultant shall:
Approach: The consultant will collect data by:
Deliverables:
The consultant will be responsible for driving and managing the overall design, technical content, and writing of the non-staple crop implementation plan and subsequent agriculture field agent guide.
During week 5 the consultant will present the implementation plan and field agent guide at a two day workshop at the OICI Monrovia head office to the program management team. After the management team reviews, approves, and adopts the implementation plan, the consultant shall conduct training for all agriculture program staff, in River Gee and Grand Gedeh, on the implementation plan.
Candidate Profile:
Timeline
