January 25th, 2022 at 08:28 am
Farmerline is a company that develops solutions to increase access to farmers and simplify transactions throughout the agricultural value chain. Our focus on creating lasting profits for farmers everywhere has fueled our innovations from the very onset.
We are the first organization in Africa to give farmers access to information through voice messages in local languages, effectively bridging the knowledge gap among smallholder farmers. We are building the “Amazon” for farmers where they can access these timely services and other quality resources at affordable prices in their community.
Farmerline works to reinvent how the world thinks and invests in the lives of small-scale farmers. We are working to help farmers produce and sell food. We are bold and systemic thinkers but operate lean and nimble.
Since 2013, Farmerline has directly helped farmers to improve their productivity and profit in Ghana and also provided technical support to other organizations to do the same. Farmerline started its operations serving 400 farmers in the Ashanti Region of Ghana with information via mobile information services.
We have supported many organizations with our tools and knowledge to improve the way they work with farmers. Over the past 8 years, Farmerline and its partnership network have profiled and served over 1million farmers and digitized over 1,000,000 acres of farmland across 16 countries in Africa.
Farmerline is a learning organization and you will have the chance to apply your ideas and creativity to solve problems every day. If you work well in a dynamic collaborative culture, set high standards, and meet challenges with determination and a sense of humor, you’ll thrive at Farmerline.
Role Overview
The Agronomist drives the most impactful agricultural practices that lead to high productivity for Farmerline’s small-scale producers and provides technical backstopping to our farm services.
For this, we are recruiting an experienced agricultural professional to support farmer education programs for farmers across the cereals, legumes, vegetables, and cash crop value chains in Ghana.
The role also requires the specialist to have a high extension experience and be keen on behavior change to increase farmer adoption of best management practices.
Responsibilities
- Leads Farmerline’s farmer extension and advisory services by developing and improving farmer and agent training materials
- Oversees farmer education via technology to increase the number of farmers we reach with good agricultural practices.
- Plans and facilitates master training sessions to ensure efficient delivery of content through lead trainers.
- Leads Farmeline’s crop diversification strategy by designing and marketing new product packages and behavior change campaigns for smallholder farmers that encourage farmers to devote more land to profitable crops.
- Leads Farmerline’sour climate strategy by designing and completing agricultural field research pilot trials.
- Assists in field monitoring to promote best management practices during workshops and farm coaching
- Provides coaching in developing drafting agricultural advisory messages and new products development
- Validates all drafted agricultural advisory content messages
- Provides technical support to call center executives and farmer success teams on technical issues
- Assists in the establishment of demonstration plots for product quality tests, writing reports with recommendations testing product/input quality and effect
- Provide advice and support on related initiatives and special projects designed by the Farmerline team and corporate partners based on technical expertise
- Reports on the progress made to the Impact & Learning Head.
- Oversee the implementation of farm coaching
Required Qualifications
- 5+ years experience of work experience in agricultural extension, agro-inputs, sustainable food systems, and innovative farm practices
- Masters degree in Agronomy, Agribusiness, Agricultural Science, or related field preferred
- Knowledge of the systemic challenges in agriculture value chains in Ghana, a passion for creating lasting solutions to them
- Strong research and field experience in the production of cereals, legumes, cash crops, and tubers predominant in West Africa specifically; soybean, maize, cocoa, cashew, sorghum, rice, and vegetables are required
- Excellent oral communication, writing, and presentation skills.
- Proficient in English; ability to speak Twi and other local languages is an added advantage
- Proven experience in the use of mobile technology to drive farmer success is desired
- Strong analytical and management skills are an asset
HOW TO APPLY
CLOSING DATE: February 7, 2022
