Project Background:

The European Cooperative for Rural Development (EUCORD) is a Brussels-based non-profit organization incorporated under Dutch Cooperative Law since 2003. EUCORD’s mission is to increase farmers’ capacity to sustainably grow quality crops matched to the commercial needs of the agribusiness sector and in doing so, increase food security, develop the private sector and improve the livelihoods of rural communities. Since 2013, EUCORD has been implementing malt barley related public private partnership (PPP) projects in Ethiopia with funding from the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heineken Brewery Ethiopia, IFC, and Soufflet Malt Ethiopia.

 EUCORD is currently launching the “Promote the Use of Legume Supply in Ethiopia” (PULSE) project with initial funding from Achmea Foundation.

The overall goal of the project is to improve the resilience and livelihoods of the rural population in Ethiopia by developing sustainable, market-oriented pulse value chains. The project will implement a range of activities which support the development of different pulse crop value chains, and which close the gap between smallholder producers and buyers. This activity is complementary to EUCORD’s ongoing BOOST project, which aims to enhance the productivity of farmers and the quality of the resulting malt barley.

 The project has three specific objectives:

• Improved productivity of pulse crops
• Improved farmers’ access to inputs and finance
• Improved farmers’ access to guaranteed markets

The primary target group consists of 6,500 smallholder farmers with a specific focus on women and youth groups who can be organized into cooperatives both for seed and output marketing.

The responsibilities, duties and qualifications for this position were described in below position description.

 Position Summary:

The Project agronomist is responsible for implementation of the project under the supervision of project coordinator and in line with the project objectives and in close collaboration with the local partners and authorities and to ensure consistency with national policies. The position requires frequent travel to sites within the project area, specifically in Bora, Dugda and Adami Tulu Jido Kombolcha in east Shewa zone with possibility of expanding to other woredas. 

Specific Duties and Responsibilities:

 Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Support an assessment to identify the specific pulse value chains in the highland and lowland areas targeted by the project. This assessment will help to determine for each pulse crop current production levels, specific market opportunities, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threat and provide recommendations to strengthen value chains.
• Identify and support practices of the Most Impactful Practices (MIPs) that can eliminate waste and inefficiencies and result in a higher ROI for farmers for the targeted pulse value chains.
• Support project implementation at Woreda level and work with the project team, partners and government counterparts to achieve the project outputs/outcomes
• Make adequate consultation and participation of Woreda and village/community level stakeholders ensuring active participation of women and youth
• Support identification of training needs, coordinate and deliver trainings, business plan development and other services to model farmers, cooperatives, and unions
• Ensure implementation of capacity building plans in close collaboration with the stakeholders
• Make frequent farm site visits and give technical advice to farmers, FEs and DAs.
• Facilitate lessons learnt from workshops and field days in selected woredas.
• Advise farmers on the best production techniques and ensure good agronomic practices are applied to produce better yields and quality pulses through on-farm demonstration plots on improved farm practices, field days and step-down training
• Ensure timely availability and distribution of quality pulse seed
• Carry out assessments to determine potential yields to assist management determine adequacy, deficits and storage needs together with other project agronomists
• Support producers’ access to credit, market and increase sales by creating sustainable supply chain between producers and off takers
• Perform any other duties as may be assigned by project coordinator or EUCORD management

Reporting responsibility:

•  The project coordinator will report to Project Coordinator  

Required #: 1

Job Requirements

Qualifications and Experience:

• A minimum of a B.Sc. degree in Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, Plant Science, Agronomy, Crop Science or related fields
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience on agricultural value chain development and working with smallholder farmers
• Strong agronomical background on the production of pulse crops and field management skills
• Good interpersonal and oral and written communication skills in English and local language (Afan Oromo)
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Word and Excel
• Ability to travel with in the project location
• Proven ability to meet deadlines and operate effectively in a deadline-driven environment
• Flexibility to work both in a team and independently
• Strong team building and networking skills
• Passionate about working with smallholder farmers

How to Apply

Applications submitted after 20 November 2021 are not accepted.

Applications shall be submitted accompanied by a cover letter, a detailed CV (maximum 2 pages), and names of at least three (3) referees, also clearly state their current and expected remuneration through: infoethiopia@eucord.org

NB: Late applications will not be accepted.