Project Background
The Feed the Future Tajikistan Agriculture and Land Governance (ALG) Activity is a USAID funded 5-year activity that will assist the Government of Tajikistan (GOT) to sustainably reduce hunger, undernutrition, and poverty of smallholder farmers by developing more productive and efficient agriculture systems, building the resilience of smallholder farmers and improving the enabling environment to facilitate sustainable and long-term agriculture-led growth. It contributes to the USAID Global Food Security Strategy’s (GFSS) top-line goals of accelerated agriculture-led growth, better nutritional outcomes, improved food security, land tenure security, greater resilience, and better water security.
ALG will implement an inclusive market systems approach to strengthen Tajikistan’s agricultural systems, engaging with local and regional private sector actors to develop and expand market opportunities and work with government and civil society to drive systemic reforms in the enabling environment for agriculture that allows smallholders and private sector firms to invest and upgrade land through improved registration and administration. Of equal importance, ALG will ensure that women, youth, and vulnerable groups in remote areas in Khatlon are not left behind in the climb, integrating them into market-led opportunities in processing, value addition, and livelihood diversification while deepening their resilience through nutrition-sensitive crop adoption and behavior change. Combined, these efforts will enable Tajikistan to strengthen its journey to self-reliance and reduce its overreliance on remittances.
The activity purpose will be achieved through the following components.
Component 1: Enhance productive agriculture systems
Component 2: Strengthen the resilience of vulnerable smallholders
Component 3: Improve the enabling environment
Position Overview
The Productive Agricultural Systems Advisor/Director, will split his/her time between activity/project offices in Dushanbe (25%) and Bokhtar (75%) with significant travel in between as needed to provide overall agricultural technical leadership for all components:
- Component 1 : Enhance Productive Agriculture Systems is based on the market systems approach and
- Sub-Component 1.1 will focus its activities on 4 value chains; Stone Fruits, Early vegetables, Table grapes and Melons. The objective of Component 1.1 is to increase smallholders’ income through market systems based value-added activities.
- Sub-Component 1.2 will improve adequacy of diet by increasing the availability of diverse nutritious foods through increased agricultural production in household garden plots and sales in the local market.
- Component 2 will engage in certain agricultural livelihood activities, such as poultry, rabbit, mushroom, and seedling production.
- Component 3 is involved with Agricultural policy reforms.
Essential Duties and Tasks
The Productive Agricultural Systems Advisor/Director is responsible for the following tasks:
- Programmatic/Technical Leadership in all aspects of Agricultural development across ALG component activities, assuring to the extent possible a market systems approach and adapted technologies; technical assistance, grants, agricultural extension, and marketing.
- Provide overall technical leadership to all ALG agricultural development and agriculture policy reform activities.
- Contribute to workplan development, activity design, etc. to design and implement technical approaches that address constraints of selected value chain and agricultural livelihood activities to result in enhanced productive agricultural production and market development.
- Ensure effective coordination with all Component Team Leads and relevant technical staff so that activities focused on production, markets, value chains, and nutrition mutually reinforce one another, especially where there is significant stakeholder overlap, thereby maximizing project impact.
- Be responsible for all technology-driven activities related to agricultural activities of ALG, including increases in efficiency and productivity of market system-driven value chain activities, improved access to extension services, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, and enhancement in linkages between producers and existing processing industries and exporters.
- Serve as the Acting-Agricultural Systems Productivity Team Lead when the position is vacant.
- Promote and support activities that facilitate and empower women-led agriculture activities and participation.
- Coordinate with MEL team to ensure quarterly and annual indicator monitoring and reporting for ALG agriculture activities is completed in a timely manner.
- Coordinate with the Communications team and support ALG’s outreach and strategy by collecting success stories, photos, etc.
- Other duties requested by COP and DCOP.
Administration/Managerial
- Work with all component leads to design, to manage, facilitate activities implemented by grantees, subcontractors, and consultants working on all aspects of agriculture production and marketing.
- Provide technical support to the Agricultural Systems Productivity Team Lead, Commercial Partnership Specialist, Agribusiness Specialist, Agricultural Extension Specialist, and Agriculture Extension Agents, as well as advise the Senior Nutrition Advisor, Component 2 Team and Portfolio Managers on agriculture-related activities.
Reporting
The Productive Agricultural Systems Advisor/Director will report to the Chief of Party (COP) and work closely with and advise the Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP).
Location
This position is based in Bokhtar, Khatlon.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Agronomy, or a similar field, with emphasis on fruit and vegetable production, required. Master’s degree, preferred.
- A minimum of 10 years’ experience in production of both fruits and vegetables preferably in Eastern Europe or the former Soviet Union.
- Experience with stone fruit, greenhouse vegetables, melons, and grapes, preferred.
- Experience implementing a market systems program, preferred.
- Experience in agricultural extension services, USAID, or other donor project management, preferred.
- Proven writing skills in English (Russian would also an asset).
- Speaking fluency in English required. Speaking fluency in Russian, preferred.