Farmer Field School (FFS) Advisor

Organizational Setting:

The main aim of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO’s) Representation in Egypt, which is headed by an FAO Representative, is to assist the Government of Egypt to develop policies, programmes and projects to improve food security and nutrition, promote sustainable agricultural development, reduce rural poverty, develop inclusive agri-food systems and strengthen livelihood resilience – in line with the Organization’s Strategic Objectives and United Nations’ global and Government of Egypt’s national Sustainable Development Goals.

FAO has been requested by the Government to provide technical assistance to the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD)-funded project, ‘Sustainable Agriculture Investments and Livelihoods (SAIL)’ through a 30-month project titled ‘Enhancing Crop and Livestock Production and Productivity in New Lands of Kafr El-Sheikh, Bani Sweif, Minya and Aswan Governorates through the Adoption of Innovative Climate-Resilient Agricultural Practices and Technologies’. The objective of the FAO-implemented project is to “improve the impact of farmer field schools (FFSs) established and implemented across the New Lands of Egypt” in supporting “3,000 men and women smallholder farmers to adopt sustainable climate-smart agricultural (CSA) and natural resources management (NRM) practices and technologies”.

Reporting Lines:

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Egypt (FAOR), technical guidance of the FAO Lead Technical Officer (LTO), in close collaboration with the relevant technical and programme units in FAO’s Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (RNE) in Cairo and at Headquarters in Rome, international and national consultants of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) and in co-operation with national counterparts (mainly the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MoALR) and SAIL Project Management Unit at national and governorate levels), Farmer Field School (FFS) Advisor will be responsible for the below mentioned tasks.

Technical Focus:

• Project cycle management (PCM), donor and government compliance and alignment of project actions to FAO’s PCM
• guidelines.
• Field project development, implementation and quality assurance.
• Leadership and co-ordination of the PIU and supervision and guidance of FAO operational work.
• Technical support and supervision of the mobilisation, implementation and monitoring of FFSs for the testing, adaptation and replication of sustainable CSA and NRM practices and technologies by smallholder men and women farmers.

Tasks and responsibilities:

• Guide the PIU in the mobilisation, implementation and monitoring of FFSs for the testing, adaptation and replication of sustainable CSA and NRM practices and technologies by smallholder men and women farmers
• The development of curriculum, training of FFS facilitators and master trainers
• The design of group-based study plots and on-farm experimental plots.
• Review the findings of the Project’s socio-economic and bio-physical baseline surveys, provide PIU with comments to improve the findings and recommendations.
• Participate in consultative meetings with local stakeholders, to discuss the findings and recommendations of the aforementioned surveys and analyses,
• present the FFS approach to applied research and participatory extension in the context of the farming systems present,
• Assist the PIU to seek collaboration and participation and identify the specific geographical focus of FFS implementation.
• Participate in a series of national and governorate-level stakeholder workshops and seminars (including representatives of the Project’s target groups) to design seasonal FFS agricultural extension programmes for the respective project areas and their agro-ecologies
• Assist the PIU in the development of tailored guidelines, curricula, training manuals and extension materials for the training of master trainers and FFS facilitators and establishment and implementation of FFSs.
• Assist FAO’s Training Adviser and CSA Adviser in the development of CSA and NRM curricula for the training of master trainers and FFS facilitators and the implementation of FFSs.
• Identify a cadre of capable and willing governorate-level male and female subject matter specialists to perform as “master trainers” for the Project’s FFS programmes.
• Mentor FAO’s Project Manager/FFSSpecialist Monitor PIU in modern agricultural extension/technology transfer concepts and participate (remotely if necessary) in the training of master trainers and FFS Co-ordinators with regard to the FFS approach and methodology to “adaptive research and participatory learning” of innovative and improved CSA and NRM practices and technologies relevant to the project areas.
• Guide FAO’s FFS Co-ordinators (remotely if necessary) to identify and train local community-based men and women FFS facilitators for the day-to-day facilitation of FFSs in their local areas.( Facilitators can be selected from government extension workers, NGO social mobilisers, community leaders, unemployed graduates, co-operative society managers and “champion” farmers and livestock keepers from completed FFSs – all of whom should be willing and respected by their respective local smallholder farming communities.)
• Remotely assist the PIU to monitor the performance of: (i) the master trainers in technically backstopping the FFS facilitators; and (ii) the FFS facilitators in mobilising and guiding FFS participants in their experimentation of CSA and NRM practices and technologies.
• Conduct a mid-term review of the FFSs implemented to date and recommend any corrective measures required to improve the organisation and impact of the Project’s FFS interventions, including any follow-up mentoring of FFS Co-ordinators, master trainers and FFS facilitators.
• Conduct an evaluation of the FFSs both successfully and unsuccessfully completed by the Project and make recommendations (through a technical report) for: (i) any improvements to the FFS approach and its methodology as practised; and (ii) institutionalisation of the FFS approach within government and non-governmental agricultural extension and rural support services – including the formulation of a concept note for further FAO technical assistance required for the institutionalisation of the FFS approach to promote CSA and NRM.
• Prepare an end of assignment report for each mission to Egypt for approval by the FAOR and LTO.
• Perform other duties within the Adviser’s technical competence as required by the FAOR.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in agricultural economics, agricultural extension, business administration, public administration, social science, political science or a related field.
• 10 years of relevant experience in project management in agricultural or rural development with a focus on technology transfer and agricultural extension for smallholder men and women farmers and rural livelihoods.
• Working knowledge of English and Arabic languages.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions within the Near East and North Africa Region of similar ecologies.
• Extent and relevance of experience in the field of the group-based, market-led and participatory approach to agricultural extension and adult learning, i.e. “FFS methodology for adaptive research and participatory learning”.
• Extent and relevance of knowledge and experience in CSA and NRM.
• Extent and relevance of experience in the formulation, analysis, planning and/or implementation of projects related to sustainable development of smallholder agriculture.
• Understanding of FAO policies and programmes is considered a strong