Organizational Setting

The post is located in Mozambique, in the provinces of Manica and Nampula – GCP/MOZ/127/EC – Improving rural competitiveness is operating in provinces where the project will be implemented by FAO Representation in Mozambique. The overall objective is to contribute to sustainable, inclusive and broad-based economic growth and poverty reduction in the context of national food and nutrition security and climate change.

In order to mitigate possible negative effects on the availability of cereals in the country caused by international conflicts (Russia vs. Ukraine war), the PROMOVE Agribiz project is working closely with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to guarantee cereal reserves in the country. For this, FAO is improving access to quality inputs by small producers through e-voucher. This system is partly subsidized but includes a co-participation of the beneficiaries. In addition, the project will provide technical assistance to beneficiaries to ensure the adoption of good management practices and good yields and quality.

The FAO intends to recruit a Cereal Field Production Specialist to support the implementation of programs coordinating the activities carried out by the FAO´s district field technicians and the technicians of the implementing partners, under close collaboration with the e-voucher and Farmer Field School Specialists based in Maputo.

Reporting Lines

The Cereal Field Production Specialist will report directly to the Technical Adviser for project, in close collaboration with the Hub Coordinator in Manica.

Technical Focus 

Rural extension, cereals crop production and climate smart agriculture (CSA).
The Cereal Field Production Specialist will be responsible for the development cereals production, operational planning, management and monitoring of all activities with partners. S/he will also provide regular backstopping for the provision of technical and management support to Cereals production facilitators to monitor Cereals groups performance with the aim of increasing the production and quality of Cereals in line with project objectives with emphasis on food security.

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Identify FFS groups and farmer organizations with capacity to produce cereals in order to increase the production and the public reserves in the province.
•    Contribute to the strengthening of seed production of cereals in order to have it available for the smallholder farmers through the local agrodealers participants of the e-voucher program.
•    Strengthen certified maize seed production in Manica and Nampula contract seed producing companies to supply certified seed to be used on cereals food production.
•    Support production intensification of cereals based in the use of inputs of quality, such as certified seeds and fertilizers.
•    Coordinate with the e-voucher team the access of smallholder farmers to inputs subsidized by the project.
•    Provision of support to effective risk-share and de-risk private driven aggregation and geo-cluster schemes for dedicated value chains, to further improve and scale the inclusion of smallholder farmers.
•    Roll-out of a smart subsidy model for milling and other small scale agro-processing.
•    Coordinate the field activities and market strategies together with public and private stakeholders.
•    Elaborate work plan and reports according with the demands from M&E Specialist.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    University degree in Agronomy, Rural Extension or other related subjects.
•    Five years of relevant experience in Rural Extension.
•    Relevant background experience on technical areas related to cereals production, value chain approaches and market-oriented production.
•    Working knowledge of English and fluent in Portuguese.
•    Working knowledge of the local language spoken in Manica and Nampula Provinces.

FAO Core Competencies

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

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION