The Field Support Agronomist role involves providing day-to-day technical support to Partners, County Government, and Farmers (both Refugee and Host) on Crop Production, climate smart agriculture, and Irrigation Water Management in Kalobeyei Refugee Settlement and Turkana West Sub-County.
Tasks and Responsibilities
- Provide technical support to farmers and partners on the management of shade-net and open-field crop production to ensure optimal costs and levels of production are maintained in Kalobeyei and its environments.
- Train, mentor, and coach Community-Based Extension Service Providers (CBESPs), farm management committees, Water User Associations, and farmers in Turkana West on Agroecological Approaches and techniques, and farming methods, including Diversification, Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Agroforestry, conservation agriculture with trees, Integrated Pest Management, postharvest management, and irrigation agronomy and the management of water infrastructure.
- Facilitate producer-agro-dealers & other agro-input/service providers and producer–buyer linkages.
- Support the development of commercially viable business models for agro-dealers to provide inputs and services to farmers and encourage local entrepreneurs to invest in the business opportunity.
- Support the regreening and rehabilitation of degraded land initiatives by FAO in Kakuma and Kalobeyei and their environs.
- Set and establish demonstration sites in various production areas in Kakuma, Kalobeyei, and their environments.
- Support farm management committees and partners on technical issues related to the management of their water infrastructure, including water pans, pumping systems, distribution systems, drip irrigation systems, and in-situ water harvesting structures.
- Support upscaling agricultural mechanization to enhance agricultural productivity and efficiency by equipping farmers with adequate mechanization training for effective, safe, and sustainable use.
- Support implementation of the monitoring and evaluation of field activities, data collection and surveys, and subsequent regular report writing.
- Perform other duties as may be assigned by the FAO representative or their duly appointed representative.
Minimum Requirements
- University degree in Agriculture, Agronomy, Crop science, Horticulture or a related field.
- 5 years of relevant experience working in irrigation agronomy, dryland agriculture, climate-smart agriculture, and crop production with proven skills in shade-net and open-field farming, agroecology, and integrated pest management.
- Working knowledge of English and Kiswahili.
- Must be a National of Kenya.
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