National agriculture sector specialist for trainings

Aim of the assignment:

The aim of this assignment is to build the capacity of farmers/cooperatives to plan a more effective production, strengthening agricultural production and strengthening farmers’ access to markets and commercialization – with focus on women and youth.
The expert will identify target groups in both UoMs, design a training programme and provide training in topics such as agronomic practices, irrigation, promotion of the concept of cooperatives, financial literacy and supporting new solutions for marketing agricultural products.
During the assignment, the expert will engage local stakeholders and seek cooperation with relevant local and regional stakeholders such as local governments, Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI), the Chamber of Commerce of Tripoli or Ministry of Agriculture.

Key responsibilities

The expert/firm will be responsible for :

• Conduct a rapid assessment on training needs for cooperatives and farmers
• Identify target groups with attention to agricultural cooperatives, women cooperatives and youth;
• Prepare a comprehensive training programme and materials;
• Conduct trainings for each of the target groups;
• Availability for assistance or consultation to training participants;
• Coordinate with other ACCD consultants;
• Liaise with the key stakeholders (ministerial offices, municipal representatives, local community, cooperatives) under the guidance of ACCD staff;
• Draft the required reports with actionable, realistic recommendations

Main activities:

Output 1: Identification of target groups and training needs
- Identify target groups among farmers, cooperatives, with focus on women and youth associations and refugee community. A minimum of 25 participants will be targeted per UoM.
- Conduct a quick training needs assessment and present ACCD a draft programme
Output 2: Design training programme and materials
After validation by ACCD, develop full training programme and materials.
Training contents may cover the following and others proposed by the expert:
- Reducing dependency on imports such as pesticides, fertilisers or plastic films for greenhouses

- Production of citrus, vegetable, olive, agro-food processing
- Land preparation and irrigation
- Pests management and disease prevention
- Composting
- Financial literacy: bookkeeping, business plan, production plan
- Marketing and sales practices

Output 3: Implementation of training sessions
- Conduct trainings and proceedings
Output 4: Identify investments
- Identify small investments to support farmers and cooperatives such as machinery, composting units, grants to entrepreneurs to start businesses.
Output 5: Final report with recommendations
- Draft final report of the consultancy with actionable recommendations (required skills, training, finances) for future activities (short-, mid- and long-term)

Deliverables:

The expert will submit the following deliverables:
- Report on training needs including identification of target groups
- Training programme and materials
- Investment proposals
- Final report and beneficiary/client debriefing session

Minimum qualifications:

The minimum qualifications and skills of the expert are:
Education:
- Higher education degree (Masters level) in Agricultural Engineering or related discipline.
Professional Experience:

- At least 8 years of experience in agricultural capacity building
- At least 5 similar assignments in the last 3 years, preferably in Lebanon
- Extensive knowledge of agricultural production techniques, pest management, irrigation, composting and agro-food marketing;
- Knowledge and experience in the area of intervention;
- Proficiency in report writing;
- Proficiency in English and Arabic
Competencies:
- Autonomy, creativity, pragmatism and orientation towards results;
- Reliability and professionalism: fulfilling obligations in a highly responsible manner;
- Cultural sensitivity and cross-cultural skills (religion, ethnicity, gender);
- Attention to details, proper information management;
- Tolerance and adaptability.

Period of the assignment:

60 days form the signature of the contract for a maximum period of 3 months (estimated from mid-April to mid-July 2022).
Estimated days per output:
- Output 1: 15 days
- Output 2: 7 days
- Output 3: 25 days
- Output 4: 8 days
- Output 5: 5 days