Country: Kenya
Closing date: 29 Aug 2016
The International Potato Center (CIP) is seeking a consultant to provide business skills training to seed potato multipliers for a potato value chain project. The seed multipliers reside in Bomet, Elgeyo-Marakwet, Meru, Nandi and Uasin Gishu counties.
The Center: CIP is a not-for-profit international agricultural research-for-development organization with a focus on potato, sweetpotato, and Andean roots and tubers. Its vision is of roots and tubers improving the lives of the poor. CIP is dedicated to achieving food security, improved well-being, and gender equity for poor people in root and tuber farming and food systems of the developing world. CIP works with partners to contribute high quality science, technology, and capacity strengthening for sustainable science-based solutions. CIP is headquartered in Lima, Peru, with staff and activities in over 30 locations across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. CIP is a member of the CGIAR Consortium. CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by the 15 research centers who are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. The CIP Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) regional office is in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Assignment: The Consultant will be responsible in developing a training module and train seed multipliers in basic business skills to manage their seed enterprises. The seed multipliers are progressive farmers trained and technically backstopped in the Feed the Future Accelerating Value Chain Development project. The assignment is to cover skills in costing production, managing sales and marketing.
Farmers in the target counties have no proximal access to any quality seed and have to travel long distances to source seed. At a planting rate of 2 to 2.5 t/ha, transport costs can equal that of the seed. The project aims to develop seed systems in the target counties mainly through developing progressive farmers into professional seed multipliers. In the project, seed multipliers purchase certified seed potato to further multiply in their local farming areas. Seed multipliers then sell quality seed to farmers, making quality seed available in local farming areas. The seed multipliers receive technical backstopping from the counties and CIP, and need their business skills advanced. The goal is to develop seed multipliers into professional businesses.
The responsibilities of the assignment are to:
- Consult with project staff on the business skills to develop among the seed multipliers. CIP staff will liaise with the counties and multipliers to document their training needs;
- Develop a business skills training module based on the Consultant’s experience and understanding, and feedback from the above consultations. The training will build upon the production cost and sales logbook already distributed to farmers;
- Conduct 2-day training in business skills in target counties.
There will be 15 to 25 farmers per training session of 2 days.
The Consultant is to submit:
- A training module;
- A report describing the trainings and observations with clear reference to which skills were developed and the follow up for CIP and project partners to ensure the training is put into practice.
Selection criteria:
The successful Consultant will have
- In depth understanding of the business/accounting capacities needed to develop farmers into professional businesses;
- Proven experience training farmers in business skills. Specific experience with farmers involved in seed production as a business will be an added advantage;
- Excellent writing and communication skills.
Conditions: The consultancy will be for the duration to prepare the training module and 4 days for per training session. The number of training sessions will be determined once seed multiplier training list is completed in the target counties.
How to apply:
Applicants should apply through CIP’s Job Opportunities website (http://cipotato.org/open-vacancies/), including a 1-page cover letter summarizing their relevance to this position, a full C.V. and a bid as outlined below. Screening of applications will begin on 29 August, 2016 and will continue until the post is filled. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
The bid should contain:
- The daily cost and number of days to prepare the training module;
- Cost per 4-day training session considering two training days and two travel days.
Learn more about CIP by accessing our web site at http://www.cipotato.org
Qualified women and professionals are particularly encouraged to apply.