Crop Production Specialist

Organizational Setting

The FAO Representation in Uganda provides technical assistance to the Government of Uganda in the agriculture, forestry, fisheries and related sectors. The Crop Production Specialist will support the community planning, implementation and monitoring of GCP/UGA/055/SWE project entitled “Climate Resilient Women Economic Empowerment (CRWEE) and GCP/UGA/043/LDF project entitled “Integrating climate resilience into agricultural and pastoral production in Uganda, through a Farmer/Agro-pastoralist Field School Approach”.This projects aim to strengthen key government institutions at central and decentralized levels and build the resilience of communities in the face of a changing climate

Reporting Lines

Under the overall guidance of the FAO Representative in Uganda and in close collaboration with the Deputy FAO Representative and the Team Leader Climate Change Program, the Crop Production Specialist will be under the direct supervision of the National Project Coordinator.

Technical Focus

The Crop Production Specialist will provide support to the Project Management Unit (PMU) in planning, implementing and monitoring of household crop production, productivity and income related to targeted crops being promoted.

Tasks and responsibilities

The Crop Production Specialist will\:

• Provide advice on what crops are most suited to the local context and the most resilient to climate change
• Provide support in the development of the Agro-Pastoral (AP)P/ Farmer Field School (FFS) trainings to ensure that proper crop management practices are included in AP/FFS trainings
• Provide support in integrating and promoting agro-ecological interventions in ongoing projects and contribute to project/programme design efforts
• Identify and documenting potentially suitable agronomic good practice (GP) options for enhanced climate resilience of farming practices. Selected GPs shall contribute to the overall objective to increase climate resilience of farming households and communities during wet & dry seasons in both irrigated and rain fed farming systems in the selected districts and target sub counties.
• contribute to validating potential GP options against technical criteria and for location specific suitability
• Provide support in the dissemination of climate change information to the target beneficiaries
• Strengthen the capacity of Farmer Field Schools, farmer groups and cooperatives and
• Ensure proper crop management practices in all the FFS interventions of the project provide inputs and technical advice to community based adaptation planning and implementation
• Perform other related duties as required

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

• University Degree in food security, agriculture (Crops Science and/ or Horticulture), natural resource conservation or related fields.
• At least three years of relevant experience in Crop Production, Climate Smart Agriculture or related fields.
• At least three years of relevant experience in agro ecology/ agrobiodiversity
• Working knowledge of English.
• National of Uganda

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

• Extent of experience and knowledge in crop production with farmers and organized farmer groups
• Extent and relevance of experience and knowledge on climate change
• Extent of knowledge and experiences in working with various stakeholders in Uganda including UN, Government, NGOs, private sector, academics, and others
• Writing and communication skills
• Ability to manage a high workload, meet tight deadlines and multi-task under pressure
• Extent of experience with international organizations, non-government institutions/organizations, and donors in a multi-cultural setting.
• Extent of experience in more than one location or area of work