Senior Agronomist: (Rice Farm Supervisor) at BJ Consulting Farms

Overview

• BJ Farms is looking for immediate employment, a Senior Agronomist for its commercial rice farming operations.
• The Senior Agronomist will report to the General Manager, Farming Operations (GM Farms), and will be responsible for supporting the GM Farms to deliver on targets for land development, cultivation, harvesting, crop yields, seed production and new variety development.

Responsibilities

• Overarching responsibility is to support the GM, Farms in the development and management of a mechanized, irrigated commercial scale rice farm towards achieving superior yield within defined cost parameters.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Support the development and implementation of annual farm plan and budget, reflecting optimal utilization of all machinery and personnel
• Support the GM Farms in overseeing day-to-day farm operations, and managing the farming team towards delivering target results

Serve as technical lead with relation to the following areas:

• Seed and rice paddy production planning including budgeting, cost to cost seed production, quality management etc.
• Field selection, Crop Management (adopting good agronomic practices), Water use efficiency (WUE); Nutrient management and Crop Protection (pest and disease)
• Data-driven decision making focused on improving agronomic practices, and crop yields.
• Support the training and development of entire farming team, with an emphasis on mechanized rice farming
• Ensure that accurate farm records are maintained on a plot by plot basis
• Ensure farming best practices as well as health and safety standards are adhered to
• Developing, monitoring and implementing company standards: i.e., isolation, pest and disease control, seed purity, germination, pollination and weed control in order to assure seed and paddy quality standards.
• Actively investigate and apply new technologies and processes that will enhance the efficiency of seed and paddy production

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification in Agronomy or Agriculture related field
• Minimum of 2 years middle management experience in commercial rice farming operations, with particular experience managing at least 200Ha+ of rice cultivated in a single location
• Experience with mechanized commercial rice farming, and knowledge of and familiarity with required equipment for large scale rice farming
• Practical experience and knowledge of plant breeding, rice agronomy, seed production, and yield improvement aspects for rice.

General Competences:

• Integrity
• Sound analytical reasoning
• Strong organizational and time-management skills
• Drive and an ability to work under pressure
• Familiarity with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

Salary: Basic: N60, 000 and allowances 70,000/ month