Agri-Business Development Officer (Yobe) at Centre for Community Development and Research Network (CCDRN)

Location: Bade LGA, Yobe
Employment Type: Full-time

Job Summary

The Agribusiness Development Officer (ADO) will work directly with small business holders and farmers to support them improve their organization and gaining more from their commodities through better post-harvest management and an improved market system.

Key Responsibilities

• Facilitate improvement in the organization of smallholder farmers through continuous capacity building, mentoring, and handholding support
• Support smallholder farmers to negotiate for favorable markets
• Facilitate negotiations with financial institutions to support smallholder farmer groups towards improved production and post-harvest management
• Work closely with smallholder farmers to collect records of production and income to measure profitability and relevant business indicators
• Support smallholder farmers to document their business records
• Identify markets and supply chain relationships, focusing on market opportunities and sustainable, demand-driven solutions.
• Facilitate training of smallholder farmer groups on agribusiness development and provide continuous business development support to them.
• Support smallholder farmer groups to develop and execute a business plan
• Provide technical support for the provision of market information to keep smallholder farmers and buyers informed of the prevailing market prices of maize and sorghum crops
• Support smallholder farmers to adopt better post-harvest management practices to meet the quality requirements of aggregators, off-takers, and producers
• Deliver training of livelihood beneficiaries on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and agribusiness development training activities
• Any other duty to be assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or Higher National Diploma in Agricultural Economics, Business Management or related field.
• Minimum of 4 years of progressively responsible experience in production, post-harvest handling, and marketing in the private sector or nongovernmental organizations
• Knowledge of principal value chain activities, especially production and post-harvest management
• Familiarity with the local communities and LGAs applied for.

Relevant Skills:

• Ability to communicate, negotiate, advise, persuade, or resolve issues that are highly complex or sensitive
• Good written communication skills, including demonstrated ability to write required documents in a clear, concise, well-organized manner
• Good communication and interpersonal skills with an ability to listen and help others
• understand complex ideas
• Computer skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, e-mail)
• Fluent in English and Hausa Languages
• Proven ability to manage deadlines, work independently with minimal supervision, submit high-quality work plans, prioritize workload, and multi-task in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to work in local communities.