Agri-Business Development Officers (Jigawa) - 2 Positions at Centre for Community Development and Research Network (CCDRN)

Locations: Birnin Kudu & Malam Madori - Jigawa
Employment Type: Full-time

Job Description

• The Agribusiness Development Officer (ADO) will work directly with smallholder farmers to support them improve their organization and gain 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 3 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.