Main Responsibilities

• Capacity Building Workshops: Develop and implement targeted training programs for women farmers focusing on advanced tomato production techniques, including best practices for tunnel farming and sustainable agricultural methods. This could include hands-on training sessions, field demonstrations, and resource development to enhance participants’ skills and knowledge
• Value Chain Development: Conduct a comprehensive analysis of the tomato value chain, identifying key areas for value addition. This could involve creating strategies for post-harvest processing, marketing, and distribution, as well as facilitating partnerships with local businesses to enhance economic opportunities for women farmers.
• Program Implementation and Evaluation: Design and oversee the implementation of programs aimed at improving gender equality in agricultural practices. This would involve establishing baseline metrics, developing monitoring and evaluation frameworks to assess program effectiveness, and making data-driven recommendations for continuous improvement and scaling of successful initiatives.

Qualifications

• MA in Horticulture or the following related fields: Environmental Science, Soil Science, Land Management, Rural Development, Agriculture Business or Economics, Food Science, Plant Science
• Climate and Smart Agriculture background
• Experience in Smart farming Management for all crop processing and value addition, gender related programs, database management, MEAL (monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning).
• M&E, Agriculture production value addition, Tunnel Farming or Smart Farming Techniques expertise, Gender Agriculture and Food Security expertise.
• Project management, Sustainable agricultural practices, Gender Equality, Environment and Climate Change, Climate Action Planning, Strategic Planning, Smart Farming Data Specialist, Farm Mapping, Sustainable Agriculture etc

Project description and context: 

Crossroads International will engage Canadians, Canadian stakeholders, Crossroads staff and volunteers, local partner organizations and women and men in sub-Saharan Africa to become Gender Equality Champions both in Canada and overseas. 

The Volunteer Cooperation Program (VCP) aims to reduce gender inequalities and alleviate poverty by addressing gender-based violence, inequalities in access to resources and economic opportunities, and barriers in exercising strategic forms of choice, voice, and influence. 

Description of the partner

Women Farmer Foundation vision is to identify, recognize, and develop a corps of model women and youth farmers across Eswatini who will inspire and capacitate/ mentor their communities in an effort to mitigate the effects of rural poverty

Description the volunteer mandate

The mandate addresses the need for capacity building in various agricultural domains, specifically focusing on tomato production, value addition, tunnel farming, program implementation, evaluation, and gender development. The core organizational issue is the enhancement of productivity and sustainability within the agricultural sector, particularly for women farmers, who often face systemic barriers in accessing resources and training.

Specific Challenges or Needs

The organization encounters several challenges:

1. Limited Knowledge and Skills: The Woman Farmer Foundation team lacks advanced technical expertise in agricultural practices such as tunnel farming and effective value addition techniques for tomatoes. This has led to major financial losses on the foundation due to poor tunnel farming management.
2. Gender Disparities: There are significant gender-related obstacles that hinder women’s access to agricultural resources, training, and decision-making processes.
3. Implementation Gaps: Existing programs are not adequately evaluated or adapted, leading to inefficiencies in addressing the farmers’ needs.
4. Social, Political, Environmental, and Economic ContextSocial: Women are often marginalized in agricultural sectors, facing cultural barriers that limit their participation and leadership opportunities. Capacity building is crucial to empower them and improve community resilience.Political: Agricultural policies are not sufficiently prioritize gender equality or support smallholder farmers. Advocacy for gender-sensitive policies is essential to address these inequities.Environmental: Climate change impacts agriculture significantly, necessitating sustainable practices. Tunnel farming can mitigate some environmental challenges by improving yield and resource efficiency.Economic: The agricultural sector is a vital part of the local economy, but many women farmers remain in subsistence farming due to lack of access to markets and value chains. Improving their skills and market access can boost economic resilience.Collaboration Within the Organization

   The volunteers will collaborate with several key departments:

   1. Agricultural Extension Services: Responsible for providing training and technical support to farmers. They will work closely with the capacity building experts to design and implement training programs.
   2. Program Evaluation Team: This team assesses the effectiveness of current programs and recommends improvements. The advisor will help develop evaluation frameworks to measure impact and inform future initiatives.
   3. Gender and Development Unit: Focused on integrating gender perspectives into all programs. The Gender & Development Expert will collaborate to ensure that training programs address gender disparities and empower women farmers.
   4. Marketing and Value Chain Department: Responsible for facilitating market access for farmers. They will work with the value addition officer to develop strategies for enhancing product quality and marketability.

   By engaging these departments, the organization aims to create a holistic approach to capacity building that addresses technical skills, gender equality, and market integration, ultimately leading to enhanced productivity and sustainability for women farmers.

Eligibility criteria 

• •  Be a Canadian Citizen or permanent resident of Canada. 
  • Willing to conduct fundraising and public engagement activities before, during and after the placement 
  • Share the commitment of preventing and addressing sexual misconduct 
  • In good physical and mental health (medical examination required) 
  • The volunteer needs to bring their own computer. 
  • The volunteer must be available to attend an online pre-departure training.

Personalized support before, during and after the mandate provided by an experienced and welcoming team. The Crossroads’ experience includes the following:  

• Daily living allowance (depending of the country of assignment)  
• Plane ticket and local transport   
• Pre-assignment online training.  

Crossroads International is committed to addressing gender-based violence by supporting the innovative work our partner organizations in ending violence against women and girls.  

 JOIN THE MOVEMENT!  

APPLICATION  

To apply for this position, we kindly ask that you fill out Crossroads’ online application form.

Please contact our volunteer mobilization team if you have any question: volunteer@cintl.org  

We thank all applicants but only those selected for interviews will be contacted.