Summary
Date Posted: Monday, August 19 2024, Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Program Description:
The Feed the Future Tanzania Agri Finance Project is an access to finance project working to improve access to finance for smallholders, women, youth, and micro, small, medium (including large) enterprises ( MSMiLs ) in Tanzania by improving the agri -finance ecosystem and strengthening the capacity of both borrowers and lenders. The Feed the Future Tanzania Agri-Finance Project will prioritize interventions that increase availability and adoption of priority technologies, including climate-smart technology, and create more inclusive agricultural finance ecosystems, enable expanded and sustained lending and investment, and increase productivity and incomes.

Project interventions will support 20 financial institutions, 15 demand-side institutions including agricultural enterprises and women and youth groups, train 300 financial institution staff, and reach 18,000 borrowers with $21 million in agricultural finance facilitated in Tanzania. The Feed the Future Tanzania Agri-Finance Project will utilize a system-driven, private sector-led approach to target agricultural market coordination failures and develop commercially oriented solutions that will sustain and scale agri -financing. The project includes two interconnected strategic objectives to achieve tangible, positive impact for smallholder farmers, women, youth, agro -enterprises, and financial institutions.

Objective 1: Improve income and bankability of smallholders, women, youth and micro, small and medium (including large) enterprises.

The Feed the Future Tanzania Agri-Finance Project will deliver targeted technical capacity strengthening and direct training and coaching to smallholders, women, youth, and MSMiLs beneficiaries in financial and money management skills and tools, business planning, finance and investment, development of business funding proposals, records keeping, loan applications, and loan repayment and/or savings strategies.

Objective 2: Strengthen financial institution operational capacity to expand agri – lending.
The Feed the Future Tanzania Agri-Finance Project will provide targeted support to supply side financial institutions to develop new agri -finance products and improve operational capabilities and efficiencies, build capacity and strengthening their motivation to expand agri -lending to smallholders, women, youth, and MSMiLs – with a focus on priority and climate-smart technologies such as irrigation, inputs, storage, and value addition. The Feed the Future Tanzania Agri Finance Project is an access to finance project working to improve access to finance for smallholders, women, youth, and micro, small, medium (including large) enterprises ( MSMiLs ) in Tanzania by improving the Agri finance ecosystem and strengthening the capacity of borrowers and lenders. With a particular emphasis on priority technologies, including climate- smart technologies. The Feed the Future project is working to create more inclusive agricultural finance ecosystems, enable expanded and sustained lending and investment, and increase productivity and incomes. The Recipient interventions will increase supported financial institutions from 9 to 20, train 300 financial institution staff, and reach 18,000 borrowers with $21 million in agricultural finance. The project will utilize a system-driven, private sector-led approach to target agricultural market coordination failures and develop commercially oriented solutions that will sustain and scale agri -financing.

Problem Statement:
Pollination plays a significant role in the agriculture sector and serves as a basic pillar for crop production. Plants depend on vectors such as water , wind, and animal pollinators to move pollen . Bee-pollinated crops contribute to approximately one-third of the total human dietary supply. Proper pollination improves the quantity and quality of fruits, nuts, oils, and other crops produced. Bees are considered significant pollinators due to their effectiveness and wide availability. Therefore, g reater crop production leads to an increased demand for pollination to enhanc e biodiversity and increase food production without threatening the environment. However, continu ous changes in land use ( ex : insensitive urban development , intensive farming , and the excessive use of pesticides and chemicals in agriculture ) have caused significant losses and fragmentation of pollinator-friendly habitats and undermine d bee health and pollination efficiency.

The Feed the Future Tanzania Agri-Finance Project has partnered with a youth cooperative established by 268 youth beneficiaries of the Build ing a Better Tomorrow (BBT) Program. The youth cooperative has directly experienced bees’ pollination effects on the productivity and profitability of their agriculture crops, particularly sunflower s . The Youth cooperative wants to restore bee habitats in their farm area to increase free pollination levels and healthy crop yields.

The Feed the Future Tanzania Agri-Finance Project is recruiting a local beekeeping expert to develop and facilitate a tailored, hands-on training program for the Youth Cooperative leadership and members i n beekeeping basics and best practices . This training will includ e legal requirements for keeping bees in the area, the types of hives available , management of honeybee colonies and all other equipment needed to get started . The Volunteer Expert will also support the youth cooperative to develop an understanding of how to set up beehives, location selection, bee sourcing and acquisition and how to recognize various behavioral patterns in managing and handling honeybees; and an understand of how to manage and deal with bee sting accidents.

Objectives of the Assignment:
1. Develop and provide a comprehensive, “learn by doing” beekeeping training for the youth cooperative leadership and members
2. Work with the youth cooperative in the field to review and choose an appropriate location for bee hives and support the setting up of at least one beehive.
3. Provide recommendations on any interventions that the youth cooperative should implement to achieve their goals of the bee keeping

Country Schedule for Assignment:
Day
Activity
Location
Estimated days
Pre-Assignment
Pre- Assessment Tasks

• Hold a call with the Feed the Future Tanzania Agri – Finance team and BBT program team to discuss the specific needs of the assignment and strategize for execution.
• Conduct desk research of the Tanzania h oneybee subsector to learn and develop an understanding of all primary and secondary activities that go into the bee keeping.
• Develop comprehensive training materials tailored to the youth c ooperative context focusing on beekeeping basics and best practices . This will includ e legal requirements, beehives and beehives availability, setting up of beehive and choosing of appropriate location , bee sourcing and acquisition, bee’s behavior and management and market and p rofitability and other equipment needed to get started.
Remotely
On Assignment
Day 1
• Travel to Dodoma
Dodoma
Day 2
• Attend orientation hosted by the Feed the Future Tanzania Agri-Finance project staff to review assignment objectives and logistics plans.
• Meet in person with representatives from the BBT Secretariate and the y outh c ooperative leadership to finalize the assignment objectives and assignment execution plan
• Conduct a quick training needs assessment through meetings and interviews with the youth Cooperative members and leadership to clarify the youth cooperative knowledge gap on beekeeping.
Dodoma
Day 3
• Conduct a quick training needs assessment through meetings and interviews with the youth c ooperative members and leadership to clarify the youth cooperative knowledge gap on beekeeping.
• Refine and finalize training methodology and materials based on feedback and observations from the initial meetings and assessment.
• Prepare for the delivery of the learn by doing” beekeeping training
Dodoma
1
Day 4- 5
• Provide a comprehensive, “learn by doing” beekeeping training to the youth cooperative members and leadership ( Group no 1. 40 youth)
• Work with the youth cooperative members and leadership in the field to review and choose appropriate location and support the setting up of at least one beehive
Dodoma
2
Day 6-7
• Provide a comprehensive, “learn by doing” beekeeping training to the youth cooperative members and leadership ( Group no 2. 40 youth)
• Work with the youth cooperative members and leadership in the field to review and choose appropriate location and support the setting up of at least one beehive
Dodoma
2
Day 9
• Weekend Day
TBD
1
Day 10-11
• Provide a comprehensive, “learn by doing” beekeeping training to the youth cooperative members and leadership (Group no 3. 40 youth) eViDqPA DmwvX7
• Work with the youth cooperative members and leadership in the field to review and choose appropriate location and support the setting up of at least one beehive
Dodoma
2
Day 12-13
• Provide a comprehensive, “learn by doing” beekeeping training to the youth cooperative members and leadership (Group no 4. 40 youth)
• Work with the youth cooperative members and leadership in the field to review and choose appropriate location and support the setting up of at least one beehive.
• Identify and provide recommendations on any interventions that the youth cooperative should implement to achieve their goals in beekeeping.
Dodoma
2
Day 14
• Hold a debriefing session with the y outh c ooperative and the BBT secretariate to share and clarify recommendations.
• Draft final report for assignment.
• Departure
Dodoma
1
Total
14

Volunteer Engagement:
USAID and IESC encourage all volunteers to participate in public outreach. An important objective of the program is to increase awareness of the work of Americans abroad. If you would like to share your experience, IESC can offer support if needed.

Expertise of Volunteer Experts Requested:
• Advanced degree in Agriculture, Bee keeping, business administration, agribusiness or a related field.
• Minimum of 8 years of progressive experience in bee keeping, m anagement of honeybee colonies
• Demonstrated experience and passion for bees and a strong work ethic , patience, attention to detail, and the ability to work independently will be an added advantage .
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate effectively with youth farmers from different background
• Creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Goal-oriented mindset and hands-on approach.
• Good written and verbal communication skills.
• Sufficiently physically fit, with appropriate medical clearance.
• Ability to work in multicultural environments, adapt to local contexts, and ensure training content is relevant and accessible to participants.
• Strong facilitation skills, including the ability to engage participants in interactive learning activities and foster collaborative discussions.
• Writing Skills: reporting requires good computer skills including, but not limited to, working, and generating reports with MS Word. Experience with PowerPoint presentations is desirable .

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 24

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

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