Heifer International’s mission is to work with communities to end world hunger and poverty and to care for the Earth. Dan West was a farmer from the American Midwest and member of the Church of the Brethren who went to the front lines of the Spanish Civil War as an aid worker. His mission was to provide relief, but he soon discovered the meager single cup of milk rationed to the weary refugees once a day was not enough. And then he had a thought: What if they had not a cup, but a cow? That “teach a man to fish” philosophy is what drove West to found Heifer International. And now, nearly 70 years later, that philosophy still inspires our work to end world hunger and poverty throughout the world once and for all. HOW IT WORKS We empower families to turn hunger and poverty into hope and prosperity – but our approach is more than just giving them a handout. Heifer links communities and helps bring sustainable agriculture and commerce to areas with a long history of poverty. Our animals provide partners with both food and reliable income, as agricultural products such as milk, eggs and honey can be traded or sold at market. When many families gain this new sustainable income, it brings new opportunities for building schools, creating agricultural cooperatives, forming community savings and funding small businesses.
Job Summary
Under the leadership of Project Manager KMDP, the Livestock Specialist is responsible for providing technical input and coordinating all functions related to improvement in performance of dairy enterprises through establishment of functional extension systems at producer organizations, modern breeding, and health-promoting techniques, and uses these systems to develop dairy production plans in the project. The officer will also be responsible for supporting producer organizations to offer quality and reliable services to their members, through a robust extension systems which will facilitate easy access to inputs and services, all of which will ultimately contribute to increased production and productivity.
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in the fields of veterinary medicine, animal science or other related fields, plus three (3) years’ experience in a mix of dairy production, value chain competitiveness, or agriculture development.
Responsibilities
Mobilization and strengthening of Dairy Interest Groups to become effective participants in the dairy production improvement activities (30%)
- Based on the ongoing assessment, develop a plan for building capacity of the Peer Farmer Trainers and use the plan to train them so that they can effectively facilitate the group strengthening activities at the grassroots
- Coordinate the strengthening of the 800 DIGs to become active participants in the dairy production improvement activities
- Promote the formation of Savings and Credit Schemes by the DIGs to ensure that smallholder farmers at the grassroots have mechanisms to finance the dairy improvement activities
- Facilitate the training of the DIGs on Group dynamics and social capital strengthening
- Facilitate the formation of Group Management Committees in each of the hubs (Producer Organizations)
DELIVERABLE
- A training plan for Community Facilitators, Extension staff and Dairy Farm Assistants developed within the first 6 months and implemented based on the on-going capacity assessment gaps
- Peer Farmer Trainers (Community Facilitators) actively involved on a daily basis in strengthening Dairy Interest Groups within the first 6 months. The number of Peer Farmer Trainers will be determined after the ongoing group assessment
- 800 Dairy Interest Groups trained on Social Capital strengthening and group dynamics by the end of the second year
- 800 Dairy Interest Groups strengthened to become active participants in dairy production improvement activities
- Dairy Interest Groups implementing savings and credit schemes and using the schemes to finance the dairy improvement activities on a monthly basis
- Each Hubs with functional Group Management Committees by the end of the first year
- B. Coordinate the delivery of Grassroot Training to improve Dairy Productivity (30%)
- Coordinate the delivery of dairy improvement training using the KMDP manuals and other relevant materials
- Develop and implement detailed training plans for each of the producer organizations
- Facilitate training of Artificial Service Providers in order to efficiently and effectively deliver quality services to farmers
- Provide technical guidance and support in the establishment of fodder demo plots and promote replication of the same by the farmers
- Provide technical support Producer organizations to prepare and implement efficient feeding and breeding plans
- DELIVERABLE
- Detailed implementation plan developed and implemented for all training to be undertaken per quarter
- 20,000 farmers fully trained and completed the Livestock training manual by the end of the second year
- 50 AI providers trained to efficiently and effectively deliver quality services to farmers
- Fodder demonstration plots developed using the right agronomic standards by the end of the first year
- Breeding and Feeding Plans developed by the end of the first year and is used by the producer organizations for improving dairy production and productivity
Monitoring and Evaluation (20%)
- Develop and implement robust production monitoring indicators including a g database for all production and productivity parameters
- Develop and regularly update a database for all the farmers trained on dairy production and productivity improvement
- Monitor production and productivity-related indicators at producer organization and DIG levels and provide timely advice to enable attainment of key productivity targets
- Undertake monthly monitoring of the farmer training and their effectiveness together with group performance and submit a report on the same every month
- Facilitate the GMCs to undertake quarterly Participatory Self Reviews and Planning (PSRP)
- Develop and promote best practice examples and ensure documentation of experience and lessons learned
DELIVERABLE
- Production and productivity indicators identified and a database for the same developed by the end of the first year
- Database for all the producers trained in different modules developed and updated quarterly
- Quarterly monitoring of the production and productivity outcomes undertaken on a quarterly and information used to inform the corresponding the quarterly reports
- PSRP reports from the Group Management Committees submitted quarterly
- At least four success stories produced i.e. at least one during each quarter
- Produce monthly field monitoring visit reports
Provide technical support to Producer organizations to set up effective extension coordination and management structures at the grassroots (15%)
- Support producer organizations to setup robust extension systems that effectively serve smallholder farmers to increase production and productivity.
- Work with input service providers including Artificial Insemination services, to ensure that they deliver training and quality services to farmers – feeds, animal drugs, equipment, breeding services among others
- Support the Producer Organizations to implement sustainable AI and Animal Health delivery systems
- Submit timely weekly, monthly and quarterly reports indicating progress for each of the targeted producer organization
- Participate in the business Review Meetings for the Producer Organizations
DELIVERABLE
- Functional Extension Coordination Structures in the 18 hubs (Producer Organizations) by the end of the first year
- 18 Producer Organizations with functional extension subcommittees and coordinating extension activities
- 18 Producer Organizations implementing efficient Breeding and feeding plans
- Each hub with a functional system for delivery of Artificial Insemination and Animal Health Services
- AI services delivered system developed to service 20,000 farmers in the project area by the end of the second year
- Progress reports submitted on a weekly, monthly and quarterly basis, within the expected schedule
Planning and Reporting (5%)
- Prepare monthly, quarterly work plans for implementing in line with the project operational plans and submit them within the expected timelines
- Prepare weekly, monthly and quarterly reports and submit to the Project coordinator, within the expected timelines
- Participate in compiling of donor reports as requested
DELIVERABLE
- Annual, quarterly, monthly and weekly work plan produced and shared with the Project coordinator
- Well prepared weekly, monthly, quarterly and semi-annual reports submitted to the project coordinator on schedule
Any other tasks assigned by the supervisor
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