Consultant PROMAS – Crops GAP and Agroecology Manuals

Description

• The Promoting Sustainable Agricultural Market Systems (PROMAS) is a project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by DAI Global UK (DAI) in three northern provinces of Mozambique namely Nampula, Niassa, and Cabo Delgado. The project aims to increase income and employment opportunities for smallholder farmers (SHF)—including women, men, youth, and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)—through their engagement in resilient agricultural market systems
• Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for most households in northern Mozambique. Despite favorable agro-climatic conditions, productivity of key crops such as maize, sesame, groundnut, pigeon pea, and vegetables remains low due to limited access to technical knowledge and quality extension materials
• One top-level outcome for the PROMAS project is supporting SHF to increase productivity through improving access to markets for agricultural inputs and extensions services to learn and apply Good Agronomic Practices (GAP), including agroecology practices. A key component of this support is the development of practical, user-friendly training manuals on GAP, agroecology and climate smart agricultural (CSA) practices tailored to local production systems, climate, and market needs
• PROMAS will like to hire an extension expert(s) to develop the manuals that will be used to train lead farmers and be used as reference manuals when the lead farmers cascade the training to SHF
• General Objective: The objective of this consultancy is to design, develop, and finalize crop-specific training manuals that provide clear, practical guidance to smallholder farmers on GAP for maize, sesame, groundnut, pigeon pea, incorporating climate-smart and agroecology practices, integrated pest management, and post-harvest handling

Duties

Inception Phase

• Review relevant project documents, government extension materials, and other GAP resources for the target crops
• Consult with project staff, government extension services (provincial, district levels), existing lead farmers and farmer representatives (carry out focus group discussions in up to three districts) to identify knowledge gaps and priority topics
• Prepare an inception report outlining the updated proposed methodology, structure of manuals, and workplan

Content Development

• For each target crop (maize, sesame, groundnut, pigeon pea, vegetables):
• Provide guidance on:
• Site selection and land preparation
• Recommended varieties and seed selection
• Optimal planting dates and spacing
• Soil fertility and integrated nutrient management
• Water management
• Integrated pest, disease, and weed management
• Climate-smart and conservation agriculture practices
• Harvesting techniques and post-harvest handling
• Basic quality standards and market requirements
• Incorporate illustrations, diagrams, and photos for ease of understanding by low-literacy audiences
• Recommended crop budgets for each crop for both manual and mechanized land preparation

Validation and Field Testing

• Present draft manuals to project team and key stakeholders for review
• Incorporate feedback and conduct limited field testing with selected farmers and extension agents to ensure practicality and comprehension

Finalization

• Produce five separate manuals (one per crop) in Portuguese with simple language, visual aids, and farmer-friendly layout. These should be no more than 40 A5 pages
• Deliver editable digital versions and a print-ready version
• Provide an executive summary of each manual in English for donor reporting purposes

Deliverables

• The consultant will provide:
• Inception report (methodology, outline, workplan) – within 2 weeks of contract signing
• Draft manuals for each of the four crops – within 6 weeks (each manual should not exceed 40 A5 pages)
• Validation workshop report and feedback integration – within 8 weeks
• Final manuals in Portuguese (editable and print-ready) and English summaries – within 10 weeks
• Reporting and Supervision: The consultant will work operationally with the Agronomist and provide regular progress updates every two weeks
• Time Frame, Workload and Budgeting: The assignment will be undertaken between 01.10.2025 and 12.12.2025
• The technical proposal should indicate a tentative schedule that demonstrates the key activities and their planned timing

Requisites

• Advanced degree in Agronomy, Agricultural Extension, Crop Science, or related field
• Minimum 7 years of experience in developing agricultural training materials, especially for smallholder farmers in Mozambique or similar countries in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Proven extension expertise in at least three of the target crops
• Experience in climate-smart agriculture and integrated pest management
• Strong ability to produce visually engaging and farmer-friendly materials
• Fluency in Portuguese required; working knowledge of English is desirable

Notes

• Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted
• Indicate the source of this job post: emprego.co.mz
• All proposals must be submitted by 17:00 hours Maputo time on the 29th of September 2025

How to Apply

1. Documentation

• Interested candidates should submit:
• A technical proposal (clearly demonstrating an understanding of the assignment, demonstrated experience in providing extension training and production of training manuals, methodology, workplan). The technical proposal should not exceed 12 pages
• A financial proposal (consultancy fees and any anticipated costs)
• CV(s) of consultant(s) – no more than 3 pages per consultant
• At least two samples of similar work developed in the last ten years. This will be treated with strict confidentiality

2. Application

• Send your Documentation to Recruitment_PROMAS@dai.com with the Subject line “Consultant PROMAS - Crops GAP and Agroecology Manuals”