Urban Agriculture Outreach Agent

Project description

Peace Corps Agriculture Volunteers fill a niche in economically challenged and food insecure communities in Senegal. Volunteers extend farming methods to community growers who work on smallholder family farms—small farms that rely on family labor. They assist smallholder farmers and their family members in adapting to environmental change through the adoption of improved crop cultivation technologies and practices, conservation agriculture, gardening, improved soil and water conservation, improved post-harvest management, and farm management. Volunteers assist household members—particularly women—to access, and eat more varied, nutritious foods to improve their and their families’ nutrition.

Volunteers and their community partners work with youth through schools and clubs to promote positive youth development and women’s empowerment by teaching agricultural skills and growing gardens. Volunteers work with women to ensure increased access to extension services and other resources necessary for agriculture

The goal of Peace Corps Senegal’s Agriculture project is for Senegalese communities to improve their food security. Through the efforts of Volunteers and their partners, communities achieve this goal by working toward two objectives:

1. Increase Master Farmers’ and other male, female, and youth farmers’ capacity to sustainably cultivate improved varieties of staple crops for home consumption and income.
2. Increase farmers’, especially youth, women, and teachers, capacity to sustainably grow more vegetables for home consumption and income.

To tackle food insecurity, Urban Agriculture Volunteers are trained to work on:
- Sustainable, environmentally sound, nutrition-sensitive agriculture for greater food security in some of Senegal’s poorest communities
- Micro gardening
- Environmental resiliance and awareness activities
- Developing partnerships with farmer associations, NGOs, and other institutions at the local level to support and improve farming practices
- Development of locally sustainable sources of improved seed varieties
- Youth positive development through youth clubs and agriculturally focused student groups
- Girls empowerment as a pathway to achieving sustainable development
- Building a partnership with experienced farmers

As an Urban Agriculture Volunteer in Senegal, you will provide a valuable service to your community in their quest for increased food production. Volunteers support agriculture extension by transferring appropriate skills and technologies through one-on-one field-based instruction of farmers, through side-by-side demonstrations implemented with other farmers, and with clubs and other youth groups.

You will act as a co-facilitator, co-trainer, catalyst, liaison, and resource person for farming communities. You don't need to be a farmer or a food security expert to be successful; we will train you on the technical skills you will need and on cultural dynamics in Senegal. In addition, we will provide you with advice and feedback on the activities you will implement.

As an actor in the development of Senegal, and as part of the wider Peace Corps effort to share our story with our counterparts and host governments as well as to bring that story home to the US, you will monitor and report on your work activities throughout your service through field visits, surveys, and stories.

Environmental adaptation and resilience

As an Agriculture Volunteer, you will be trained on best practices for smallholder agriculture to improve household food security and nutrition and adapt to a changing and uncertain environmental context. As the impacts of environmental degradation and unsustainable natural resource management practices become more evident, the social, economic, and environmental contexts that smallholder farmers operate within will continue to change. This will add to the challenges of smallholder farming, particularly for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.
As an Agriculture Volunteer, you will be trained to support food security and livelihood improvement while increasing community resilience and adaptation to global change through your activities. These activities will:
• Promote the adoption of improved, appropriate, and adaptive agricultural practices and technologies that increase productivity, including practices that:
o improve soil health and promote circularity of on-farm organic waste
o reflect indigenous knowledge of nature-based solutions and
o preserve and enhance forests, biodiversity, and ecosystem services.
• Build and strengthen household resilience by integrating and diversifying existing and new agriculture-related income-generating opportunities
• Improve household nutrition, particularly that of the most vulnerable household members

Required skills

Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in working in agriculture and one or more of the following criteria:
• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field
OR
• 5 years' professional work experience

Desired skills

Competitive candidates will have one or more of the following criteria:
• Desire to work outdoors
• Experience or interest in gardening or growing crops
• Interest or experience in promoting food security or environment-smart agricultural practices and approaches
• Interest in working with youth and/or in increasing the empowerment of women and girls in agricultural communities
• Strong interpersonal skill
• French language skills

Required language skills

There are no pre-requisite language requirements for this position. The dominant languages in Senegal are Wolof and Pulaar, but there are many other smaller language groups as well. You will receive intensive training in the most common language of the site where you will be based, and you will attain a proficiency level in that language by the time you complete your Pre-Service Training. Most of your work will be carried out in a local language.

Peace Corps Senegal does not train in French, preferring to focus on the primary language that the Volunteer will speak. French language skills can be however, very useful in Senegal, particularly when traveling or when working with people from other parts of the country. You are encouraged to learn as much French as possible prior to arrival in country.

Living conditions

Peace Corps Senegal Volunteers live with a host family either in their home in a separate room or in a small house on the family compound. Sharing meals and camaraderie with your host family will help you to understand the culture, enjoy the security of family life and learn the language of your community. When living with a host family, Volunteers have a private room/hut and private latrine/toilet within the family living environment.

Many Volunteer homes do not have access to running water or electricity. Water is collected at a community pump or well. Cell phone coverage in Senegal is fairly good and you will have a Peace Corps-issued cell phone or may use your own. The internet is becoming more widely available, although it is still not available everywhere. Internet coverage is more commonly available in larger towns and cities.

It can be very useful to have a laptop and a smart phone, but you may not wish to invest in the most expensive model. The dust, heat, and humidity of Senegal are hard on electronics. Cheaper, used, and/or hardier models may be better options. To support all Volunteers to have the basic tools necessary for their work, Peace Corps will provide an optional 1-time grant as part of the settling-in allowance at the end of Pre-Service Training (PST) to buy a simple laptop/tablet (based on local market availability).

Senegalese dishes consist of a staple of rice, millet, or corn with vegetable sauces and sometimes with fresh or dried fish. Meat is also available but more of a rarity. Access to produce is seasonal and variety is often limited by geographic locations. Vegetarians can make arrangements with their host families to maintain their diet, but this usually further decreases variety.

Senegal enjoys a good primary road system, but transportation remains a challenge. You will usually travel in crowded, shared taxis and buses over rough roads, particularly outside of urban areas. You will travel by bike – Peace Corps provided – or on foot or donkey/horse cart for shorter trips within your community and to nearby towns or villages. In all cases, Peace Corps Volunteers are expected to observe Peace Corps Senegal’s transportation policy.

Senegalese pride themselves on being well dressed. A neat and dignified appearance will say a lot about your desire to be accepted as a colleague. During Pre-Service Training, the dress code is business casual. There is a lot of beautiful cloth available in Senegal, and many Volunteers have clothing made by local tailors. Volunteers should not wear clothing that is overly tight, and clothing should always come at least as low to cover the knees. Long shorts, covering the knee, are acceptable for sports, but otherwise are rarely worn.

Volunteers may experience a high degree of curiosity or unwanted attention from host country nationals. Concepts of politeness and appropriate behavior are not universal. Volunteers have been able to turn these encounters into teaching and learning opportunities, sharing American values and deepening local community members’ understanding of Americans.

Learn more about the Volunteer experience in Senegal: Get detailed information on culture, communications, housing, and health/crime statistics in order to make a well-informed decision about serving.

Medical considerations

Before you apply, please review medical clearance and legal clearance to learn about the process.

Couples information

Senegal can accommodate couples serving together but working in different projects. Therefore, your partner must qualify and apply for one of the following positions:

• Forestry and Environment Change Agent

Couples will live together during Pre-Service Training as well during the two years of service. They will share a hut or room within a family home or compound, as do single Volunteers.