Soil Health/Pests and Diseases Specialist

About ACTED

ACTED is an international NGO that has been registered in Leba­non since 2006. It has an established country office in Beirut as well as a field office in Akkar. More recently, it has been carrying out activities in the South, Akkar, Mount Lebanon and Tripoli.

ACTED works closely with local authorities and civil society stakeholders at the com­munity level to implement priori­ty humanitarian interventions such as emergency multi-purpose cash assis­tance, WASH projects (including disease monitoring and infrastructural and behavioural response), and Shelter interven­tions incorporating multiple modalities. ACTED is also implementing long-term development projects with focus on agriculture cooperatives to rehabilitate infrastructure, improv­e agricultural production, increase livelihood opportunities and support state and non-state ac­tors to improve service deliv­ery and social stability through col­lective development planning.

Project 1: Women Economic Participation-Funded by UNDP

This project’s overall objective is “to contribute to the economic empowerment of Lebanese and Syrian women in Lebanon”. The project is designed to build the economic resilience and capacity of conflict affected, displaced and hosting women and girls in the South and Bekaa region of Lebanon.

The interventions will seek to integrate women’s economic participation with advocacy efforts, focusing at the individual, community and systemic levels.

It focuses in one part on improving the technical capacity of women on targeted value chain to improve their access to secure and sustainable income and livelihoods and on institutional and community levels to enhance the capacity of stakeholders to recognize women’s specific economic needs and to enact policy change to address them.

To this end, the project will promote inclusive and market system development through looking at the economic, social and environmental enabling environment that is necessary to function effectively and equitably.

The targeted beneficiaries will receive a package of trainings and awareness sessions that will empower them, and provide them with basic skills to be in a better position to seek, at the end of the project, improved livelihood opportunities.

Project 2: Addressing immediate socio-economic impact of COVID-19: Subsistence support for Host and Refugee Population in Lebanon funded by UNDP

With funding from UNDP, ACTED and AUB ESDU, are aiming to provide livelihood assets support as well as technical support and market linkages to 28 entities (including MSMEs, small-holder farmers and cooperatives) and 590 direct beneficiaries (as either MSME/cooperative members, farmers or laborers) located in Bekaa and South Governorates to expand production and continue to produce food for the communities and generate income.

ACTED is seeking one or more consultant(s) to provide training on the following indicative list of topics. Please specify in your application which training topics you have expertise to cover. Consultant(s) that are able to cover all listed training topics will be prioritized.

1. Training Topic:

Building Soil Health

1. Testing of soil health including microbiological diversity
2. Basics of Building Soil Microbial health (mycorrhizal symbiosis/mycelium networks/beneficial microorganisms in the soil)
3. Techniques for building soil health (for example: hugelkultur, straw bale gardening, cover crop planting, inoculating with mycorrhizae)
4. Composting & Soil Amendments (building alkaline compost, testing compost characteristics such as NPK and Ph at home, Techniques for building living compost, how to use soil amendments)
5. Inoculating with microrhyzobial fungi – practical sessions on how to inoculate plants/seeds with store bought fungi
6. Methods for culturing/propagating local indigenous mycorrhizal spores on the farm. Note: such techniques must be easy to follow without access to a lab facility.

Pests and Diseases

1. Common pests and diseases in the target value chains in Lebanon
2. Building soil microorganisms for control of pests and diseases
3. Local beneficial for pest control
4. Other techniques for pest and disease control

Note: In light of COVID-19 impacts, trainings may be offered via distance learning methods. The consultant(s) must be able to adapt the trainings to specific conditions as required.

2. Specific Tasks and Responsibilities:

1. Provide a training outline including main learning objectives and training topics per session. Trainings must include media or other relevant materials such as manuals, journals, literature etc.
2. Conduct theoretical as well as practical trainings for an estimated 270 individuals (majority women) and 40 farmers located in Bekaa and South Governorates Total number of training days will be decided in coordination with the consultant(s). Please provide an indicative timeline in your cover letter.
3. Provide follow up one-on-one advisory services for 40 farmers and. The one-on-one services may include sessions up to one hour on the phone for farmers to diagnose problems on their farm and develop solutions.
4. Suggest a BoQ for in-kind kits to be provided for farmers. The kits must include items to implement training topics such as tools, seeds, inoculants etc.

3. Reporting:

• Register daily attendance of beneficiaries as per the attendance sheet provided by ACTED team
• Develop and conduct pre and post tests
• Follow up and report the number of sessions provided and report to the training coordinator/Project Manager
• Provide weekly work plan to the training Coordinator/Project Manager
• Provide weekly reports to the training Coordinator/Project Manager with information on training progress

4. Coordination:

• Coordinate with Project Manager and project team on all updates related to the implementation process

5.Target audience and profile:

• The training will be delivered to an estimated mixed group of 270 vulnerable Lebanese and Syrian beneficiaries, 18 years old and above.
• The training will be provided to 40 farmers.
• Beneficiaries’ selection will be carried out by ACTED team

6. Required competencies:

• Must have at least 5 years of practical experience in land/farm management with a focus on soil regeneration. Please specify all relevant positions held and main responsibilities. Priority for candidates with experience in Lebanese agricultural sector.
• A degree in agricultural sciences, landscape management or other related courses.
• Additional certifications such as PDC and/or Soil Food Web preferred.
• Previous experience in research related to local mycorrhizal species, local pests and diseases etc preferred.
• Previous experience delivering trainings preferred.
• Excellent Arabic skills, both written and oral required.

7. Documents to be Submitted:

1. A detailed cover letter outlining previous relevant experience, skills and degrees. Please also include an indicative timeline for the training (number of days of training) and which training topics may be included.
2. An up-to-date CV
3. Outline of previous training curriculum if it already exists