Consultant for Development of a Farmer Booklet Content

Background

Mada Association is seeking a qualified Consultant for the Development of a Farmer Booklet’s Content, to work under the BMZ-funded project ‘Strengthening the resilience of Syrian refugees and Lebanese host communities in northern Lebanon to the consequences of the country's socio-economic crises by promoting food and income security, rehabilitation of water-related and agricultural infrastructure, trainings, initial provision of households’, implemented by Mada Association in partnership with arche noVa.

The project targets Lebanese and Syrian farmers through direct support, namely distribution of farmer toolkit, capacity building and training focused on enterprise development, and support to build and/or enhance professional capacity, including integration into the formal market.

Main Tasks and Responsibilities

The Consultant selected will develop a Farmer Booklet Content in Arabic which summarizes Mada’s training programme for smallholder farmers on Good Agricultural Practices.

The programme consists of a Power Point presentation, encompassing 430 slides, covering the following topics (1) Soil preparation, (2) Seed production, selection (i.e. seeds varieties, rootstock, scion selection, etc.), planting and transplanting techniques, (3) Orchard Establishment, (4) Pruning of fruit trees, (5) Harvest and post-harvest handling practices, (6) Crop rotation and intercropping techniques, (7) Irrigation and water management practices, (8) Nutrient management, fertilization techniques, and main pests, (9) Integrated Pest Management Strategies for vegetables and fruit trees, (10) Composting, sustainable farming practices and environmental considerations.

The Farmer Booklet will be distributed to the farmers as material following the training, to serve as a user-friendly tool to provide guidance at farm level. As such, the Consultant will have to summarize the extensive training content, keeping: the most relevant, concise information, presented in the clearest way possible. 

The Consultant will be responsible for:

• Propose an outline for the Farmer Booklet including sections and subsections. The consultant has to share the outline with Mada in advance for confirmation.
• Summarizing each section, condensing the information while maintaining clarity and using simple and straightforward language to ensure easy comprehension,
• Maintaining uniformity in formatting, style, language and tone throughout the booklet to ensure a cohesive presentation,
• Enhancing the Farmer Booklet with relevant visual elements such as tables, info-graphics, and images to effectively illustrate agricultural practices. Ensure that visuals are clear and contribute to better understanding. To note that for complex visuals, a Graphic Designer will be available to develop them;
• Finalizing the Farmer Booklet content based on the feedback received from Mada, making necessary adjustments for a cohesive and comprehensive deliverable.

Minimum Qualification and Experience

• Degree in agriculture, plant production or relevant fields,
• Demonstrated experience in in preparing agriculture content for farmers,
• Demonstrated experience in Good Agricultural Practices,
• Time management, good organizational and communication skills, ability to be flexible,
• Strong interpersonal, reporting and facilitation skills.

Time Frame/Duration

The selected consultant is expected to start the development of the Famer Booklet Content in Mid-February 2024 for a period of 3 weeks.