Feed the Future Sierra Leone Farmer to Farmer Program
Volunteer Assignment Scope of Work
NOTE: SCOPE OF WORK AWAITING FINAL EDITS.
Summary Information
Assignment Code
SL 19
Country
Sierra Leone
Country Project
Horticulture Country Project
Host Organization
Community Aid - Sierra Leone
Assignment Title
Vegetable production
Type of Volunteer Assistance:
Technology Transfer (T)
Type of Value Chain Activity:
Assignment preferred dates
On Farm Production (F)
August to September, 2017
Objective:
Provide technical support to Community Aid SL and its partner Farmer
Based Organization (FBO) members on improved vegetable production
 Formal qualifications in agriculture
 Good experience in horticulture/vegetables production for good
marketing and consumption
 Experience working with farmers on using improved
inputs/technologies in vegetable production
 Good communication skills
Desired volunteer
skill/expertise
A. BACKGROUND
Community Aid-Sierra Leone (CASL) is a local Non-Governmental Organization, registered with the Ministry
of Finance and Economic Development, and the Sierra Leone Association of Non-Governmental
Organizations. The organization has its Head Office situated in Freetown, and branch offices in Tonkolili and
Moyamba Districts. CASL targets youth, women, children, disabled persons, orphans and farmers.
CASL was formed in 2003It started as a community development association by the inhabitants of
Gbonkolenken Chiefdom in Tonkolili District, with the initial goal of engaging in agricultural activities, health
and sanitation, advocacy, governance and child welfare promotion in their localities. As a result of the
organization’s expansion in membership, target beneficiaries and operational areas with a broader mandate
to undertake sustainable development initiatives, CASL registered as a national NGO with the Government
of Sierra Leone, through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
CASL has the vision to strengthen the self-development capacities of target beneficiaries and communities
for general improvement in their living conditions and life situation in the society.
The organization has the mission of general improvement in the standard of living and welfare of target
beneficiaries for the reduction in abject poverty, hunger, teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and promotion of
sustainable development, improved health and sanitation, and provision of quality education in their
operational areas in Sierra Leone.
Core Values
CASL as an organization stands for certain values which have formed the very foundation of their existence
and all their actions. The core values include:


Promote participation of all stakeholders in all they do
As a result of their work, the people they serve must become gradually self-reliant in championing
their own developments
Strategic Directions and Programs
Building upon analysis of the problem in the country CASL recognized that its programing will require an
integrated approach. Although many strategies and approaches will be cross-cutting and integrated into
other programs, the organization will focus on the following areas:
EDUCATION
 Sensitization on Girl Child Education and the rights of the child in rural communities
 Hygiene education and promotion in schools
 Formation and training of School Health Clubs for hygiene promotion in primary schools
 Training of School Management Committee members on the management of their schools
FOOD SECURITY AND LIVELIHOODS
 Agricultural inputs support to youth and women farmers for improved food production and
marketing
 Training of target farmers on improved crop cultivation for increased productivity
 Training of target farmers in business techniques/methods for sustainability
 Provision of small ruminants to target farmers for restocking anf marketing
 Construction of fish ponds and Aquaculture
HEALTH AND SANITATION
 Community health education and common diseases prevention training
 Sensitization on behavioral change and adoption of hygiene best practices in communities and
schools
 Awareness raising on Reproductive Health among youth, adolescents and women
HIV/AIDS/TEENAGE PREGNANCY AND SEXUAL REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND



Awareness raising campaign in rural communities and schools
HIV/AIDS prevention training among adolescents, youth and Traditional Birth Attendants
Income generating ventures for high-risk groups such as commercial sex workers, war widows, etc.
Operational Areas
CASL operates in two districts in Sierra Leone; Tonkolili and Moyamba Districts. In Tonkolili, CASL works in
Gbonkolenken Chiefdom, with small scale producers of rice, vegetables and livestock. In Moyamba District,
CASL works in 3 chiefdoms, on IVS rehabilitation.
PROJECTS/ACTIVITIES IMPLEMENTED
Years
2003
2005
2005
2010
2013
2008
2009
2013
2016
2015
2016
Name of project implemented
Vegetable production for war affected women, supported by
WFP
Agricultural inputs distribution to returnee farmers in
Gbonkolenken Chiefdom
Provision of seeds and agricultural tools to war affected
farmers
HIV/AIDS Awareness and Animal Restocking for women
farmers
Construction of Fish Ponds for rural communities in Tonkolili
district
HIV/AIDS campaign among fisher men and fish mongers in
Tombo and Goderich
HIV/AIDS campaign among fisher men and fish mongers in
Shenge
IVS rice cultivation for women and youth farmers in Moyamba
Water management and seed management training for
women and youth farmers in Moyamba
Training on IVS rehabilitation and development for women
and youth farmers in Moyamba District
Water management training for women and youth farmers in
Moyamba district
Sources of funding
WFP
IFAD
IFAD
National Aid Secretariat
DFPP
West Africa Fishery
Development Program
West Africa Fishery
Development Program
GAFSP
CUM, Netherland
and
and
GAFSP
B. ISSUE DESCRIPTION
Sierra Leone is a favorable country for vegetable production. It has huge potentials for improved production
that will provide variety of products for consumption and marketing. There are several locations in the
country that have good soil and favorable weather conditions particularly rainfall and temperature for
improved vegetable production. With all the potentials vegetable production is mainly practiced in small
scale by mostly women in the rural communities. Tonkolili is one of the 14 districts of Sierra Leone with
potentials for vegetable production. Vegetables can be cultivated for 2 to 3 times per year in most parts of
the country.
However, vegetable production in Sierra Leone by smallholder farmers is faced with many challenges that
affect production and productivity. Below are some of the issues around vegetable production:
Inadequate knowledge and skills of vegetable producers in improved agronomic practices. The application
of improved agronomic practices is key to improving vegetable production and productivity. This will ensure
that farmers use appropriate methodologies and practices to improve their production. However, majority
of the producers in Sierra Leone do not have access to improved extension services that will build their
capacity in vegetable production. Local producers use traditional methods of planting vegetables without
appropriate dimensions, and application of fertilizers without specifications and scale. Farmers do not know
the exact time to apply fertilizers, if they had access to them, and the quantity and methods of application.
Farmers need knowledge in the appropriate technologies for improved vegetable production.
CASL staff and farmer leaders do not have enough knowledge and skills in improved methodologies and
good agronomic practices for improved vegetable production. They need capacity building support in the
best agronomic practices that will enhance vegetable production in their areas of operation. They need a
training material or guide that they will use to refresh and transfer knowledge to others.
Lack of inputs by vegetable producers for improved production. Vegetable farmers face challenges with the
quality of seeds to produce. Most the seeds available to them are less productive due to continued use as
seed for several years. Farmers do not have access to seed banks, where they could go in the communities
and get to produce vegetables. Vegetable seeds are retail in some of the local markets, and the prices, some
of them cannot afford. Imported seeds are expensive and some of the producers cannot afford, and prefer
to continue using their local seeds which are not very productive. Vegetable producers lack the appropriate
tools and equipment required for good vegetable production. The use of good and the appropriate tools
will help to improve the quality of the soil and water availability for good utilization of nutrients and water
by the crops. Vegetable producers are constrained by the lack of access to improved fertilizers for improved
productivity. Lack of knowledge on the type of fertilizer to apply is also affecting production. Most of the
fertilizers available in the country are supplied by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security
(MAFFS) through their District offices. Due to Government bureaucracies, the fertilizers sometimes the
farmers late. Vegetable producers also face challenges with pest control. They do not have good access to
the appropriate chemicals for pest and disease control.
Lack of finance by vegetable producers for investment in their production. Most of the vegetable producers
in the rural areas of Sierra Leone do not have access to finance, to enable them to buy inputs and pay for
services for improved production. Smallholder farmers who do not have access to credits and loans from
financial service providers cannot afford the cost of good quality of seeds and other quality inputs that will
improve vegetable production. This leads to farmers paying less attention to vegetable production and
consider other livelihoods options. This makes vegetable production in the rural areas mostly on backyard
gardens by women for their home consumption.
Climate change is also another factor that is affecting vegetable production in Sierra Leone. Climate change
has caused erratic weather conditions ranging from early rainfall, flooding of low lands to heavy winds
destroying crops in the field. The issues of flood and heavy winds are usually envisaged during the period
of maturity of the crops to harvest, causing serious losses to the producers. Farmers require knowledge that
they will use to produce their vegetables in a way that will not be adversely affected by the unpredictable
weather conditions.
Marketing of vegetable products is also a challenge to the smallholder farmers in Sierra Leone. In order to
access market, producers face challenges with transportation of their products from farm gates to distant
market locations where they can sell their produce at good prices. Poor road network and high costs of
transportation affect the capacity of vegetable producers in transporting their products to value markets.
This leads to their products being perished and eventually farmers losing money.
Lack of good storage facilities for vegetable products in rural communities also affect the incomes of
farmers. Vegetables get perished within a few days and without good storage facilities producers lose
money, or sell their produce at low prices in order to realize some incomes from their investments.
Community Aid Sierra Leone is requesting a partnership with the Feed the Future Sierra Leone Farmer to
Farmer program, to build the capacity of their staff and partner FBO members on improved vegetable
production in Gbokolenken chiefdom, Tonkolili district. This request is a result of the inadequate knowledge
and skills of their staff and partner FBO members on improved vegetable production.
C. OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT
Provide technical support to Community Aid Sierra Leone and its partner Farmer Based Organization
members on improved vegetable production.
The specific objectives of this assignment are stated below:
1. Train CASL staff and their partner FBO members on good agronomic practices for improved vegetable
production, including seed selection, weeding and soil fertility maintenance and improvement for
increased productivity
2. Provide training to CASL staff and partner FBO members on the best practices of land preparation for
improved vegetable production, including improved ploughing and harrowing, preparation of nurseries
and transplanting sites with technical specifications, and appropriate dimensions of planting spaces
3. Train CASL staff and their partner FBO members on improved methodologies of vegetable production,
such as methodological packages developed by research institutions
4. Train CASL staff and their partner FBO members on sustainable methodologies that will make
vegetables resilient to unpredictable weather conditions. Use of Climate Smart Agriculture knowledge
and skills
5. Prepare on farm demonstration for the participants on the use of improved agronomic practices and
methodologies of vegetable production for improved production and productivity
By the end of the training CASL staff and their partner FBO members will have improved knowledge and
skills on good agronomic practices and improved methodologies of vegetable production. Participants will
gain good understanding of improved methodological packages of vegetable production that is adaptable
to the local conditions of the producers. By the end of the assignment, participants will gain good
knowledge in Climate Smart Agriculture to tackle the adverse effects of Climate Change.
D. HOST CONTRIBUTION
 CASL will assign staff to work closely with the volunteer during the assignment
 CASL will use its financial resources to mobilize staff and partner FBO members to effectively participate
training sessions.
 CASL will conduct in-country induction training for the volunteer.
E.
ANTICIPATED RESULTS FROM THE ASSIGNMENT
 Increased capacity of CASL staff and their partner FBO members on improved agronomic
practices and methodologies of vegetable production. Participants will have good understanding
of technical specifications for preparing land and planting seedlings for improved vegetable
production. Participants will have good understanding of climate smart agriculture approaches to
tackle erratic weather conditions against vegetable production.
 Partner FBO members of CASL will adopt the improved practices and methodologies of vegetable
production gained from the training.
 CASL staff and partner FBO members will cascade the training to other farmers for improved
vegetable production in their communities
F.
DELIVERABLES
 Volunteer develops user friendly training manual/guide for the participants to enable them
refresh their knowledge and transfer knowledge and skills to other farmers
 Established demonstration plot for improved vegetable production
 Volunteer developed simple structure reports that will be shared with stakeholders.
 Volunteer make a Power Point presentation at CRS Country Office in Freetown on the
assignment
G. SCHEDULE OF VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES IN SIERRA LEONE
Upon arrival at the Lungi International Airport, the Feed the Future Sierra Leone Farmer to Farmer
Volunteer Logistician, Alie Timbo (cell phone: +23276648010/+23230506922) and CRS Expeditor, Bai
Bai Kamara (cell phone: +23279735330) will receive the volunteer, and assist him or her with
movements and luggage within the airport before taken to the hotel.
Day
Day 1
Day 2
Activity
Volunteer leaves home country (US)
Volunteer arrives at the Lungi International Airport and is assisted by the CRS
Expeditor to be accommodated at the Lungi Airport Hotel, if he or she arrives in the
evening, to pass the night
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5-8
Day 9
Day 10-13
Day 14-15
Day 16
Day 17-18
Day 19
Day 20
Day 21
TBD
Volunteer is taken to Makeni from the Airport Hotel by the F2F Logistician and is
accommodated at the CRS Guest House, where he/she will stay throughout the
assignment.
Volunteer is taken to the Feed the Future field office in Magburaka for introductions
and security briefing.
Volunteer is taken by the F2F Program Coordinator to the host office location in
Magburaka for introductions and local cultural briefing
Volunteer train CASL staff and their partner FBO members on good agronomic
practices for improved vegetable production, including seed selection, weeding and
soil fertility maintenance and improvement for increased productivity
Volunteer rest for the weekend and prepare for work on the next day
Volunteer train CASL staff and their partner FBO members on the best practices of
land preparation for improved vegetable production, including improved ploughing
and harrowing, preparation of nurseries and transplanting sites with technical
specifications, and appropriate dimensions of planting spaces
Volunteer train CASL staff and their partner FBO members on improved
methodologies of vegetable production, such as methodological packages developed
by research institutions
Volunteer rest for the weekend and prepare for work on the next day
Train CASL staff and their partner FBO members on sustainable methodologies that
will make vegetables resilient to unpredictable weather conditions. Use of Climate
Smart Agriculture knowledge and skills
Volunteer close training
Volunteer submits draft power point presentation and end of assignment report to
CRS, and travel to Freetown for debriefing at the CRS Country Office
Volunteer debrief at CRS office in Freetown, and depart later in the day for home
country
Outreach event in the US
After the volunteer debrief at the CRS Country Office in Freetown, depending on the departure time, he or
she will have a 15 minutes’ drive from the CRS Office in Freetown to Aberdeen to board a water taxi that
will take him/her to Lungi for departure. The water taxi takes about 20 to 30 minutes to land on the shore
in Lungi. At the shore, the passengers will wait for about 10 to 15 minutes for the luggage to be
transferred to a mini-bus that will take them to the airport and the passengers will board another minibus to the airport for checking and departure. At the airport, it takes an hour or more for the airport
authorities to complete checking. However, some flights may delay for about an hour or more, and
passengers will be encouraged to exercise patience by the airline.
H. DESIRABLE VOLUNTEERS SKILLS
 Formal qualifications in agriculture
 Good experience in horticulture/vegetables production for good marketing and consumption
 Experience working with farmers on using improved inputs/technologies in vegetable production
 Good communication skills
I.
ACCOMMODATION AND OTHER IN-COUNTRY LOGISTICS
Volunteers arriving at the airport before 4 pm will be taken by Alie in a CRS car to Makeni for
accommodation at the CRS Guest House. When the volunteer arrives after 5:00 pm, the Logistician or CRS
Expeditor will take the guest to the Lungi Airport Hotel, E-mail: ([email protected])
for passing the night. In the morning around 10, the volunteer will be taken by a CRS car to Makeni where
he/she will stay at the CRS Guest House throughout the period of the assignment.
CRS will provide transportation for the volunteer from the hotel to the host throughout the assignment.
CRS will provide the volunteer with per diem which will not be accounted for, to be used as expenses for
meals and incidentals. For more information, please refer to the country information that will be provided.
J. RECOMMENDED ASSIGNMENT PREPARATIONS
The volunteer should prepare materials for hand-outs, which can be printed at CRS office in Makeni before
commencement of the assignment. Flip charts, markers, masking tapes can be obtained at CRS offices in
case the volunteer wishes to make some illustrations. Depending on the training venue the volunteer may
use a laptop and projector for power point presentations. However if the training venue is in the community,
it will be difficult to use PowerPoint. In this case the volunteer will be expected to prepare training materials
and have hand-outs printed at CRS offices for distribution to the participants.
CRS strongly recommends that the volunteer becomes familiar with the Sierra Leone Feed the Future EAIN
F2F Program description prior to arrival in the country as well as country information that will be provided.
K. KEY CONTACTS
Bruce White
Project Director
EA Farmer to Farmer Program
228 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
410-951-7249 / 410-428-4224 Cell
Skype: brucew219
Email: [email protected]
http://farmertofarmer.crs.org
CRS Baltimore
Priyanka Subba
Volunteer Recruiter
Sierra Leone Farmer to Farmer Program
228 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
410-951-7366
Email: [email protected]
CRS Sierra Leone Program
Nikaj Van Wee
Nathaniel G. Lamin
Chief of Party
Program Coordinator
Feed the Future Sierra Leone Entrepreneurial
Sierra Leone Farmer to Farmer Program
Agriculture for Improved Nutrition Project
41 Riverside Drive, Brook Fields, Freetown
41 Riverside Drive, Brook Fields, Freetown
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Skype: natglamin
ACT-S/L
Manfred Musa
Ibrahim J. Turay
Program Director
Program Manager
Community Aid-Sierra Leone (CASL)
Community Aid-Sierra Leone (CASL)
213 Bai Bureh Road, Grass Field, Freetown
213 Bai Bureh Road, Grass Field, Freetown
Mobile: +232 78 829966
+232 76 739006
Email: [email protected]