Myanmar_Capacity Building and Climate Smart Agriculture Training Consultants

The Climate-Friendly Agribusiness Value Chains Sector Project supports implementing the government’s Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS), 2018-2023 and the National Export Strategy, 2015-2019 by boosting competitiveness in value chains for rice, beans, pulses, and oilseeds in the Magway, Mandalay, and Sagaing regions in the Central Dry Zone (CDZ). The project will increase climate resilience for critical rural infrastructure, promote quality and safety testing capacity, strengthen technical and institutional capacity for climate smart agriculture (CSA), and create an enabling policy environment for climate-friendly agribusinesses. The project will reduce food insecurity and rural poverty, increase smallholders’ incomes and access to markets, and improve resource efficiency and environmental sustainability for agribusinesses.

The project aims to create an enabling environment that reduces the incidence of poverty, malnutrition, and food insecurity among the rural poor. The project is aligned with the following impact: agricultural competitiveness improved. The project will have the following outcome: productive and resource-efficient agribusiness value chains in project areas developed.

Scope of Work.

The specialist will support the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI) Agriculture Mechanization Department (AMD), Department of Rural Development (DRD) and DOA-Extension Division (ED) to promote agriculture mechanization in collaboration with private sector companies. This will include will include the development and implementation of workshops and demonstrations on mechanization and training on machinery operation and repair. Participants will include private dealers, service providers, mechanics, repair workshops, MOALI staff, and farmers.

Detailed Tasks.

The responsibilities will include:

• The identification of machinery suitable for (a) smallholder farmers, particularly for women-headed households; (b) machinery suitable for the pulse-based farming systems; and (c) machinery supportive of climate smart interventions (direct seeding, deep placement of fertilizer, laser leveling, water saving irrigation technologies, etc.);
• The development of training material on best practice mechanization technologies and practices applicable to crop varieties and soil types in the Central Dry Zone (CDZ);
• Training of trainers from the AMD on mechanization best practice;
• Assist AMD to develop with private sector and DOA-ED / DRD mechanization demonstrations on lead farmers fields;
• Assist AMD to assess the demand for machinery operation and repair skills in the target area and organize training with private sector and/or the AMD Meikthila Training Centre;
• Ensure that the gender action plan recommendations are being implemented by the IA, for the farm mechanization activities