Job Description
Interested in supporting a community’s food and nutrition security through strategic agricultural practices? Communities in Zambia are looking for you.
In Zambia, flood and drought are the biggest disrupters to livelihoods of citizens and the domestic economy in recent years. Recent droughts have increased people’s vulnerability to food shortages, thereby exacerbating an increase in the number of children under five with stunted growth due to chronic malnutrition. Communities in Zambia are interested in learning and applying agroforestry techniques to mitigate future floods and droughts, which will contribute to smallholder famers’ livelihood resilience.
As an Agriculture and Environment Extension Agent, you will collaborate with community members to boost local food and nutrition security through sustainable agriculture. Alongside your colleagues, you will apply agroforestry techniques to improve flood control, natural resource management, and the soil’s health and stability.
Required Skills
Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in working in agriculture or forestry and must have a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field.
Please Note: A bachelor’s degree is mandatory for all candidates as a requirement for your Zambian work permit.
Desired Skills
All candidates who meet the required skills are encouraged to apply. Additional skills that may make you a more competitive candidate include:
Experience with organizing environmental education activities.
Farm, forestry, or nursery management experience.
Living Conditions
Volunteers typically live on a large housing compound, but have their own living structure, cooking area, private bathing area, and latrine.
Language Skills Additional Information
While English is the official language of Zambia, Volunteers cannot effectively integrate without the ability to hold basic conversations in the local Zambian language. Some community members may have intermediate or advanced levels of English, however most will not. Therefore, Volunteers are required to learn a local Zambian language.
Trainees are offered a comprehensive language immersion program during their 10-week Pre-Service Training (PST), consisting of roughly 80-85 hours of language training. Trainees will learn from native speakers in the predominant language spoken in their community in which they will be placed. They will be required to attain an intermediate level score and will receive a language survival kit. Trainees are expected to practice during breaks, evenings, and or weekends, as necessary, to meet basic language qualifications.
Once in their community, Volunteers are encouraged to continue to engage in language skill acquisition through the services of a language tutor (paid for by Peace Corps).
Couples Comments
Peace Corps Zambia welcomes couples serving together during service. For any couples to be considered, your partner must qualify for and be invited to serve as a Health (CHEP), Education (RED), or Environment (LIFE) Volunteer.
The Pre-Service Training communities for Environment, Health and Education Volunteers are in the same location. Cross-sector couples will be living together during the three months of Pre-Service Training. Couples also need to be aware that additional but compulsory trainings such as in-service training and mid-service training can be held at different times. However, they will live together at their permanent community.
Language Requirements Information
There are no pre-requisite language requirements for this position. Please take a moment to explore the Language Comments section below to find out more on how local language(s) will be utilized during service.
Environmental Adaptation and Resilience Activities (Public Information)
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:
• Improve soil health and promote circularity of on-farm organic waste
• Reflect indigenous knowledge of nature-based solutions and
• 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
Activities
How you and the community will make an impact together:
Conduct a needs assessment.
Promote the incorporation of agroforestry technologies in the farming system.
Strengthen soil and water management practices.
Highlight useful gardening and tree planting techniques.
Conduct training on planning, recordkeeping, and marketing for farmers.
You may also work on additional projects that meet the community’s interests and priorities, such as cooking demonstrations and nutrition workshops.
Training
As an Agriculture and Environment Extension Agent, you will be trained in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) best practices and technical agroforestry techniques. Peace Corps/Zambia will teach you one of the country’s 45 local languages to help you comfortably live in and connect with the community.
After 10 weeks of training, you will move to a rural community where you will collaborate with schools, community groups, local government partners, and individual households. You will work with the community to assess the local needs and develop solutions based on available resources and agroforestry best practices.
Job Highlights
Gain valuable experience applying agroforestry technologies to strengthen food security.
Experience the diverse cultural traditions of a country with over 70 ethnic groups.
Build lifelong connections with community members and colleagues.
