Agricultural Extension Officers at Nitidæ

Agricultural Extension Officers at Nitidæ

Position: Agricultural Extension Officers

Locations: Lushoto or Mkuranga, Tanzania

Introducing Nitidæ

Nitidæ is a non-governmental organization whose main objective is to design, develop and implement projects that combine environment preservation and local economies development in rural areas of the Global South. Its projects focus on forests and ecosystems preservation and agricultural value chains strengthening. Nitidæ also provides technical expertise to agri-food and cosmetics companies wishing to improve the performance of agricultural value chains, mitigate their environmental impact and stimulate local development hand in hand with producer organizations.

Nitidæ is currently carrying out some thirty projects, mainly in Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Mozambique, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Cameroon. Its teams gather more than 250 employees (economists, engineers, agronomists, foresters, geographers, soil carbon specialists, GIS and remote sensing experts) spread between the different intervention countries and the headquarters in France.

Context of intervention

Since November 2025, Nitidæ has been contributing to the implementation of a multi-year project funded by the European Union, aimed at supporting the agroecological transition of coffee, cocoa and cashew value chains in Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda. The project seeks to accompany technical, economic and organisational transitions within smallholder farming systems, in close collaboration with economic and institutional stakeholders across the targeted value chains.

Against a backdrop of increasing pressure on natural resources—such as deforestation, soil degradation and climate change—combined with rising international demand for sustainably produced commodities, the project promotes more resilient, productive and sustainable perennial cropping systems that address environmental, social and economic challenges in an integrated manner.

The approach relies on the co-design, testing and dissemination of agroecological technical models, locally validated through field experimentation, plot monitoring and in-depth analysis of agricultural practices. Strong emphasis is placed on farmers’ ownership of innovations, support to collective dynamics, capacity building of agricultural technicians, and the involvement of downstream actors, including buyers, in sustainability strategies.

In Tanzania, activities are implemented under the four-year EU-funded programme SATAF – Strengthening Agroecological Transition & Agroforestry in Africa, carried out in consortium with the European Forest Institute (EFI). The programme focuses on the coffee and cashew sectors and aims to strengthen agroecology-based technical support to producers, deepen knowledge on agroecological production systems and their contribution to ecosystem services, and support governance and policy frameworks that enable the adoption and scaling of agroecological and agroforestry practices. Nitidæ’s field operations will be conducted in close partnership with pilot farmer groups, combining participatory diagnostics, co-design of practices, on-farm experimentation and dissemination to wider farmer networks. Cashew-related activities will mainly take place in collaboration with farmer networks, AMCOS and private operators of Mkuranga District, Pwani region, while coffee activities will be carried out in the West Usambara Mountains, Lushoto and Bumbuli Districts. Field operations are expected to start the latest April 2026. 

Responsibilities and reporting position

• The Agricultural Extension Officers (3) will work under the supervision of the Deputy Agronomic Technical Manager. More broadly, the team composed of the Deputy Agronomic Technical Manager and agricultural technicians operates in close coordination and under the overall responsibility of the Country Programme Manager and Nitidæ’s Head Office Technical Coordinator.
• Agricultural technicians will be responsible for the implementation of on-farm experimentation activities, the provision of technical advisory services and facilitation with farmers, and the dissemination of agroecological innovations.

More specifically, the Agricultural Extension Officer will carry out the following tasks:

1/ Support to the characterisation of agricultural practices and production constraints 

• With the support of the Deputy Agronomic Technical Manager, conduct interviews, surveys and focus group with different types of farmers in order to characterise cropping practices, farming systems, production constraints and risks.

2/ Implementation of farmer support activities

• Support the Deputy Agronomic Technical Manager in the design of technical support schemes and on-farm trials.
• Implement on-farm trials, including the establishment and monitoring of test plots and the provision of tailored, individualised farmer support.
• Participate in technical coordination meetings and contribute to activity reporting and to the analysis of results from on-farm trials.

3/ Training and knowledge dissemination

• With the support of the Deputy Agronomic Technical Manager, facilitate training sessions for farmers and other agricultural technicians on lessons learned from on-farm trials and on the potential of agroecological innovations according to farmer typologies.
• With the support of the Deputy Agronomic Technical Manager, disseminate validated technical models to farmers and field partners.

Skills and profile required

Required Profile

• Agricultural Extension Officer
• Bachelor of Science in Agriculture or Bachelor’s degree in related agricultural or rural development disciplines with at least 3 years demonstrable experience working with crop and livestock production systems. 
• Field experience in agricultural development projects, particularly in direct contact with smallholder farmers and rural communities is required. 
• Familiarity with farming systems and stakeholders in the Pwani Region and/or the Usambara Mountains.

Skills required

• In-depth knowledge of agroecology, organic farming and agroforestry
• Ability to carry out open-ended interviews to collect quantitative and qualitative data on technical and socio-economic parameters to characterize cropping systems, technical itineraries, constraints and production risks
• Ability to organize events and communicate with an agricultural audience
• Ability to work in a rural environment
• Ability to work in a team
• Ability to think beyond agronomic/academic knowledge to understand farmers’ decision-making process and constraints
• Good written and oral command of both English and Swahili
• Computer skills (Microsoft Office)
• Autonomy
• Motorbike driving license

Additional technical skills

• Experience with organic farming, agroecology and/or agroforestry 
• Experience with coffee and/or cashew production systems

 Job conditions

• Status: 1-year fixed-term contract, renewable, with probation period
• Remuneration according to profile and experience
• Reference office based in Dar es Salaam with the Extension Officers to be located within the project areas of Lushoto, Tanga (coffee production) and/or Mkuranga, Pwani (cashew production). More than 60% of the working time will be carried out in the field. A company motorcycle will be provided.
• Desired start date: April 2026 or upon arrangements

How to apply

To apply for this offer, send your CV and cover letter with the subject line: “RECRUIT TECH SATAF” to the following addresses: [email protected]

Application deadline: February 28th 2026

Women and individuals from marginalized groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

NB: Irrelevant and/or incomplete applications will not be analysed. If you do not hear back one month after the application deadline, please consider that your application has not been selected.