Internship Vacancy For Regenerative Agriculture at Rikolto

Internship Vacancy For Regenerative Agriculture at Rikolto

Internship Vacancy For Regenerative Agriculture  

Company: Rikolto

Location: Katavi

Duration: One Year

 About Rikolto 

For more than 30 years, Rikolto in East Africa has worked continuously to achieve one goal: a better deal for farmers. Rikolto is an international NGO with more than 40 years’ experience in partnering with farmer organizations and food chain stakeholders across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Rikolto is ambitious in tackling one of the greatest challenges we face – ensuring that we have food systems that deliver for all of us, now and in the future and that do not burden our planet more than it can bear. Therefore, we ask the question: “What will we eat tomorrow?” Rikolto runs programs in 17 countries worldwide through seven regional offices. In East Africa Rikolto has boots on the ground in Congo DRC, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. In Tanzania Rikolto head office is in Arusha with sub offices in Mbeya, iringa, Dodoma, Katavi and Tanga We’re a close-knit network of accessible and knowledgeable colleagues, willing to share experience and eager to inspire others. 

Project back ground 

Tanzania has 115 recognized wetlands, covering 10% of the country. They are critical for biodiversity and provide ecosystem services including flood and erosion control, tourism, habitat for plants and animals, and food.  However, Tanzania’s wetlands are threatened by unsustainable water resources and land use practices. The pressures on available water resources are constantly increasing, due to drivers such as population growth, unsustainable water resources management, and intensive land use. 

There is no enough updated data and information on the minimum river flow to inform issuing of water use permits, moreover large water users, such as irrigation farmers, lack knowledge and access to improved and adapted farming methods. The greatest threat to the sustainable conservation of the Katavi-Rukwa ecosystem is the overuse of water resources at the headwaters of the river, located before the national park.

Effective Water Resources Management and the identification of environmental flows are critical for ecosystems health and biodiversity conservation and must be a starting point for any project focusing on biodiversity conservation and wetlands/ecosystems. protection. 

Rikolto is partnering with GIZ under the Ministry of Water (MoW) together with SNV and IUCN to implement a three-year project titled Conservation of biodiversity in wetlands through integrated water resources management. The project thus aims to strengthen institutions involved in water and natural resources management and improve water user capacities to effectively manage water resources for wetlands ecosystem protection and biodiversity conservation. 

Rikolto’s role in this project will be building capacity of Water User Association (WUA) leaders and members through awareness-raising and training measures, such as efficient water management (including investing in irrigation infrastructure) and by ensuring compliance with their water withdrawal permits. Training of all water user types on sustainable water use practice and environmentally friendly farming practices.

Responsibilities

• Organize project meetings, workshop and seminars in collaboration with agribusiness advisor and other stakeholder 
• Supervise management of demonstration plots, progress data collection and coordinate outreach plans for TOTs 
• Organize ToTs participation during training sessions on water use efficiency, environmentally friendly practices.
• Support ToTs on cascading Water use efficiency measures which will be implemented by irrigators (e.g. in irrigation efficiency and practices, river management, water storage) with the goal to increase available water for biodiversity conservation (minimum environmental flows) along the river katuma in Katavi
• Should be a liaise person between project and water users’ community members and LGA  
• Support the function of Icra agribusiness Model on both production and commercial packages mean while facilitate collecting monthly production, and conservation practices reports to feed on the Quarter report.
• With support from LGA and Rikolto agribusiness advisor coaching farmer leaders and farmers on compliances to water use efficiency techniques and water management practices, ecosystem conservation/restoration, regenerative agriculture, with great emphasize on reinforcing compliance to water with draw  permits.  
• In collaboration with WUA professionalization technical expert facilitate skills enhancement and practicing of the governance, management and leadership skills of the 3 WUA. 
• Train and support Sustainable water management practices such as Alternative Wetting and Drying (AWD), seedling transplanting, land levelling and use of climate smart seeds through  demonstration plot established s.
• Support farmers to fill in farmer management journal and WUA to keep groups projects information 
• Support WUA leaders, TORs through farmer field schools and demonstration sites to disseminate to their fellow members as part of extending knowledge/skills on water, soil nutrient conservation outreach training to other farmers around the basin, beyond the 3 WUAs.

Minimum Qualifications 

• Degree holder in Conservation agriculture/ environmental management and Agronomy.
• Must be a vibrant, efficient, and well-organized person who can work with minimum supervision. 
• Must be an agronomist with skills on community development/mobilization approaches ecosystem conservation/ conservation approached. 
• Must be computer literate, especially word processing, using spreadsheets and databases. 
• Must be prepared to work extensively in rural areas. 
• Must have excellent communication skills and be able to write and speak English and Kiswahili fluently.
•  Mpanda resident will be given highest priority.

Mode of Application

The interested candidate should send the expression of interest to [email protected] through a one-page application letter, a detailed CV and copies of relevant certificates must be accompanied by names of two referees with valid contact telephone numbers, emails and post address before 24th February 2025.

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and invited for interview.