Agronomist Consultant, High Value Crop Production

About the role

Tupande, the Kenya programme of One Acre Fund, is scaling up its High Value Crop (HVC) Production programme for the Long Rains 2027 season. It is looking for an experienced agronomist with hands-on expertise in chilli, groundnut, sunflower, soybean and chia to produce a technical reference, strengthen extension materials and build field-staff capability. This is an assignment for one individual consultant, not a firm, with a total effort of up to 15 days (about 3-4 weeks of core work, plus up to 5 days of as-needed in-season support).

Key responsibilities

• Crop Technical Production Manual (up to 5 days): a single technical reference covering crop overview, varieties, planting windows, site selection, soil requirements, rotation, crop stages, input package, pest and disease library, harvest and quality standards, and a decision table for a monitoring dashboard. Chemical recommendations must comply with Kenyan registration and label requirements.
• Extension materials review (up to 3 days): review planting cards, farmer guides, training presentations and quizzes against the manual and return them with tracked changes and a summary of main changes.
• 2-day staff bootcamp: train about 20 production and field staff, including time in the field, with a short end-of-bootcamp assessment targeting at least 80% for each participant.
• In-season technical support (up to 5 days): answer crop-specific questions and recommend updates to the manual based on field experience.

Required profile

• Degree in Agronomy, Crop Science, Agricultural Sciences or a related field; a postgraduate qualification is an advantage.
• Proven, in-depth experience with one of the five crops through field work, research or both; general agricultural experience alone is not enough.
• Experience writing crop manuals, production guides or technical standards.
• Experience working with smallholder farmers and turning technical recommendations into practical field advice.
• Practical knowledge of pest and disease management for the crop in Kenya.
• Experience training field staff or extension workers.
• Valid registration with the relevant professional body in Kenya, where applicable.
• Citizen or permanent resident of Kenya.

All outputs belong to Tupande and farmer data must be kept confidential. Applicants must declare any recent financial, employment, consultancy or advisory relationships with input companies, crop buyers or processors. Preferred start date is as soon as possible. The role is based in Nairobi, Kenya.