Job Description
Job Description
This is a call to support work under the Mikana ("Harvesting Opportunities Led by Strong Women in
Zimbabwe") project, supported by the Bauer Charity and implemented by Welthungerhilfe, Bio-Innovation
Zimbabwe and Musasa.
1. Background
The Mikana project ("Harvesting Opportunities Led by Strong Women in Zimbabwe") is a 36-month initiative
running from June 2026 to May 2029 in four wards of Mudzi District, Zimbabwe. It targets 4,000 direct
participants, primarily smallholder farmers and non-timber forest product (NTFP) collectors and is expected
to indirectly benefit at least 12,000 people. The project responds to interconnected challenges within Mudzi's
food system, including food insecurity, climate vulnerability, weak local markets, natural resource degradation,
gender inequality and women's limited access to finance, productive resources and decision-making.
Mikana is structured around four interconnected components: (i) strengthening gender-equitable decision-
making and access to resources; (ii) promoting environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient production
and collection of opportunity crops and wild-harvested products; (iii) establishing market-linked, women-led
producer and collector groups; and (iv) increasing year-round consumption of nutritious, locally available
foods. The project combines community visioning, the Toose gender-transformative methodology, Internal
Savings and Lending Schemes (ISALS), Champion Families, women and girls' safe spaces, mobile gender-based
violence (GBV) response services, agroecological training, organic-certified wild harvesting, producer and
collector groups, ward-level markets, cooking clubs, behaviour change campaigns, and seed and food festivals.
The project is implemented through a partnership between Welthungerhilfe (WHH), Musasa and Bio
Innovation Zimbabwe (BIZ), with each organisation contributing complementary expertise. WHH provides
overall coordination and systems-based project leadership; Musasa leads the gender transformation and GBV
components; and BIZ is responsible for activities related to opportunity crops, non-timber forest products
(NTFPs), market development and nutrition.
Overall, Mikana seeks to empower women as key agents of food system transformation by strengthening the
links between gender equality, resilient livelihoods, climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation, local market
development and improved household nutrition.
Duties and Responsibilities
2. Purpose of the Assignment
The objective of this assignment is to develop a practical, user-friendly production and marketing manual for
selected opportunity crops (pearl millet, bambara nut, cowpea, groundnut, hibiscus and Kalahari melon),
including selected wild-harvested forest products (including baobab, mobola plum and sour plum). Rather than
focusing solely on crop production, the manual will guide producers through the entire value chain, from
planning and sustainable production to post-harvest handling and profitable marketing. Climate-resilient and
agroecological practices will be integrated throughout the manual, with practical guidance on soil and water
management, pest and disease management, production calendars and market-oriented farming to support
resilient, sustainable and profitable smallholder production systems.
The consultant should ensure that the manual is:
• technically accurate,
• appropriate for local conditions,
• practical for smallholder farmers and extension personnel,
• climate-smart and environmentally sustainable,
• gender-responsive and inclusive,
• market-oriented, and
• illustrated with practical examples, photographs and diagrams wherever possible.
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3. Scope of Work
Target Audience: The manual will serve as technical reference resources for project field officers and
government agricultural extension officers, while also providing the basis for the development of simple
training handouts for lead farmers and collectors to use when training their peers.
4. Timeline and Deliverables
The assignment is to be undertaken in August-September 2026.
The manual will be synthesising existing knowledge, filling gaps through consultation, and
presenting it in an accessible format.
• Inception and Planning: Meet with the project team to understand objectives, target audience,
expected format, and crops/products to be covered. Existing project documents, training materials
and previous manuals are reviewed to agree on the scope and outline of the manual and the workplan
• Desk Review: Conduct a comprehensive review of available literature and technical resources
• Stakeholder Consultations: Consult key stakeholders to ensure recommendations reflect current practice and market realities.
• Draft Manual: for project partners’ review
• Final Manual + copies of useful more detailed manuals consulted
Qualifications and Experience
5. Required Experience and Qualifications
• Master's degree in Agronomy, Crop Science, Agricultural Extension, Agricultural Economics, Natural
Resource Management, or a related field. A Bachelor's degree with extensive relevant experience may
be considered.
• At least 7 years' demonstrated experience in sustainable smallholder agriculture, preferably including
opportunity crops and/or non-timber forest products (NTFPs).
• Proven experience in developing technical production manuals, extension materials, farmer training
guides or similar knowledge products for smallholder farmers and extension services.
• Strong knowledge of agroecological production systems, climate-smart agriculture, integrated soil
fertility management, soil and water conservation, and integrated pest and disease management.
• Demonstrated understanding of market-oriented agriculture, agricultural value chains.
• Good knowledge of Zimbabwe's agroecological conditions, farming systems and agricultural extension
approaches.
• Excellent technical writing, editing and communication skills, with the ability to present complex
technical information in clear, practical language suitable for extension officers and smallholder
farmers.
• Experience conducting literature reviews, synthesising technical information.
• Excellent command of written and spoken English.
How to Apply
6. Submission of Proposals
Interested consultant(s) should submit a technical proposal and budget. The Technical Proposal should
consist of the following:
• Their understanding of the Terms of Reference
• A methodology showing how they plan to handle the assignment
• Allocation of consultancy days
• Indicative timetable for completion of the assignment
• Detailed CV(s)
• 2 traceable references of previous supervisors/employers
• 2 samples of previous similar work done
All correspondence and all documents related to the tender must be in English.
All prices must be indicated in US$ only.
7. Deadline for Submission of Proposals:
Proposals must be received by the 20th of August 2026.
8. Enquiries
For enquiries, please contact [email protected].