628 views
BACKGROUND
The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) is a strategy and delivery-oriented government agency created to help accelerate the growth and transformation of the country’s agriculture sector. The ATA envisions that, by 2025, smallholder farmers are commercialized with greater incomes, inclusiveness, resilience, and sustainability, contributing to Ethiopia’s achievement of middle-income country status.
The agency focuses on two primary national approaches to catalyze agricultural transformation. First, we support the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Resources (MoALR), its affiliate institutions, and other partners to identify and address systemic bottlenecks within an Agricultural Transformation Agenda. Second, we support Regional Governments to accelerate the development of high-priority commodity value chains in clearly defined geographic clusters, through the Agricultural Commercialization Clusters (ACC) Initiative.
Our major activities include conducting strategic and analytical studies, providing technical implementation support, coordinating platforms to better integrate partners and projects, and designing and directly leading several implementation projects. Our headquarters are in Addis Ababa, and we have regional offices in Amhara, Oromia, SNNP, and Tigray regional offices, allowing us to work closely with a wide range of public, private, and development sectors partners across the country.
Our Culture
We have an exceptional team of highly competent employees with a proven track record of success in managing complex activities and achieving transformational results. Our culture is one where talented, dedicated, and adaptable individuals are committed to doing their best and exhibit great teamwork to achieve excellent results.
At ATA, we provide an exceptional platform for people who want to achieve their highest potential and make a meaningful contribution in changing the country’s agricultural sector. We offer rewarding work in a young, fast-paced growing organization with passionate, committed, motivated colleagues and excellent career development and training. We recognize our most valuable assets are our staff and are committed to providing our employees with the tools, training, and mentorships necessary to achieve their career goals.
POSITION SUMMARY:
The ATA, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources (MoANR), the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), and Ethio Telecom launched an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and Short Message Service (SMS) system, the 8028 Farmers’ Hotline, to disseminate agronomic best practice advice to farmers/ development agents (DAs) year-round. These agronomic best practices are encouraged to be utilized throughout the year and intended to improve the flow of information (1) between stakeholders implementing farmer-targeted interventions, and (2) towards the farmers that these interventions are intended to benefit. This system provides and collects information to farmers and decision-makers in four ways: (1) a call-in automated hotline (2) a push-based alert system using IVR/SMS (3) an IVR helpdesk that allows farmers to ask question and experts to respond to their inquiries (4) an IVR Survey that is pushed to all users of the system and the information is aggregated and shared with experts.
The 8028 Farmers’ Hotline was first piloted in February 2014, in 21 woredas (districts) in the four main regions Oromia, Amhara, SNNPR, and Tigray for approximately five months. Following the pilot, the ATA, in collaboration with its partners, expanded the 8028 Farmers’ Hotline nationwide. To date, the system has handled more than 30 million calls from 4 million registered callers. Users of the system can call into and receive information on a wide range of agricultural activities on all major cereal, pulses, and high-value crops. Keypad menu options allow farmers and Development Agents to select their particular areas.
Currently, the ATA has integrated a Helpdesk mechanism into the 8028 Farmers’ Hotline. This Helpdesk will enable smallholders and DAs to call into the system and ask specific agriculture-related questions and have experts in their woredas answer these questions. The role of the Regional 8028 Farmers’ Hotline Project Officer (PO) is to assist smallholders and DAs by redirecting and managing the questions and responses submitted into the 8028 Farmers’ Hotline Helpdesk.
The Regional 8028 Farmers’ Hotline PO will be responsible for implementing, expanding, and supporting the 8028 Farmers’ Hotline Helpdesk across designated woredas, in their respective region, may it be Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR, and Tigray. The PO will primarily work on the 8028 Farmers’ Hotline Helpdesk; reviewing incoming questions and answers, coordinating woreda experts and subject matter specialists, The PO is also responsible for creating awareness at the various bureaus and offices of agriculture.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES:
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: