Togo: Sustainable Agriculture Educator

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Before You Apply

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As 72.6% of impoverished populations are independent farmers, the Togolese Ministry of Agriculture is endeavoring to organize rural communities and agricultural affiliates in order to increase production and consumption of nutritious foods. Support will focus on agrosylvopastoral production systems that espouse modern, diversified, sustainable, and climate-resilient techniques. These techniques involve vegetables, animals, and trees (agroforestry) in order to increase production sustainably. In general, cereals, tubers, legumes, and meat production will continue to be promoted in order to diminish imports, and production of export products will be increased (e.g. coffee, cacao, cotton, and cashew), as viable markets already exist. Providing education on balanced nutrition will support the production, transformation, and consumption of fruits, vegetables, eggs, milk, and non-wood forest products and consumption of a more diverse diets. The focus of our nutrition education program will be women as the primary distributors of food within households and 53% of farmers, as well as youth through agriculture education at secondary schools.

The Ministry of Agriculture has made it a priority to provide education and technical assistance for rural farmers. At the request of the Togolese Ministry of Agriculture Peace Corps/Togo responded to this high priority need by creating its Promoting Agriculture Education for Sustainability (PAGES) project, which sends Agriculture Development Specialists to serve in rural communities. The Sustainable Agriculture Educator works directly with local counterparts and smallholder farming families to increase the availability of diverse and nutritious foods; resulting in farming families improving their nutrition and food security. Activities can include:

• Conducting one-on-one, or group, trainings of farmers on improved technologies and management practices in the areas of crop cultivation, small animal husbandry, soil and water conservation, agroforestry tree production, and post-harvest management.

• Following up with and mentoring individual farmers who have been trained (either individually or in a group) to reinforce new technologies and practices.

• Identifying farmers who adopt improved technologies and management practices and instructing them on how to conduct demonstrations for peer farmers.

• Conducting surveys on available community organizations that provide agribusiness support to individuals and/or organizational capacity strengthening of agricultural cooperatives, community-based organizations (CBOs), and associations and referring farmer(s) to them.

• Teaching agriculture in schools to students at the middle school level.

• Teaching women of reproductive age and/or key household decision makers the importance of consuming a diverse nutrient-rich diet through cooking demonstrations.

Peace Corps/Togo is proud of the strong monitoring, reporting, and evaluation culture it has developed in recent years, which enables Volunteers, their communities, and our partner stakeholders to measure the impact of Peace Corps interventions and inform the decisions that influence the direction of future work. As part of all of your work, both within your sector and across all three Peace Corps/Togo sectors (health, agriculture, and education), you will report on these efforts and their impact. 

Gender awareness and empowerment is a cross-sectorial activity for all Peace Corps/Togo Volunteers, who look for ways to work with community members to promote gender-equitable norms. You will receive training on gender challenges in your community and you will have the opportunity to implement gender-related activities that are contextually and culturally appropriate once you are adequately integrated into your community, usually during your second year of service.

Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in working in agriculture and one or more of the following criteria: 

• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field 

OR

• 5 years professional work experience

Peace Corps/Togo has a strong preference for Volunteers with a degree in a field related to agriculture.

The strongest candidates will have the following qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience working or volunteering with agricultural businesses or organizations

• Knowledge of crop cultivation, small animal husbandry, soil and water conservation and management, agroforestry tree production, post-harvest management

• Expressed interest in working with women of reproductive age and/or key household decision makers to increase dietary diversity and consummation of nutrient-rich foods

• Expressed interest in teaching agriculture to students

• Facilitation and/or public speaking skills

Candidates must meet one or more of the language requirements below in order to be considered for this position.

A. Completed 4 years of high school coursework within the past 8 years in a Romance language 

B. Completed a minimum of 2 semesters of college level coursework within the past 6 years in a Romance language 

C. Native/Fluent Romance language speaker 

Candidates should have either a willingness to take a French course or commitment to self‐study and a subsequent placement test (score of 50 on the French College Level Examination Program CLEP exam or a score of Novice‐High on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL OPI).

PAGES Volunteers will be teaching Agriculture to middle school students and the official language of all Togolese schools is French. Teachers are trained and assigned centrally by the Ministry of Education and therefore many teachers are not from the community in which they teach. As a result, they do not speak the local language and French is the common language for all professional interactions at school. Teachers in rural communities are usually amongst the most educated members of the community and thus teachers in Togo place a high emphasis on proper French grammar and usage. In order for Volunteers to integrate into the school community and garner the respect of colleagues within the educational system in which PAGES Volunteers will be teaching Agriculture, all agriculture Volunteers are requested to have a foundation in basic French when they arrive in country. 

Togo has dedicated Language and Cross Culture Facilitators to teach French and local languages during Pre-Service Training (PST). Volunteers are expected to learn French and achieve an intermediate-high level by the conclusion of Pre-Service Training. The French language proficiency requirement must be attained before Trainees can begin learning local language. Volunteers who arrive with an intermediate high level of French will begin learning local language in PST.

Learning basic greetings in the local language(s) spoken in your community is essential for successful integration. Having an interest in a deeper study of local language, which most often will occur at site in the form of self-study, is a way for Volunteers to work more directly with rural community members, particularly women who may not have finished school and therefore do not speak French.

Accommodation

Most Volunteers live in two-to-three-room houses within a family compound. Living within a shared compound affords Volunteers a valuable opportunity to truly observe and be a part of the culture, enjoy the benefits and security of communal living, and learn the language of their host community. Many Volunteers do not have electricity in their homes. Access to cooking gas is usually consistent, but there may be times when it is necessary to cook on a charcoal stove. Water sources in communities could be traditional wells, a pump, and/or cisterns. Whatever your source of drinking water, you will have to treat it. Peace Corps/Togo will provide you with a filter.

Food

Your diet will consist of locally grown foods or a combination of local and (usually imported) preserved foods. A typical Togolese meal is corn ‘pâte’ (paste), with a spicy/hot sauce. There is far less variety in meals than many Americans are accustomed to having. Meat is available throughout Togo, as is dried fish, but fresh fish is only available in larger towns. Fruits and vegetables are seasonal, limiting the diversity of a vegetarian diet at times of the year. However, tofu (soy) is available throughout the country. 

Transportation

Distance between communities and regional capitals vary, but can be as far as 60 kilometers. Some Volunteers like biking the shorter distances, others prefer local public transportation (bush taxis). You will be provided with funds to purchase a bicycle to facilitate work and enable you to have greater access to nearby communities. Alternatively, as a Volunteer you will be able to ride as a passenger on the back of a motorcycle taxi on prescribed roads provided that you comply with the Peace Corps/Togo safety policies and wear a pre-approved motorcycle helmet (with full face mask). Peace Corps/Togo will provide you with a motorcycle helmet. Violation of this policy will result in administrative separation. 

Communication

Volunteers are encouraged to rent their own mail box at their local post office in order to receive mail. Regional capitals and some larger towns in Togo have internet connections (these connections are often very slow and/or unreliable). Peace Corps/Togo also maintains one workstation for Volunteers in each region that has an internet connection. You will have access to internet at least once a month when you travel to your regional capital to do banking and buy necessary food items. 

Volunteers are strongly encouraged to bring a laptop, which not only increases options for internet access, but also enables Volunteers to complete required assignments off-line and upload them at a later date. 

Simple cell phones are operational in almost all parts of the country. Peace Corps/Togo will provide you with a simple cell phone and SIM card. Many Volunteers decide to bring unlocked smart-phones and use online communication applications to keep in contact with fellow Volunteers. 

Appearance

Dress, appearance, and cleanliness are of great importance in the West African concept of professionalism. People’s appearance indicates their own status and demonstrates their level of respect for those they encounter. You will be required to dress appropriately, professionally, and respectfully once posted to your assigned community as well as during pre-service training. Wearing less modest clothing and/or dressing in an unkempt manner can diminish the respect community members have for you and can make your work much more challenging.

Diversity

Peace Corps/Togo provides support to a diverse group of Volunteers. Togo has some restrictive laws that target certain sexual acts. Volunteers will need to be mindful of cultural norms and country-specific laws, and use their best judgment to determine how to approach topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity in their communities. Staff and currently serving Volunteers will discuss this topic during Pre-Service Training and identify support systems.

Learn more about the Volunteer experience in Togo: Get detailed information on culture, communications, housing, and safety — including crime statistics [PDF] — in order to make a well-informed decision about serving.

Togo is eager to accept couples whenever possible. Your partner must qualify and apply for one of the following positions in Togo:

- English Teacher

- Community Health Educator

Couples from differing sectors will live at different Pre-Service Training sites and with different home stay families. They can be together on weekends after training activities. Couples will be responsible for their own transportation between sites, which will not exceed 5 km. 

Once in service at a permanent site, couples will live in the same accommodation.

Before you apply, please review Medical Information for Applicants to learn about the clearance process and other health conditions that are difficult to accommodate in Peace Corps service.