Background on farmers who benefited from the Farmers Business School (FBS) activity

ICCA adapted the GIZ Farmer Business School (FBS) advisory service approach to the Iraqi/Anbar context. The activity included an economic assessment of three value chains (potatoes, dates, and small ruminants), the adaptation and development of training materials, training of trainers for 15 extension agents from public agricultural partner organizations (Department of Agriculture (DOA), Agriculture Extension Center (AEC)), piloting of the training materials with extension agents and farmers, and the training of 500 farmers.

Farmers participated in five training sessions (each lasting four hours) over five days to enhance their knowledge across the 12 FBS modules:

1. Farming is a business
2. Know the units to know your assets
3. Manage your farm for more and better food
4. Money-Out, Money-In: Know whether you are doing successful business
5. Money-Out, Money-In: Money spent to buy inputs
6. Improve your farm enterprise for more income throughout the year
7. Manage your money throughout the year
8. How to get good financial services
9. Earning more Money by Investing in Good Quality Seed
10. Benefits from membership in farmer organizations
11. More money with Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)
12. Becoming an entrepreneur in Practice

Farmers received theoretical knowledge and practical tools (such as bookkeeping and training materials) and are expected to apply the newly gained knowledge and soft skills in their farming practices. All farmers will receive two coaching visits to support the implementation of the FBS recommendations.

The Technical Agriculture Coaching Expert will undertake the following tasks:

Conduct two coaching visits to every FBS beneficiary farmer:

• Each technical/coaching visit should last at least for 1 hour
• Interval between visits is at least 2 months and should be coordinated with AFC
• The expert will use a coaching questionnaire prepared by AFC and must record the support (on-farm demonstration, practical guidance, etc.) provided under the relevant FBS modules and technical topics, based on discussions with the farmers
• Prepare a field visit report to be delivered to the farmer after each visit. The report should include an action plan, technical recommendations, and any issues raised during the visit. The format of the report will be discussed and validated with AFC.
• Prepare a final report on the findings of the coaching visits

The Technical Agriculture Coaching Expert should have the minimum qualifications: 

• At least 8-10 years of experience in providing extension services in Iraq
• Advanced degree (MSC) in agriculture engineering, plant production
• Strong understanding of developing agriculture value chains, preferably potatoes and date value chains
• Knowledge of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and climate-smart agriculture
• Proven track record in training, advisory services, or coaching in rural/agricultural contexts
• Experience in development cooperation project implementation
• Strong communication and facilitation skills (ability to train adults using participatory methods)
• Capacity to adapt technical knowledge to local contexts
• Skills in record-keeping, monitoring, and reporting
• Cultural sensitivity and ability to work with women, youth, and smallholder farmers
• Basic knowledge of financial literacy and farm economics to support farmers in business planning

If you are interested in this position and meet the necessary qualifications and experience, kindly submit your CV in English to the following email address: hr-iraq@gopa-afc.de

Please ensure that the subject of the email is "HR-IQ-036". Emails without this subject will not be reviewed.

The deadline for applications is Mar 28th, 2026. CVs received after this date will not be considered.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

GOPA AFC is committed to equal opportunities for both genders