Expressions of interest are currently being sought for a short-term consultant role in kiwifruit production to assist the USAID Agriculture Program in Georgia, a beautiful country in the Caucasus region bounded by Europe and Asia.

This programme is run by the international organisation Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) which designs sustainable market-led agricultural initiatives in countries across the world. USAID also provides huge resource and support to Georgia to develop agriculture and manage Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) - Cath Duthie from Biosecurity New Zealand recently visited the country to learn about their readiness and response activities and shared what she learnt with the kiwifruit industry through Kiwinet.

Western Georgia currently has 125 hectares of kiwifruit planted, with small volumes exported to Japan, Germany, Greece and Qatar.

The purpose of the role is to develop resource material, strengthen the technical skills of private and state extension specialists, and build capacity of kiwifruit growers to follow best production practices. The role will likely require online training of around 15 working days (starting July 2020) and travel to Georgia this December/January (10 days plus travel days).

If you are interested in more detail about timings and how to apply please contact [email protected] by Friday 19 June.