Apply by
January 1, 2025
Know by
March 1, 2025
Depart on
September 26, 2025
Duration
2 years, plus 3 months training
Project description
Peace Corps Agriculture Volunteers fill a niche in economically challenged and food insecure communities in Senegal. Volunteers extend farming methods to community growers who work on smallholder family farms—small farms that rely on family labor. They assist smallholder farmers and their family members in adapting to climate change through the adoption of improved crop cultivation technologies and practices, conservation agriculture, gardening, improved soil and water conservation, improved post-harvest management, and farm management. Volunteers assist household members—particularly women—to access, and eat more diverse, nutritious foods to improve their and their families’ nutrition.
Volunteers and their community partners work with youth through schools and clubs to promote positive youth development and women’s empowerment by teaching agricultural skills and growing gardens. Volunteers work with women to ensure increased access to extension services and other resources necessary for agriculture
The Goal Of Peace Corps Senegal’s Agriculture Project Is For Senegalese Communities To Improve Their Food Security. Through The Efforts Of Volunteers And Their Partners, Communities Achieve This Goal By Working Toward Two Objectives
- Increase Master Farmers’ and other male, female, and youth farmers’ capacity to sustainably cultivate improved varieties of staple crops for home consumption and income.
- Increase farmers’, especially youth, women, and teachers, capacity to sustainably grow more vegetables for home consumption and income.
To tackle food insecurity, Urban Agriculture Volunteers are trained to work on:
- Sustainable, environmentally sound, nutrition-sensitive agriculture for greater food security in some of Senegal’s poorest communities
- Micro gardening
- Climate change prevention and awareness activities
- Developing partnerships with farmer associations, NGOs, and other institutions at the local level to support and improve farming practices
- Development of locally sustainable sources of improved seed varieties
- Youth positive development through youth clubs and agriculturally focused student groups
- Gender empowerment as a pathway to achieving sustainable development
- Building a partnership with experienced farmers
As an Urban Agriculture Volunteer in Senegal, you will provide a valuable service to your community in their quest for increased food production. Volunteers support agriculture extension by transferring appropriate skills and technologies through one-on-one field-based instruction of farmers, through side-by-side demonstrations implemented with other farmers, and with clubs and other youth groups.
You will act as a co-facilitator, co-trainer, catalyst, liaison, and resource person for farming communities. You don't need to be a farmer or a food security expert to be successful; we will train you on the technical skills you will need and on gender dynamics in Senegal. In addition, we will provide you with advice and feedback on the activities you will implement.
As an actor in the development of Senegal, and as part of the wider Peace Corps effort to share our story with our counterparts and host governments as well as to bring that story home to the US, you will monitor and report on your work activities throughout your service through field visits, surveys, and stories.
Climate change activities
As The Impacts Of Climate Change Become Ever More Evident, The Social, Economic, And Environmental Context Within Which Smallholder Farmers Seek To Maintain And Improve Their Livelihood And Support Their Families Will Continue To Change. This Will Add Significantly To The Challenges Of Smallholder Farming, Particularly For The Most Disadvantaged Communities. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, You Will Be Trained To Use a Participatory Approach And Tools To Identify Locally Determined Priorities And Conditions, Including Those Related To The Impacts Of Climate Change. As An Agriculture Volunteer, You Will Be Trained To Use This Local Knowledge In Engaging Smallholder Farmers In a Climate-smart Approach That
- promotes the adoption of improved, appropriate, and adaptive agricultural practices and technologies that sustainably increase productivity;
- builds and strengthens household resilience by integrating and diversifying existing and new agriculture-related income-generating opportunities; and
- reduces greenhouse gas emissions attributable to ineffective and carbon intensive farming practices and encourages adoption of agricultural practices and activities that sequester carbon.
Required Skills
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
Desired Skills
Competitive candidates will have one or more of the following criteria:
- Desire to work outdoors
- Experience or interest in gardening or growing crops
- Interest or experience in promoting food security or climate-smart agricultural practices and approaches
- Interest in working with youth and/or in increasing the empowerment of women and girls in agricultural communities
- Strong interpersonal skill
- French language skills
Required Language Skills
There are no pre-requisite language requirements for this position. The dominant languages in Senegal are Wolof and Pulaar, but there are many other smaller language groups as well. You will receive intensive training in the most common language of the site where you will be based, and you will attain a proficiency level in that language by the time you complete your Pre-Service Training. Most of your work will be carried out in a local language.
Peace Corps Senegal does not train in French, preferring to focus on the primary language that the Volunteer will speak. French language skills can be however, very useful in Senegal, particularly when traveling or when working with people from other parts of the country. You are encouraged to learn as much French as possible prior to arrival in country.
Living conditions
Peace Corps Senegal Volunteers live with a host family either in their home in a separate room or in a small house on the family compound. Sharing meals and camaraderie with your host family will help you to understand the culture, enjoy the security of family life and learn the language of your community. When living with a host family, Volunteers have a private room/hut and private latrine/toilet within the family living environment.
Many Volunteer homes do not have access to running water or electricity. Water is collected at a community pump or well. Cell phone coverage in Senegal is fairly good and you will have a Peace Corps-issued cell phone or may use your own. The internet is becoming more widely available, although it is still not available everywhere. Internet coverage is more commonly available in larger towns and cities.
It can be very useful to have a laptop and a smart phone, but you may not wish to invest in the most expensive model. The dust, heat, and humidity of Senegal are hard on electronics. Cheaper, used, and/or hardier models may be better options. To support all Volunteers to have the basic tools necessary for their work, Peace Corps will provide an optional 1-time grant as part of the settling-in allowance at the end of Pre-Service Training (PST) to buy a simple laptop/tablet (based on local market availability).
Senegalese dishes consist of a staple of rice, millet, or corn with vegetable sauces and sometimes with fresh or dried fish. Meat is also available but more of a rarity. Access to produce is seasonal and variety is often limited by geographic locations. Vegetarians can make arrangements with their host families to maintain their diet, but this usually further decreases variety.
Senegal enjoys a good primary road system, but transportation remains a challenge. You will usually travel in crowded, shared taxis and buses over rough roads, particularly outside of urban areas. You will travel by bike – Peace Corps provided – or on foot or donkey/horse cart for shorter trips within your community and to nearby towns or villages. In all cases, Peace Corps Volunteers are expected to observe Peace Corps Senegal’s transportation policy.
Senegalese pride themselves on being well dressed. A neat and dignified appearance will say a lot about your desire to be accepted as a colleague. During Pre-Service Training, the dress code is business casual. There is a lot of beautiful cloth available in Senegal, and many Volunteers have clothing made by local tailors. Volunteers should not wear clothing that is overly tight, and clothing should always come at least as low to cover the knees. Long shorts, covering the knee, are acceptable for sports, but otherwise are rarely worn.
Through inclusive recruitment and retention of staff and Volunteers, the Peace Corps seeks to reflect the rich diversity of the United States and bring diverse perspectives and solutions to development issues. Volunteers who are of an American racial, ethnic, or national minority or whose religious or spiritual beliefs differ from the majority may experience curiosity and unwanted attention from Senegalese nationals.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQI+) Volunteers are welcomed within the Peace Corps Volunteer and staff community, and many LGBTQI+ Volunteers have served here successfully. However, Senegal has restrictive laws that target certain sexual acts. Peace Corps Senegal is unable to accept same-sex couples. 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 and host countries. Staff and former Volunteers will address these topics during Pre-Service Training and identify potential support mechanisms for incoming Trainees.
Learn more about the Volunteer experience in Senegal: Get detailed information on culture, communications, housing, and health/crime statistics in order to make a well-informed decision about serving.
Medical considerations
Before you apply, please review medical clearance and legal clearance to learn about the process.
Couples information
Senegal Can Accommodate Couples Serving Together But Working In Different Projects. Therefore, Your Partner Must Qualify And Apply For One Of The Following Positions
- Forestry and Environment Change Agent
Couples will live together during Pre-Service Training as well during the two years of service. They will share a hut or room within a family home or compound, as do single Volunteers.
