Background

East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) is the third poorest province in Indonesia with a poverty rate of 20.05% in March 2022. This poverty rate is reflected in the limited access to healthy food by the community that leads to high prevalence of stunting which reach 37.8% in 2021 against the national rate 20% the Indonesia Nutritional Survey Study (SSGI). Stunting is a condition of impaired growth in children, resulting in shorter height compared to healthy children of the same age. Stunting is a serious condition that occurs when someone does not receive proper nutrition in sufficient amounts for a long period of time. Inadequate food intake for pregnant women and babies under two years old is one of the major factors that lead to stunting. For marginalized low-income communities living in remote areas/villages in NTT province, significant challenges and barriers to consume healthy foods are prominent such as lack of access to healthy foods due the complex and inefficient supply chain, low purchasing power, and limited knowledge towards healthy foods.

To reduce the prevalence of stunting, the Indonesian government has implemented several programs and actions, including the National Strategy for Accelerating Stunting Prevention (StraNas Stunting) 2018-2024, which includes Nutrition-specific interventions (optimum breastfeeding promotion, dietary supplementation for children and mothers, health and nutrition of children and women, treatment of severe acute malnutrition, disease prevention, and management) and Nutrition-sensitive interventions (agriculture and food security, early childhood development (ECD), including parenting, health and family planning services, Water, Sanitation, Hygiene (WASH), social safety nets, etc).

Animal protein is important in reducing stunting. A study by Headey et.al (2018) stated that there is strong evidence of a relationship between stunting and indicators of consumption of animal-sourced foods, such as eggs, meat/fish, and milk or its processed products. The study also showed that consuming more than one type of animal-sourced food is more beneficial than consuming a single type. Meanwhile, based on data from the Central Statistics Agency of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province, as an island province, the average per capita protein consumption from the fish group is only 6.72 grams per day, while for other sources of protein such as meat, eggs, and milk consumption are still low.

Efforts to strengthen food security in TTS Regency are not easy. TTS Regency is classified as an area that experiences year-round drought, thus facing limitations or scarcity of water resources. Therefore, the proven irrigation method suitable for this area is drip irrigation because it saves water. However, this method also faces challenges in terms of its power source. Therefore, renewable energy sources and innovations are needed to meet its water resource needs.

The Youth-Led Agri-Foods Project aims to increase the availability of affordable healthy foods for low-income children and communities to prevent stunting and improve their quality of life through local youth-led sustainable agriculture and livestock businesses. The project will directly benefit 3,730 people in 25 villages to have access to affordable healthy foods, including supporting job creation for 400 young farmers, particularly young women to lead and manage local food supply on sustainable agriculture and livestock business.

The intervention will use the application of sustainable technologies such as cloud collector for water supply and solar panel for generating energy supplies. Plan Indonesia has been piloting the application of cloud collector technology since 2022 in partnership with a public Nusa Cendana University in the NTT province under the Plan Indonesia’s flagship green agriculture program namely Green Skills. It is a set of technology consist of Air Water Generator (AWG) machines powered by solar power generators that generates water from the dew. The water has been used for irrigation in the farming areas. Furthermore, the process of irrigation has been using the drip irrigation system for water efficiency. The dual between technology and the irrigation system are suitable to address the community needs, particularly during drought season. Green Skills Program has been implemented in the TTS regency since 2015. To date, the program has been assisting 30 youth farmer’s groups which consist of 144 young farmers (60% young women) who have proven record in managing sustainable agriculture micro businesses and therefore increased their economic condition.

Role Purpose

Livestock Technical Assistant will support technical aspects related to livestock development, including increasing the capacity of young people in choosing livestock, their care and harvesting stages. She / He will report to Project Manager.

Dimensions of the Role

• Provide technical inputs to project team related to prospectus livestock to be developed.
• Coordinate youth capacity building activities on livestock skills.
• Support the process of monitoring, evaluation, learning and reporting.
• Aligning the projects implementation with Plan International principles of safeguarding of children and young people and gender transformative approach.

  Accountabilities

  Provide Technical Inputs on Prospectus Livestock to be developed

  • Conduct rapid assessment on livestock to be developed, including considering the availability of local resource, ease of adoption and market opportunities.
  • Formulate recommendation on prospectus livestock to be developed

    Support the Process of Monitoring Evaluation, Learning and Reporting

    • Support Project Manager in coordinating MERKM related activities, including baseline & end-line survey, monitoring, evaluation and reporting
    • Provide data to Project Manager related project achievement, beneficiaries and other related data regularly

      Coordinate Youth Capacity Building Activities on Livestock Skills

      • Under supervision of Project Manager, develop networking and collaboration with key stakeholders for youth capacity building on livestock including Livestock and Agriculture Local Government Office and Feed Suppliers.
      • Modifying training modules on livestock development and management from various resources.
      • Conduct youth capacity building activities on livestock development and management, including training, mentoring and monitoring.

        Safeguarding Children and Young People (Safeguarding) , Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI), PSHEA

        Ensure that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People, Gender Equality and Inclusion, and PSHEA are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures

        Key Relationship

        Internal relationship

        • Project Manager: report and coordination
        • Agriculture Technical Assistant: coordination on youth capacity building activities
        • YEE Innovative Partnership Specialist: provide guidance on market and feed supplier networking
        • TVET & Digital Learning Specialist: provide guidance on training modules modifications
        • MER Coordinator: liase and coordinate in MER supporting activities in relation with livestock capacity building activities

          External relationship

          • Feed Supplier: Networking, training modules and trainer resources.
          • Government: Networking, training modules resources and cooperation.

            Technical expertise, skills and knowledge

            Essential

            • Undergraduate degree in animal science / animal
            • Minimum of 2 years of experience in livestock management and community development
            • Skill in training modules development and training implementation.