Company description

CAFF is a California-based membership organization that includes family farmers and other community members passionate about local food, farming, and the environment. As a farmer-serving organization, we recognize the historic and lasting inequities in the California food and farming system. We believe farmers of color, and other historically oppressed people, should have the opportunity to create and participate in a food and agriculture system that aligns with their needs, values, identities, knowledge systems, and communities. We commit to advancing racial, gender, and environmental justice in our larger systems, as well as in our own workplace. Currently our programming is focused in four areas: Farm to Market, Policy & Advocacy, Farmer Services, and Ecological Farming. To learn more about CAFF, our history, and our core values, visit https://www.caff.org/about.

Job description

Comprehensive Needs Assessment for Appropriate Technology Adoption with Small-Scale Farmers in the greater Fresno Region, California

Title: Research Contractor, CAFF’s Technology Hub

Location: Fresno, Madera, Merced, Kings, and Tulare counties

Compensation: $40,000 - $54,000 total project budget (fixed rate)

Contract Duration: October 2023 to May 2024

Reports to: Tech Hub Advisor

Start Date: October 15, 2023

Please read full description at https://caff.org/contractor-small-farm-tech-hub/

As a part of the Fresno - Merced Future of Food Innovation (F3) Initiative, this comprehensive needs assessment project seeks to bridge the gap between technology and agriculture by understanding the unique requirements and obstacles faced by small-scale farmers in Central Valley’s Fresno, Madera, Merced, Kings, and Tulare counties (F3 counties).

The assessment will encompass critical components, including on-farm demonstrations, surveys, listening sessions, and technology trials, all geared towards integrating the voice and insights of small-scale farmers in the region. The overall objective of the needs assessment is to drive appropriate technology development & access to serve small-scale farmers needs, and ultimately empowering small-scale farmers to address challenges related to technology, spanning marketing & distribution, pest and weed management, irrigation, healthy soil, climate change mitigation and more.

The needs assessment will culminate in the development of a comprehensive report outlining key findings, challenges, and practical recommendations to promote technology adoption and address identified gaps.

The development of the needs assessment is a product of a collaborative effort between CAFF and the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) in the framework of the Fresno-Merced Future of Food Innovation (F3) Initiative, and the insights derived from this project will shape the work of the Small Farm Tech Innovation Alliance (SFTIA) and key partners, like technology developers working in the F3 Innovate workgroup of the F3 Initiative.

The Small Farm Tech Innovation Alliance has an advisory committee with partners from different organizations, including CAFF and UC ANR, and on-going collaboration during the development of this project with these key partners is expected.

Compensation

this position is: salaried, $35,568* - $50,000

Application instructions

Deadline

September 30, 2023