Climate-Resilient Seed Adoption Architect

The mandate

New drought-resilient varieties perform well in controlled and selected demonstration plots, yet farmer repeat purchase varies sharply by rainfall pattern, planting window, local advice, pack availability and grain-use preference. Country teams count dealer sell-in as adoption, while late stock, counterfeit concerns and unrecorded substitutions weaken trust. The defined problem is to design a regional adoption system that matches varieties to farm conditions and produces honest post-season evidence before commercial expansion.

The principal deliverable is a Climate-Resilient Seed Adoption Architecture covering target agroecological zones, farmer problem and choice, stewardship claims, demonstration design, dealer qualification, seasonal demand, production and pack allocation, stock visibility, last-mile replenishment, authenticity, agronomic support, complaint and replacement, harvest learning and repeat demand. It will include zone archetypes, decision rights, evidence standards, dealer economics, seasonal capacity models and a four-country rollout sequence.

Five milestones govern six months. By week four, milestone one reconstructs thirty farmer and dealer journeys across six clusters. Week nine delivers zone, variety and adoption archetypes with data limitations. Week fourteen produces alternative dealer and support models. Week twenty concludes pre-season simulations for rainfall shift, late stock, counterfeit report, germination concern and cross-border shortage. At week twenty-four, the final milestone provides the accepted architecture, country readiness packs, investment case and mobilisation plan.

Acceptance rests with the regional chief executive and Product Stewardship Committee, with breeders, quality and regulatory leaders retaining professional determinations. Work is accepted only when four country teams can allocate and support two reference varieties using the model; dealer and farmer evidence distinguishes sell-in, sale, planting and repeat intent; five scenarios close through named authorities; economics include expired and reallocated stock; and every performance claim is bounded by relevant conditions and evidence.

The client provides variety and trial records, production plans, lot and quality data, dealer sell-in and returns, field observations, farmer research permissions, complaints, pack authentication and country constraints. Consultants will not recommend seed to individual farmers, certify variety performance, conduct trials, approve labels, select dealers or operate live campaigns. Breeding strategy, regulatory registration, production execution and technology build are excluded; absent farm evidence cannot be inferred from distributor sales.

Why this is external work

Breeding, production and country sales teams each define success at a different point, and seasonal urgency makes internal challenge difficult. The company has product launches but no shared adoption object extending to planting experience and repeat choice. External architecture brings neutral farmer-journey evidence, regional comparison and a finite operating model while qualified agronomists and country leaders retain every product and market decision.

What you will own

• Reconstruct thirty journeys from variety awareness through dealer availability, purchase, planting, support, harvest learning and repeat choice.
• Segment zones and farmers by rainfall pattern, planting window, crop use, risk tolerance, access and advisory support.
• Define decision rights among breeding, quality, production, country sales, agronomy, dealers and stewardship leaders.
• Build seasonal demand and dealer economics that include late arrival, substitution, unsold stock, returns and reallocation.
• Test rainfall, shortage, counterfeit, germination and cross-border scenarios with traceable escalation and communication.
• Specify readiness evidence, claims boundaries, dealer standards, farmer feedback and post-season learning.
• Deliver four country packs, investment case, mobilisation backlog and sequenced variety adoption plan.

Candidate qualifications

• Has designed seed, agricultural-input or farmer-adoption systems across multiple African markets and seasons.
• Can evidence a commercial rollout changed when sell-in data failed to represent planting or repeat farmer choice.
• Understands agroecological segmentation, seed production, dealer channels, lot quality, demonstrations and seasonal replenishment.
• Has built farmer evidence ethically under literacy, connectivity, language and small-sample constraints.
• Can separate variety performance, agronomic fit, dealer execution, weather and farmer preference in adoption analysis.
• Has aligned breeders, stewardship, production and commercial teams without making unsupported agronomic claims.

Non-negotiables

• Can complete six field-cluster reviews across East Africa within the six-month seasonal window.
• Will not advise individual farmers, certify variety performance, approve labels or conduct regulatory trials.
• Brings direct seed or agricultural-input adoption architecture; consumer distribution experience alone is insufficient.
• Will distinguish dealer sell-in, farmer purchase, planting, harvest experience and repeat demand in all evidence.

1. 49 words maximum. Which seed-channel measure most overstated real farmer adoption, and what post-season evidence replaced it?
2. 49 words maximum. Describe one agroecological distinction that materially changed a variety rollout sequence.
3. 49 words maximum. What field evidence would make you withhold a country expansion despite strong dealer orders?