Regenerative Agricultural Manager - Degas

Degas Ltd. is a tech start-up aiming to improve the incomes of 600 million smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, guided by the vision of ‘Changing people’s lives, dramatically’. It focuses all its resources solely on businesses that literally change the world, maximizing both impact and revenue, instead of services that further convenience an already convenient society.

Since 2019, we have been operating a smallholder farmer financing business in Africa. The startup’s strength lies in its data-driven operations, which collect data on agricultural inputs, farmlands valuation, farming guidance, harvests, etc., via in-house apps and optical satellites. This data is used to formulate smallholder credit scores using AI, achieving high recovery (repayment) rates. As of 2023, Degas has financed 46,000 smallholder farmers and manages 30,000 acres of scattered farmland, employing over 70 full-time field agents and a talented team of more than 140 people in Japan and Ghana.

Regenerative agriculture, implemented on the largest scale in Africa by Degas, is attracting global attention for its ability to promote soil regeneration and sequester carbon dioxide. By increasing smallholder farmers’ incomes, we aim to contribute to global decarbonisation from Africa, which is the world’s least contributor to climate change.

Are you ready to change the world? If so, please read on to learn how you can be a part of this.

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# Key Responsibilities

• Leadership & Strategy
• Lead the development of a mid to long-term strategy for the scale of regenerative agriculture, including the formation of a team with directors of Degas
• Lead Degas’ comprehensive on-the-ground regenerative agriculture initiatives in Africa, including cover crops, biochar application and no-till farming, for example.
• Lead the development and implementation of regenerative agriculture practices that not only improve soil health and crop yields but also contribute to the larger goal of global decarbonisation.

Research

• Research the latest techniques, developing training programs for farmers, and forging partnerships with key stakeholders.
• Project Planning & Implementation
• Lead project planning, implementing, monitoring and management of regenerative agriculture quantitatively, on the largest scale in Africa, currently being implemented with smallholders on 1,000 acres of scattered farmland in northern Ghana. Aiming 10,000 acres in 2024.
• Implement the Degas Regenerative Agriculture, and expand on an exponential scale and oversee the Degas regenerative agriculture practices.
• Educate and mentor smallholder farmers financed by Degas on regenerative agriculture and about the project.
• Work with Degas’ world-class team of engineers to support (e.g. inputting information) the development of large language models (LLMs) based AI systems to accelerate the regenerative agriculture transition.
• Partnership Development
• Establish collaborations and partnerships (including with existing partners) with organizations (companies, universities, NPOs, research institutes etc.) that are implementing and challenging regenerative agriculture.
• Liaison, project planning and implementation with international organizations, research institutes and associations related to regenerative agriculture.
• Advocate for policies that support regenerative agriculture and engage in outreach activities to raise awareness about its benefits.
• Suggest and manage the budget and resources allocated for the regenerative agriculture related initiatives.
• Seek business partnerships (structuring SPVs and participating in and funding PoCs etc) for the implementation of large scale regenerative agriculture projects, together with the sales team.

Others

• Work with the Head of Carbon Markets closely for generating carbon credits through regenerative agriculture.
• Generate daily reporting on the project and reporting to external agencies and companies, and documentation for obtaining relevant foundation and government grants.

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# Why this job

• You’ll be working at a truly global company on the world stage.
• You’ll be at the forefront of an industry that’s not just about farmer finance, but also about decarbonisation and high integrity carbon credits – an industry that’s in the midst of rule-making right now, and can help solve the world’s climate change problems.
• With the company already driving the largest regenerative agriculture in Africa, you have the opportunity to make a significant contribution to global decarbonisation.
• You will be able to change the world by establishing regenerative agriculture best practice with technology on a continent that has the potential to become the world’s largest carbon sequestration site – Africa, which holds 60% of the world’s unexploited arable land.
• You will experience business development in a multinational, multicultural team environment, including Japan, Russia, France, the Philippines and the Netherlands, with Africa at the forefront.

# Required soft skills

• Leadership tasks related to Degas regenerative agriculture.
• Coordination with the engineering team.
• Project stage management duties (partial control of project budget).
• Contract negotiation and contract checks related to the project (in cooperation with the Degas directors).
• Dealing with irregularities that occur in the project and reporting through the reporting line.
• Communication, collaboration and liaison with external organizations.
• Development of project plans based on the global methodology for voluntary carbon credits and handling of screening, development of monitoring reports and handling of verification by third-party organizations.
• Communication with local members from small-scale farmers, business development members in Japan, engineers, investors, etc.
• The start-up mindset. *To be able to back cast from the vision & strategy and then plan and execute the most optimal solution and out-of-the-box business, rather than developing a budget-based strategy.
• Healthy and self-disciplined. Ability to travel and move to emerging and developing countries for extended periods of time.

# Essential requirements (experience and skills etc)

• + 5 years experiences in regenerative agriculture/climate smart agriculture on the fields
• Knowledge on regenerative agriculture (e.g. farming methods and methods of measuring soil organic carbon). and biodiversity.
• Experience in international contract and transaction negotiations.
• Fluent in English
• Critical thinking skills. *Guideline : able to ask questions independently and break them down logically into action items. E.g. “How can we change the world?” ‘What is the size of the maize market in Ghana?’ What are the common strengths of GAFAM companies? The ability to present logical considerations with figures, concrete actions that can be taken from today.

# Welcome requirements

• Interest in Africa, solving social problems, developing countries, decarbonization, etc.
• Experience in business development in an emerging or developing country on an expatriate or long-term basis.
• Experience in managing regenerative agriculture and large scale reforestation projects in Africa and its research experience.
• Experience of setting up new businesses internally and externally and taking on challenges during the growth phase of services.
• Experience of working on cross-border business, research and development, policy making, etc. on a scale worth two to three digits millions USD.

# Kind of talents, we are looking for

• Strong leadership
• Not afraid to engage with colleagues and users from different backgrounds.
• Perseverance to cope with the challenges that come every day, experiences that break one’s common sense, and challenges that go beyond the expectation.
• Can propose and act with the mindset of “Don’t think, Just Do” (?Top Gun: Maverick).
• Able to enjoy the chaos of a start-up.
• Able to commit to results together with colleagues.
• Have a sense of speed, logicality and the spirit of “Think big”.
• Able to educate smallholder farmers on the importance and methods of regenerative agriculture.
• Able to work in/with rural Ghana.

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# Estimated remuneration

• To be negotiated

# Employment status

• Permanent employee (Degas Ltd. or Degas Ghana Ltd.)
• Probation period: 6 months after joining the company

# Work location

• Tamale/Wa/Accra in Ghana
• In the first few months, the main focus will be on project management and carbon credit generation for regenerative agriculture in the Ghana region; hence will be based in Ghana or around project sites.
• Participation in and travel to events, conferences and roundtables related to regenerative agriculture, as well as investor relations, can also happen.

# Benefits

• Various insurances.
• Paid leaves: 25 days/year
• Working hours: same as other companies

# Other

• We are committed to results, so you can take time off, drink IPAs and camp with your family whenever you want.
• We will do our best to support you if you move to another country or stay for a longer period of time. Our representatives understand the difficulties best of all. We will also provide you with all the other support you need when it comes to driving the business.
• You will be expected to work closely with the Degas Ltd. representative and the person in charge, which can be particularly challenging at first since there’s a myriad of information to grasp and understand. In addition, you will be involved with a wide range of stakeholders, so you will always be working at full speed, but you will be involved in solving the biggest and most pressing issues facing humanity together.