Department: Program/ GEF India project
Location(s): RYSS, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh
Commitment: 6 months
Desired start date and duration: June to November 2024
Under the direction of: GIS Consultant, Rainforest Alliance
Rainforest Alliance, a New York-based 501(c)3, and UTZ, an Amsterdam-based foundation, merged in 2018. Together, the new Rainforest Alliance is now a $70 million per year organization with offices in 17 countries (and growing) and over 5000 staff. The merged organization has two main offices—one in Amsterdam and one in New York City.
The Rainforest Alliance is creating a more sustainable world by using social and market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities.
We work towards making responsible business the new normal through our certification program, tailored supply chain services, landscape and community work and advocacy.
This RFP pertains to the RA-led GEF UNEP ILM India project “Transforming agricultural systems and strengthening local economies in high biodiversity areas of India through sustainable landscape management and public-private finance”. As a part of the project target 7 lakh APCNF farmers are being covered in the Eastern ghats landscape and to manage that initiative there are dedicated MIS platforms.
To integrate GIS into the platforms three highly motivated and technically proficient Junior Technical Consultants are required to assist in the establishment of a Geographic Information System (GIS) platform. This platform will be used for agricultural monitoring and analysis with a focus on enhancing crop yield through the integration of remote sensing data and various indices, including NDVI, NDMI, NDWI and LST. The selected Junior Technical Consultants will play a crucial role in setting up the platform and conducting correlation studies with agricultural crop data to optimize farming practices.
The Rainforest Alliance is seeking a motivated 6 Junior Technical Consultants who is ready to apply knowledge of Remote Sensing and GIS real-world experience. The Junior Technical Consultants work on agricultural monitoring and analysis with a focus on enhancing crop yield through the integration of remote sensing data and various indices, including NDVI, NDMI, NDWI and LST and play a crucial role in setting up the GIS platform and conducting correlation studies with agricultural crop data to optimize farming practices.
Project Overview
The project seeks to address two critical challenges that have a negative impact on India’s environmental health and the well-being of its people: land degradation and the loss of biodiversity. Land degradation, defined as the deterioration or loss of the productive capacity of the soil, leads to food insecurity, higher food prices, climate change, environmental hazards, and the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. It is estimated that 27.77% of India’s total geographical area has been degraded as of 2015-16. Biological diversity underpins the ecosystem goods and services that sustain human societies and generates considerable socio-economic value through the provision of goods such as food, water, and services such as climate regulation, pollination, disaster protection, and nutrient cycling. The Government of India is a signatory to all the major biodiversity and land degradation treaties and conventions. It is committed to restoring twenty-six million hectares of degraded land by 2030, including through sustainable agriculture. The project aims at enabling sustainable agricultural production systems, participatory land use management, and responsible supply chains to reverse the process of land degradation and conserve biodiversity.
In addition to building the skills and knowledge of small farmers, it will harness policy development, market demand, and public-private investment to make sustainable land management (SLM) economically viable. At the farm level, there are two main SLM practices endorsed under this project: The first is based on the RA-SAS in Karnataka (KA). The second is based on the Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF).
This consultancy is focused on the project´s aim to promote the adoption of APCNF in AP, where the project aims to technically support 7,00,000 farmers, so that, at the end of the project, they apply at least 50% of the APCNF´s practices Core Requirements, and at least 80% of those that do so find practice adoption profitable (i.e., have a positive benefit-cost).
Please note that Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS); a partner executing organization to this project, established in 2014 under Section 8 of the Companies Act, is a not-for-profit organization that steers farmers away from chemical farming and toward adopting natural farming practices. RySS is implementing APCNF across the state. APCNF is farmer-centric, follows farmer-to- farmer extension system, and is driven by their innovations. RySS’s vision is to saturate AP through APCNF by 2030-31. The Government of Andhra Pradesh has adopted Natural Farming as it is environment friendly and enhances climate change resilience, soil organic matter, soil fertility, water holding capacity of soils, and enhances biodiversity (above ground and below ground).
Collaborate with the existing team to design and set up a GIS platform for the RYSS.
Configure and maintain GIS software, databases, and servers.
Develop and implement data collection and management protocols.
Ensure data accuracy, integrity, and security.
Acquire and process remote sensing data, including satellite imagery and drone images.
Perform image preprocessing and mosaicking for agricultural areas.
Implement remote sensing data into the GIS platform for real-time monitoring.
Calculate and analyse vegetation indices such as NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), NDMI (Normalized Difference Moisture Index) and NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index).
Analyse Land Surface Temperature (LST) data for thermal monitoring.
Develop methodologies for extracting relevant information from indices to support crop monitoring.
Collaborate with agriculture specialists to collect and integrate crop monitoring data.
Conduct correlation studies to identify relationships between vegetation indices, LST, and crop health.
Provide insights and recommendations for optimizing farming practices based on the analysis.
Maintain detailed records of data sources, methodologies, and analyses.
Create reports and presentations to communicate findings to the agriculture office and stakeholders.
Currently pursuing or recently completed a degree in Geography, Geology, GIS, Agriculture, Environmental Science, or related fields.
Proficiency in GIS software (e.g., ArcGIS, QGIS, Web GIS), remote sensing tools (e.g., ENVI, SNAP), and statistical analysis software.
Proficiency in WEBGIS, Python and Coding person will be preferred.
Strong data analysis and visualization skills.
Knowledge of agriculture and crop monitoring techniques is a plus.
Excellent communication and teamwork skills.
Problem-solving abilities and a strong desire to learn and adapt in a dynamic environment.
Availability to work for 6 months as a Junior Technical Consultants.
Strong language skills are a must; proficiency in Telugu and Kanada is preferred.
Must have access to a laptop for work.
Deliver a functional GIS platform with proper data management protocols in place.
Ensure that GIS software, databases, and servers are configured and running smoothly.
Document the setup process for future reference.
Successfully integrate remote sensing data into the GIS platform.
Geo tagging and Geo Fencing of Agriculture Fields, Models, Compact blocks etc.,
Ensure that satellite imagery and drone data are pre-processed and accurately georeferenced.
Enable real-time monitoring of agricultural areas.
Develop standardized workflows for calculating and analysing NDVI, NDMI, NDWI, LST, and other relevant indices.
Ensure that index data is regularly updated and accessible for analysis.
Conduct a comprehensive analysis of correlations between indices and crop health.
Present findings with actionable recommendations to improve crop yields.
Maintain up-to-date and organized documentation of all processes, data sources, and methodologies.
Create clear and informative reports and presentations to share insights with stakeholders.
Proposals and/or any additional information received after the submission time and date are subject to rejection by The Rainforest Alliance. Incomplete proposals may be rejected by RA at its discretion.
The Rainforest Alliance reserves the right to request additional information at any time during the procurement process.
RA is at liberty to make multiple or no selections as part of the proposal process. RA also reserves the right to cancel the procurement.
All proposal costs shall be borne by the applicant and will not be reimbursed by RA.
The contract is initially for six months only.
For any inquiries about this vacancy, please write to Mr. S. Rajan at the Rainforest Alliance using the following email address: srajan@ra.org
Deadline to apply: Apply within May 19, 2024 to srajan@ra.org
Thank you for your interest in working with The Rainforest Alliance