About

The Skills for Agriculture (SfA) version 2 is the new version of the global skills and competency framework for the agriculture world.

It is created by CABI, with support from contributors around the world.

Background

The initial Skills for Agriculture framework was published in 2022. It was a very long list of skills that apply to those who advise small-holder farmers, produced through contributions from CABI staff as well as organisations around the world.

This new iteration builds on the first, with several main improvements:

1. The skills framework is now designed to be able to apply to a much wider range of roles across agriculture and across regions.
2. We have created descriptors for each skill with up to seven levels. Level 1 describes roles where the individual has little autonomy and influence, the context is less complex, and the amount of knowledge required is minimal. Level 7 describes roles where the individual has full autonomy and lots of influence, in complex contexts and requiring a great deal of knowledge.
3. We have slimmed down the list of skills from over 200, to around 30. We have achieved this through aggregation of many skills and removing duplicates.
4. The framework is now easier to navigate and much more practical to use. We can now describe job roles by the skills and the levels required, and can use the framework to map out career pathways and training opportunities.

The original framework focussed solely on the farmer advisor type roles. With the new structure, we are now able to describe roles that might lead to being a farmer advisor, and roles that might take people further.

These changes have been the result of a continuous consultation exercise, working with organisations and staff from around the world.

How to use the Skills for Agriculture

Categories

The skills are organised by categories:

• Crops
• Extension and advisory services
• Relationships and business
• Behaviours

As we gradually expand the scope of the framework we will add further categories.

Skill contents

Each skill contains:

• A general description
• Guidance notes
• Level descriptors (see below)

The levels

The Levels of responsibility and accountability help to map the skills to particular roles within the industry.

Each level is described by the following characteristics:

• Autonomy
• Influence
• Complexity
• Knowledge

View the detailed level descriptors

What can we do with the framework?

The skills framework can be used to:

• Develop job descriptions
• Support personal career planning
• Support training needs analysis
• Identify gaps in educational provision

Job descriptions

Using the skills framework will help to embed a common language about roles and responsibilities across organisations.

To create a new job description:

1. Select the skills required
2. Choose the appropriate levels
3. Use the level descriptors within the job description

Career planning

Individuals can identify where they sit on the skills framework, probably working with an advisor. Then they can identify additional skills to develop, or levels to aim for.

Training needs analysis

Managers can use the skills framework to assess where their team’s skill levels are, and then identify which skills could be developed.

Education provision

Training and education providers can use the framework to identify where there are gaps in their training and education provision.

Find out more about how to use the Skills for Agriculture framework