Date Palm Farmer job description

About the job

We are looking for a date palm farmer to look after the palms all year round, from watering, pollination and pruning to harvesting and sorting the dates, raising both yield and quality.

Duties and responsibilities

• Pollinate the palms by hand in season with pollen from male palms
• Prune dead fronds, remove thorns and clean the crown
• Thin, lower and bag the date bunches to protect them
• Water and fertilize the palms and maintain the irrigation system
• Watch for palm pests such as the red palm weevil, report them and help control them
• Harvest the dates at the right stage and sort and pack them by variety and grade
• Remove and plant offshoots to renew and expand the grove
• Climb palms safely with ropes, ladders or lifts

Working conditions

• Working at height when climbing palms, with safety equipment
• Outdoor work in intense summer heat
• Peak workloads at pollination and harvest

Requirements

• No formal qualification required
• 3 to 6 years of experience in date palm farming

The years of experience follow the level you choose when posting.

Skills

• Date palm care
• Palm pollination
• Palm pruning
• Date harvesting
• Date sorting and grading
• Propagation from offshoots
• Safe palm climbing
• Irrigation

Preferred

• Knowledge of Libyan date varieties and how to store them
• Experience in palm pest control
• A diploma in agriculture