Opportunity
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been working with farmers, private companies, and government agencies to help reduce cocoa-driven deforestation in several countries, including in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Despite recent support from development partners and the Government of the DRC, challenges remain for the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAPs), such as shade-grown cacao, that would reduce deforestation associated with the cocoa value chain, mitigate GHG emissions, strengthen resilience to climate change impacts, and support improved livelihoods for cacao farmers.
Evidence-based information about the benefits and costs of adopting CSAPs could significantly help inform development programs and projects on how to best support farmers in implementing sustainable practices, while reducing farmers’ livelihood and credit risks. In addition, a sustainable value chain analysis can provide insights on key levers of change that can affect the decisions and behavior of farmers and other members of the value chain, including firms that buy and sell cocoa. The USAID-funded Climate Economic Analysis for Development, Investment and Resilience activity (CEADIR) supports national and subnational governments, local organizations, and the private sector in prioritizing and mobilizing investment for technically robust, economically sound climate change solutions. By applying cost-benefit and co-benefit analysis in the cocoa value chain, CEADIR can help value chain stakeholders understand the potential benefits of adopting CSAPs.
CEADIR will help inform farmers, cooperatives, countries, and value chain suppliers about CSAPs that can be incorporated in the cocoa value chain to decrease financial risks and increase economic benefits, by conducting cost-benefit analyses (CBA) and co-benefit analyses for select CSAPs.
Key Roles and Responsibilities
The mid-level cocoa value chain researcher and data collector in the DRC will be responsible for coordination with locally-based partners and stakeholders to request and obtain data needed for CEADIR’s analyses in the DRC. The types of country-specific data to be collected in the DRC include data on:
The consultant may also do research and coordinate and communicate with partner organizations and/or stakeholder groups to obtain data from other cacao growing countries with similar agricultural practices. The consultant may also prepare and submit notes and summaries from meetings with local USAID representatives, stakeholders and partner organizations, including the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which has been implementing activities to promote shade-grown cacao in the DRC in coordination with USAID and other donors.
The consultant will provide technical and other inputs to written deliverables in coordination with the Activity team members.
Preferred Skills / Prerequisites
Deliverables
The consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables:
Schedule / Level of Effort
The consultant will have a total of 40 days of LOE. The consultant’s work will begin in late November/ early December 2018 and continue through January 2019.
Communications
The consultant shall work in collaboration with CEADIR throughout the implementation of this activity, including with:
Application Procedure
Please send applications to Mikell O’Mealy (Mikell_Omealy@abtassoc.com). Be sure to include your CV and reference “CEADIR DRC Researcher Application” in the subject line.
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