Individual Consultant: Support Implementation and Coordination of Agriculture Flagship Programmes in the Ministry Of Agricultur

Job Description

Background

Most countries of sub-Saharan Africa have agricultural development strategies, translated in National Agricultural Investment Plans (NAIPs), which are the medium-term sector development frameworks, covering about 5 years. These NAIPs provide a framework to prioritize, harmonize and coordinate agricultural investments by government, development partners, civil society, farmer organizations and the private sector to achieve agricultural transformation.

While NAIPs are important for providing the general intentions and programs for the country’s agriculture sector, they provide broad intervention areas but not the specific priority intervention areas to be implemented. Thus, for a structured sector transformation, NAIPs must be unpacked and designed into specific, implementable, and bankable flagship programs. The flagships serve as tools to secure buy-in and to mobilize focused technical and financial support from different stakeholders (government, development partners, private sector, and civil society) to implement priority intervention areas. The government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, uses the flagships to leverage partner funds and its own investments in the sector to achieve higher impacts in line with the NAIP. The flagship document encompasses potential and prioritized intervention areas and identifies clear outcomes and outputs including costs, potential roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders and associated coordination arrangements.

In 2021, Minstry of Agriculture of the (MoA) Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) requested AGRA to support the development of five flagship programs for Ethiopia. AGRA responded to this request by developing three Flagship Programs: i) National Wheat Flagship Program (NWFP); ii) National Rice Flagship Program (NRFP) and Oil Seed and Animal Feed Program for Ethiopia: A Business Case (OSAP). The following is a summary of the Flagship Programs:

• National Wheat Flagship program (NWFP): The NWFP identifies the various strategies needed to achieve the objective of meeting Ethiopia’s wheat demands, sustaining import substitution goals and eventually producing surplus for export. The goal of the NWFP is to enhance wheat availability in Ethiopia through increased local production with the aim of promoting national wheat self-sufficiency (for consumption), job creation as well as producing surplus for exports. The specific objectives of the NWFP are: i) To enhance wheat production and productivity; ii) To strengthen the enabling environment for efficient wheat marketing (policies, regulations, institutions, physical and soft infrastructure) and iii) To enhance institutional capacity to implement the NWFP and sustain wheat subsector development in the country.
• Oil Seeds and Animal Feed Production Flagship Program (OSAP): The goal of the Flagship Program is to increase supply to 50% of edible oil consumption from domestic production in 2028, from the current base of 2% in 2020. The OSAP Flagship is designed in such a way that it not only increases domestic production of cooking oil, but also contributes to alleviating one of the key bottlenecks to livestock sector development – animal feed - using the by products from edible oil production. The theory of change of OSAP relates to 1) ensuring adequate production of quality oilseeds to supply millers, 2) ensuring adequate processing of edible oils and animal feed that meets market demand, and 3) ensuring timely delivery to markets via strong value chain links and enabling conditions.
• National Rice Flagship Program (NRFP): The NRFP builds on the National Rice Development Strategy (NRDS). The NRFP is aimed at ensuring the full exploitation of the available opportunities for rice production and addressing the key challenges of the sector. The goal of NRFP is to increase local rice production with the aim of promoting rice import substitution and domestic livelihood opportunities. The specific objectives of the NRFP are to: i) Increase rice production and productivity through intensification and expansion; ii) Enhance the development of rice processing industry and market development of rice products (paddy and milled rice) and iii) Improve institutional capacity for implementation, coordination and monitoring and evaluation of interventions in the rice subsector.

Secondment Support for the implementation of Agriculture Flagships programs in Ethiopia

Effective implementation of agriculture flagships requires enhanced capacity—human, technical and financial. While significant progress has been made in enhancing state capacity for flagship design, development and implementation, there is still need for support to flagship implementation. This is because flagship approach comes along with the unique model of coordination of projects which requires the right institutional architecture and skills to lead and execute. This requires strategic capacity support for the lead ministry on coordination of actors and initiatives around flagship implementation. Successful implementation of the flagship program also needs strengthened mutual accountability mechanisms and capacity to track implementation results, including resources mobilization. It is against this background that AGRA is recruiting a consultant to support the Ethiopia Ministry of Agriculture in the implementation of the three agriculture flagship programmes stated above. The next Section presents the objectives of this consultancy.

Objectives of the Consultancy

The purpose of the secondment is to support the implementation of flagship programs designed by the Ethiopia Ministry of Agriculture with technical support from AGRA and other partners. The specific objectives of the activity include the following:

1. Providing technical support for effective planning and execution of the flagship program
2. Fund raising support – through joint proposals and/or linking country teams to potential funding agencies.
3. Provision/improvement of M&E, learning and mutual accountability tools and systems-to improve results tracking and mutual accountability.
4. Supporting development of partnerships for technical and financial corporation for faster delivery of agricultural programs.
5. Building capacity of MoA staff and implementing actors in various aspects of flagship design, development, and implementation and
6. Support actors’ coordination: provide implementation coordination support (technical team, interssectoral and multi stakeholder platforms)

Contract Duration

The contract will be for 12 months with a possibility of extension subject to performance and availability of resources. The consultant will work based on a work plan agreed by the supervisor to deliver the deliverables indicated in this RFP payment will be made against achieving the deliverables to the quality expected by AGRA.

Key Qualifications and Experience Required

The consultant should possess the following qualifications and expertise:

1. A minimum of a master’s degree or a Ph.D. in relevant fields of expertise (agriculture, agricultural economics, international developments, development studies, public administration, development economics or other relevant study.
2. At least 10 years of proven experience in designing and facilitating the implementation of major agricultural development programs/projects in Africa in the agricultural sector (or related sectors). The consultant is expected to have demonstrated experience in the areas of agriculture development, resource mobilization, planning, management of the implementation of agricultural development programs and projects.
3. In-depth knowledge of the agricultural sector in the country, including experience working with the Ministry of Agriculture.
4. Experience in resources mobilization involving the private sector.
5. Exceptional experience in consistent, clear, and effective communication with a wide range of stakeholders
6. Skills in organizing large meetings and moderating panels on agricultural topics and ability to prepare quality reports and minutes of workshops and meetings.
7. A good understanding and experience on supporting agricultural sector coordination platforms and mutual accountability mechanisms.
8. Excellent oral and written communication skills
9. High interpersonal and analytical skills.
10. Good knowledge of computers and information and communication technologies
11. Demonstrates an openness to change and an ability to manage complexities.
12. Ability to lead effectively, mentorship and conflict resolution skills.
13. Ability to remain calm, in control and in a good mood even under pressure.
14. Proven networking, team building, organizational and communication skills
15. Excellent communication, analytical and drafting skills, as well as excellent interpersonal skills.

About the Organization

AGRA works to achieve a food secure and prosperous Africa through the promotion of rapid, sustainable agricultural growth based on smallholder farmers. Smallholders--the majority women--produce most of Africa's food, and do so with minimal resources and little government support. AGRA aims to ensure that smallholders have what they need to succeed: good seeds and healthy soils; access to markets, information, financing, storage and transport; and policies that provide them with comprehensive support. Through developing Africa's high-potential breadbasket areas, while also boosting farm productivity across more challenging environments, AGRA works to transform smallholder agriculture into a highly productive, efficient, sustainable and competitive system, and do so while protecting the environment.