Senior Advisor of Coalition for the African Rice Development (CARD) (West and Central Africa)

Job Description

Background

Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) is a multi-stakeholder initiative launched at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) in May 2008. It was co-created by Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD, current AUDA-NEPAD). The Coalition aimed to double rice production in SubSaharan Africa (SSA) within ten years through increased and better-coordinated investments and assistance in the rice sector. Major bilateral and multilateral development partners, African and international institutions, governmental and non-governmental organizations which attended TICAD IV formed a consensus on the goals and objectives of CARD and showed a deep commitment to working together to respond to the needs of the African rice-producing countries.

The activities of the Coalition were facilitated by the CARD Secretariat with the basis of approval by 11 CARD Steering Committee organizations, namely: African Development Bank (AfDB), Africa Rice Center (Africa Rice), AGRA, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), JICA, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), AUDA-NEPAD and World Bank. The CARD Secretariat is hosted in AGRA’s headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

The CARD Secretariat provided technical assistance to the formulation and implementation of National Rice Development Strategies (NRDS) in the 23 CARD member countries in SSA, namely: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia. Also, the CARD Secretariat assisted the CARD member countries in formulation of National Rice Seed Development Strategy (RSDS) as well as National Agriculture/Rice Mechanization Strategy and their project Concept Notes. Fund mobilization activities were conducted to finance project Concept Notes of NRDS, RSDS and Mechanization Strategies.

In the 7th CARD General Meeting in October 2018, while noting the achievement of the target of doubling rice production in SSA from 14 million to 28 million MT within ten years, all CARD stakeholders recognized the remaining challenges ahead, and therefore unanimously agreed to enter the 2nd phase of CARD. The new target was set to further double rice production in SSA from 28 million to 56 million MT by 2030. Nine countries joined the initiative, namely Angola, Burundi, Chad, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Malawi, Niger, Republic of the Congo and Sudan, together with new supporting members, World Food Programme (WFP), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and five Regional Economic Communities (RECs), namely COMESA, EAC, ECCAS, ECOWAS and SADC. In the 8th General Meeting in October 2021, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) joined the Steering Committee.

The CARD initiative is committed to continue providing its facilitation and technical support to the 32 CARD member countries, in terms of: i) formulation and revision of NRDS, RSDS and Mechanization Strategies, ii) development and revision of project Concept Notes for these strategies, iii) fund mobilization for their implementation, iv) monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the progress in their implementation, and v) policy advocacy and promotion of regional trade through assisting formulation and revision of Regional Rice Development Strategies (RRDS) by RECs.

In its second phase, CARD is expected to focus more on implementation and M&E of NRDS, RSDS and Mechanization Strategies. During Phase I, CARD developed what is called “Sub-sector/Intervention Elements Matrices (SIEM)” as a tool for M&E. A new M&E framework has been developed, applying the “RICE Approach” (Resilience, Industrialization, Competitiveness and Empowerment), a new strategic approach adopted for CARD Phase II. Furthermore, CARD website is now under renovation so that it will be a useful tool to collect and disseminate information related to the M&E.

The CARD Secretariat, through AGRA, would like to engage qualified consultants who will be responsible for activities in its member countries and related RECs, as specified below.

Objectives of the Consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy activity isto act as a Senior Advisor of Coalition for the African Rice Development (CARD) for Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Gabon, Niger and Togo

Scope of Work

Under the general supervision by the General Coordinator and Technical Coordinator(s) of the CARD Secretariat, the Senior Advisor (hereinafter referred to as the consultant) will:

1. Provide NRDS Task Force (TF) with facilitation, coordination and technical support in development and revision of NRDS, RSDS and National Agriculture/Rice Mechanization Strategy as well as their respective Concept Notes, in the assigned countries;
2. Provide NRDS TF with facilitation, coordination and technical support to promote “fund matching” process (fund mobilization) with potential development partners, thereby materializing the implementation of Concept Notes of NRDS, RSDS and National Agriculture/ Rice Mechanization Strategy;
3. Provide NRDS TF with technical support in the M&E process of NRDS, including organizing Annual Rice Sector Review, along with the RICE approach that CARD Phase II adopted;
4. Provide RECs’ FP and stakeholders with facilitation, coordination and technical support in development, revision, implementation, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of Regional Rice Development Strategy (RRDS) in the assigned RECs, which should harmonize with NRDS of their respective partner states;
5. Collect and summarize information on policies, related initiatives, programs, projects and other resources relevant to rice sector development of the assigned countries, and share them with NRDS TF and the CARD Secretariat;
6. Monitor and report progress, problems and other relevant issues concerning the implementation status of NRDS, RSDS, National Agriculture/Rice Mechanization Strategy and RRDS to the CARD Secretariat;
7. Assist organizing CARD related meetings, contribute to discussion during these meetings, and develop meeting reports, such as the CARD General Meetings, Steering Committee Meetings, Regional Workshops, Webinar and other meetings as instructed by the CARD Secretariat;
8. Travel to the assigned countries and/or RECs to conduct above mentioned tasks; and,
9. Undertake other duties relevant to CARD as instructed by the CARD Secretariat.

Contract Duration

The contract will be for a period of 1 year starting 1st April 2024 renewable to a maximum of 3 years subject to performance and availability of resources.

Key Qualifications and Experience Required

The consultant should possess the following qualifications and expertise:

1. To be at least an advanced degree holder in Agriculture, Development, Economics, Politics or other filed relevant to the above-described Scope of Work;
2. To have at least 10 years of working experience in the field of agricultural development in Africa;
3. To have a good knowledge of rice sector in Africa;
4. To be fluent in written and spoken English and French (Fluency in Portuguese to be advantaged);
5. To be flexible in occasional overtime works, including during weekends and holidays; and
6. To be healthy both mentally and physically for travelling occasionally and working under a time bound environment.

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.