Technical Field Officer

Details

Mission and objectives

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is one of the United Nations institutions. Founded in 1945, FAO is governed by the Conference of Member Nations which meets every two years to review the work carried out by the organization and approve a Programme of Work and Budget for the next two years. With its headquarters in Rome, FAO has 191 Member Nations, two Associate Members and one Member Organization (the European Union). FAO serves its member countries by bringing technical knowledge to the field; developing and introducing agricultural practices, policies and strategies; protecting and helping rebuild rural livelihoods in crises and providing a forum to discuss important issues for building common understanding among member countries. FAO has implemented more than USD 293 million worth of projects (including emergency) in Pakistan, as well as carried out USD 82.41 million worth of regional projects which have benefitted Pakistan. FAO projects are funded by the organization’s own funds, bilateral and multi-lateral aid agencies and governments including the Government of Pakistan.

Context

Over the last decade, Pakistan’s progress in child malnutrition has not been encouraging. The last National Nutrition Survey (NNS) conducted in 2018 has revealed an alarming situation of malnutrition. According to the results, the prevalence of acute malnutrition (wasting) is 17.7 percent which is higher than the 2011 NNS and also higher than the WHO threshold, indicating a public health emergency. Nearly 30 percent of children less than 5 years of age are underweight; and 40 percent are stunted, meaning they are chronically malnourished. In terms of micronutrient malnutrition, around 30 percent of children under the age of five are anaemic, and 18.6 percent of children are zinc deficient at national level, with remarkable provincial disparities which are much more alarming than national level. Only 38 per cent of children are exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life while 8 out of 10 children in Pakistan do not eat right type and quantity of food. Among women in reproductive age (15-49 years), the anaemia prevalence is very high (above 40%) which increases the risk of premature birth, low birth weight and abnormal bleeding during childbirth, leading to high maternal and child mortality rates. Regarding food security in Pakistan on a “per capita” basis, the nutrient supply through food/person/day in Pakistan, is sufficient to meet the required intake (FAOSTAT 2018). On the other hand, per capita consumption of high-value-added agricultural products (beef, chicken, fish, milk, vegetables, and fruits) is only about 1/6 to 1/10 of the consumption in developed countries. While Pakistan is supplied with sufficient food, there is an imbalance in food distribution among the people. Indeed, two-thirds of Pakistanis do not have a nutritious diet. It has been pointed out that it is necessary to improve nutrition through food diversification (National Food Security Policy 2018). In South Punjab (Multan, Khanewal, Lodhran, Muzaffargarh and Dera Ghazi Khan), FAO has been implementing “Transforming the Indus Basin with Climate Resilient Agriculture and Water Management” in 2020- 2026, which includes the component of Women Open School activities. It aims to empower farmers’ wives by teaching and supporting their kitchen garden and backyard poultry, although it was rather designed to promote increasing production for value-chain system. On the other hand, JICA has been implementing MULTISECTORAL NUTRITION ADVISORY PROJECT in 2023-2024, which includes the pilot activities of kitchen garden and backyard poultry in primary schools and basic health units in Multan, Muzaffargarh and Faisalabad. It showcases the hybrid focus of production and nutritional consumption, however, the pilot size is relatively small. Therefore, JICA Pakistan office considered dispatching a technical field officer UNV (for ex JOCV) in FAO project office in Multan, to reinforce kitchen garden and backyard poultry activities with the focus of nutritional diets and food diversification especially for women and children.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of Technical Advisor, Emelda Berejena, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: 1. Conduct needs assessments within FAO and other stakeholders including JICA, with a focus on kitchen garden and backyard poultry to improve maternal and child nutrition. 2. Conduct an analysis of good practices in nutrition related kitchen garden and back-yard poultry activities in Pakistan and other countries. 3. Support development of strategy and plan to enhance Women Open School activities with nutritional focus. 4. Support implementation and monitoring of Women Open School activities with nutritional focus. 5. Coordinate among nutrition related stake-holders including Punjab government, FAO, JICA, WFP and NGOs on the various nutrition related activities and education materials to ensure synchronization of projects and harmonization of materials and messaging. 6. Other tasks as required. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for in-stance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities; • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.