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National Specialist – Livestock sector review, Mauritius

mauritius

  • Organization: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
  • Location: mauritius
  • Grade: Consultancy - Consultant - Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Livestock, production and veterinary
    • Food Security, Livestock and Livelihoods
    • FRMAR
  • Closing Date: Closed

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.

  • FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background, and culture
  • Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented member nations, and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply
  • Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct and to uphold our values. FAO has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and FAO, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
  • All selected candidates, therefore, will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
  • All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
  • The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization


Organizational setting

In southern Africa, the livestock sub-sector is growing faster than most components of the agricultural economy. The main drivers for this is the rapid population growth in the region, which is expected to double the current population of SADC by the year 2055. Added to that is the urbanization and the improved income and growing middle class, which is shifting increasingly towards consuming nutrient dense food of animal origin. If the current trend continues, the consumption of animal source food will triple and in some cases grow four folds by the year 2050. Hence, sustainable development of the livestock sector is key for ensuring food security and nutrition in Southern Africa.

In addition to its role of providing high quality protein and bioavailable minerals and vitamins, the livestock sector contributes significantly to the agricultural GDP in many Southern African countries. For example, the livestock contribution to agricultural GDP reaches 80% in Botswana, 70% in Namibia and 42% in Zambia. The sector contributes to crop production in forms of draft power as well as manure and serve as hedge during drought and other emergencies. Despite all these benefits to socio-economic development and the potential for further growth, the livestock sector faces several challenges. One of the major constraints hindering its full development is the limited public and private investment.

In recent years, several countries in Southern Africa are preparing or refining their National Agricultural Investment Plans (NAIPs) by taking into account their agricultural and rural development priorities and commitments to achieve the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) targets as renewed in Malabo declaration (AU summit in June 2014 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea). One of the major targets of CAADP/Malabo declaration is ensuring of 10% allocation of public expenditure to the agricultural sector. Hence, the NAIPs indicate governments’ decision on what they consider priority in the agricultural sector and the amount of investment each of these would receive. Unfortunately, the livestock development agenda is either absent or less prominent in such key national planning document. Since the sector does not feature as priority in NAIP, its inclusion in Country Programming Framework (CPF), an agreement between countries and FAO as well as the Common Country Assessment (CCA) of country’s partnership strategy with the UN Country Team (UNCT) towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is not guaranteed, with high chance on losing also support from international cooperation funding.

The availability of accurate and timely information is key for planning NAIPs, CPFs and CCAs. Hence, current and reliable data on livestock and information which elucidates its role in national economies and livelihood of the population as well as its potential and shortcomings is needed. Better understanding of the potential and challenges of the livestock sub-sector in Southern African countries will enable better planning and decision-making. Few countries in Southern Africa developed their NAIPs between 2015 and 2020. Some are preparing it now for the first time. In 2021, FAO is supporting countries like Angola, eSwatini, Lesotho, Mozambique and Namibia in finalizing their NAIPs. On the other hand, the current SADC Regional Livestock Development Programme will expire at the end of 2021. Hence, gathering accurate and current information on the potential and challenges of the livestock sector, the role it plays in socio-economic development as well as priority areas of investment will assist in providing the required evidence for planning and decision making in NAIPs as well as guide programming of the next generation of the regional livestock development programme. This is the main objective of the project titled Support in mainstreaming livestock in National Agricultural Investment Plans and other key documents in SADC Countries (TCP/SFS/3806).

Reporting lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in the country and the direct supervision of the SFS Livestock Development Officer, the consultant will work in close collaboration with FAO Country Office, the national departments in charge of animal production and health and different actors in the livestock industry in gathering and compiling information on the livestock sector.

Technical focus

The Overall Objective of the assignment is to gather up-to-date, accurate and complete information on the current status of the livestock sector and challenges it is facing as well as the potential it has with the ultimate goal of producing the country livestock profile. Annex 1 shows the detailed outline of areas to cover during information gathering. The consultant will define data sources and the methodology to follow. The draft report will be shared with stakeholders prior to a validation workshop. The validation workshop will discuss the findings and serve as a platform for gathering comments, additional inputs and suggestions. The final report will take into account feedback collected at the validation workshop.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Prepare an action plan on how to approach the task with clear activities and milestone in achieving them
• Gather data on the current status of the livestock sector in the country with challenges and opportunities it has
• Analyse collected data and prepare draft country livestock profile by indicating the priority areas for investment following the provided outline
• Submit to FAO the draft country livestock profile for comments and clearance
• Share the cleared draft country livestock profile with national authorities and other stakeholders in the livestock sector for comments and additional input
• Present the draft country profile at national validation workshop and gather comments, suggestions and additional inputs
• Incorporate feedback gathered at the validation workshop and produce and submit the final version of the country livestock profile

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

1. Advanced University degree in Veterinary or animal Science, Agriculture Economics and related fields;
2. At least 10 years’ experience at senior position at national level working directly in the livestock sector,
3. Fluent in spoken and written English.
4. National of Mauritius or resident in the country with a regular work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement


Technical/Functional Skills

1. Experience in strategic thinking and reviewing the livestock sector within the national agricultural set-up;
2. Experience in identifying the drivers for budget allocation and use national level;
3. Excellent skills in planning, organizing and facilitating meeting/workshops
4. Relevant experience in national policy in connection with CAADP and Malabo declaration
5. Experience of planning or managing the livestock sector at national level,
6. Excellent report writing skills
7. Strong interpersonal skills in negotiation with stakeholders in the livestock sector
8. Computer literate with good working knowledge of the standard Microsoft Office Programs.

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.

This vacancy is now closed.
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