Agribusiness Specialist

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 Members 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 FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination　　
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been active in supporting the efforts of the Government of Rwanda for engaging the youth in the agricultural sector. Building on past and ongoing efforts. The project on Promoting Employment Opportunities and Agripreneurship among Youth and Women in Eastern Africa seeks to increase efforts towards job creation opportunities, as a response to the gap created by COVID in the East Africa region, where in addition to loss of jobs due to deficiency in revenues as result of restrictions and measures imposed to stop the spread of COVID-19. COVID-19 was additional to other shocks such as climatic induced chocks that were already in the region, all worsening the situation of youth and women who were already not strong in their Agripreneurship projects.

In Rwanda farming remains the single largest source of employment for young people with more than 50% of people aged between 16-24 years working exclusively in agriculture[1]. Youth and women therefore form majority of actors in agriculture sector. Almost 80% of the female labour force is in agriculture with the majority undertaking subsistence farming[2]. Farming accounts for 33% of all new jobs created in the Rwandan economy and there are high expectations for agriculture to not just provide employment for a growing rural population but to also to generate higher-quality jobs that will reduce poverty.

Seasonal shortage of milk and other products derived from milk was observed in recent years. Some people related that shortage with the dry season that goes from June to August but the shortage persist even until October, which lead to insufficient and relatively expensive milk on the market. This in turn has an effect on nutrition especially for the youngest. Youth and women are involved in the milk value chain where some youth run milk collection centres and women benefit from small and medium enterprises involved in the milk value chains through production of cheese and yogurt. The reason of the shortage is not yet officially known, hence the need for a study that would identify the reasons for that shortage and suggest possible recommendations for policy decisions.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will report to the FAO Representative (FAOR). S/he will support the ICA National coordinator under the guidance of Assistant FAOR/Programme.

Technical Focus

The work will focus on investigating the causes of seasonal milk deficit and propose possible action points to ensure sustained availability of milk. This work will also identify the current employment and business opportunities for women and youth in the milk value chain.

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