Agribusiness Specialist

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.

Tasks and responsibilities

To analyse the real causes of seasonal milk deficit and possible solutions in Rwanda, the consultant conduct a desk review and use FAO’s sustainable food value chain framework followed with key informants interviews to develop and propose clear action points at different nodes of the value chain.

The following specific tasks will be carried out:

• Identify and analyse the causes of the seasonal shortage of fresh milk
• Seek and identify possible solutions (interventions/approaches) to those causes
• Explore and identify potential youth employment opportunities in proposed interventions

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Master’s Degree in Agribusiness, Economics, Rural Development or equivalent.
• Minimum 7 years of experience in the area of value chain assessment and research.
• Solid understanding of value chain and stakeholder engagement particularly youth and women.
• Nationality of Rwanda 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

• Knowledge and understanding of the value chain operation

• Analytical skills and ability to write clear and concise content in English and Kinyarwanda
• Ability to work with limited supervision
• Excellent time management skills
• Teamwork and Results oriented

Selection Criteria

• Academic background (30%)
• Work Experience (30%)
• Technical skills (40%)

[1] MINAGRI (2019) Gender and Youth Mainstreaming Strategy

[2] GMO (2017) Gender and Agriculture