Agronomy Specialist

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Established in 1945, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide, partnering with governments and other stakeholders to address issues related to food security, agriculture, fisheries, and forestry. FAO's mission is to achieve food security for all and ensure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. As a partner agency for the Global Environment Facility (GEF), FAO supports countries worldwide in addressing the complex challenges at the nexus between the agrifood systems and the environment, particularly aspects related to biodiversity, climate change, land degradation, chemicals, and international waters. The GEF provides grants in different funding cycles to countries to meet these challenges whilst contributing to key development goals, such as food security. The GEF approved the Government of India’s Green-Ag Project titled, “Green-Ag: Transforming Indian agriculture for global environmental benefits and the conservation of critical biodiversity and forest landscapes” under the GEF-6 funding cycle. The project is being implemented in five landscapes: i) Chambal Landscape (Madhya Pradesh), ii) Dampa landscape (Mizoram), iii) Similipal Landscape (Odisha), iv) Desert National Park Landscape (Rajasthan) and v) Corbett- Rajaji Landscape (Uttarakhand). Likewise, the project titled “Promotion of Sustainable Food Systems in India through Transforming Rice-Wheat Systems in Punjab, Haryana, Odisha and Chhattisgarh” was approved under the GEF-7 cycle. The project aims to promote sustainable, integrated landscapes and efficient food value and supply chains at scale in rice- and wheat-based food systems in India. For more information on these projects, please visit < https://www.fao.org/india/programmes-and-projects/project-list/en/>

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in India (FAOR)/Assistant FAOR Representative (Programme) and guidance of the National Technical Coordinators of the GEF projects, the Agronomy Specialist will undertake the duties as given below.

Technical Focus

Expertise in Agronomy/ Agriculture and allied activities.

Tasks and responsibilities

The Agronomy Specialist will undertake the following duties:

• Work closely with the Operational Partner in the Project States and provide technical backstopping support to State/District/Block Level officials, lead farmers, FPOs and other farmer collectives to promote climate resilient sustainable agriculture (integrated farming) practices. These could include crop diversification, crop planning, economics of various crops, water footprint, greenhouse gases emissions mitigation and soil and water conservation measures. • Provide technical support to improve traditional seed varieties, and conserve indigenous agrobiodiversity for long-term sustainability. Facilitate identifying indigenous seed varieties and develop a standard protocol for on-farm Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS) in the project landscapes. • Prepare package of good agricultural practices for various crops and develop training modules for demonstration of climate resilient sustainable agricultural practices with global environmental benefits. • Finalize GAP standard and technical guidelines, oversee preparation, technical backstopping and support the implementation of FFS, including curriculum modules and frameworks with state teams. • Organize training programs and workshops in coordination with the Capacity Building Expert to orient farmers on sustainable farming practices, that may include crop rotation, organic fertilizers, integrated pest management, and conservation agriculture. • Help design farming systems that integrate crops, livestock, and forestry to optimize the use of resources and improve farmers' livelihoods. These would also include the following: Climate Change Mitigation; Ecosystem Services Maintenance and Soil Health Management. • Contribute to the development of sustainable value chains, ensuring that farmers have access to quality inputs and able to sell their produce at a fair price. Work closely with other experts and private sector partners (whenever engaged) to provide appropriate handholding and knowledge dissemination. The consultant will in collaboration with Green Value Chain Expert work in factoring emerging market demand into the sustainable farming practices. • Develop monitoring protocols, data collection tools and oversee data collection on project's agroecological progress and ensure comprehensive reporting on agricultural activities and field visits. • Review existing crop and seed production policies, strategies, existing challenges, and opportunities of the sector. • Evaluate and promote climate-smart, eco-friendly farm machinery that are women-friendly. • Collaborate with state rural livelihood mission to promote the secondary agricultural practices including additional livelihood opportunities for the farmers including poultry, animal husbandry, kitchen gardens etc. • Lead technical coordination for one state and provide guidance for a project implementing state. • Undertake regular field visits to project locations to monitor and evaluate project implementation quality. • Conduct evaluations of current farming practices to assess their sustainability and identify areas for improvement in alignment with the project's goals. • Collaborate with other stakeholders, including government agencies, private sector entities, and civil society groups, Farmer Organizations (including FPO’s, Cooperative) to promote sustainable and integrated food systems. • Any other work assigned by FAOR/ AFAOR and National Technical Coordinator.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Post Graduate degree in agricultural sciences or related field • Ten years of relevant experience working at the field level in the agriculture sector with government or development agencies • Working knowledge of English and Hindi • National of India

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Good Knowledge of Agronomy, plant breeding, agriculture, horticulture, and allied activities. • Good Knowledge of developing training materials and manuals and package of good agricultural practices. • Good communication, presentation skills and reporting in English and Hindi (both written and spoken). • Ability to work in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams and to handle stress

Selection Criteria

• Working in collaboration with Agriculture and Horticulture Department of Central/ State Government. • Experience of Working with major International Organization (UN Organizations, CGRI etc). • Experience of working with ICAR Organizations and State Agricultural Universities. • Experience of working in collaboration with private agri-business and food processing industries. • Working experience of working in Cluster, FPOs, Cooperatives, SHGs

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
• Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/
• For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.