International Specialist on Animal Identification and Traceability System

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FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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Application deadline 1 year ago: Friday 1 Apr 2022 at 21:59 UTC

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Organizational Setting:

FAO Representative in Madagascar, to Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles.

Background

One of the major constraints in the Mauritian livestock sector is the present lack of traceability of animals and animal products. At present, tagging is being used to identify animals but this system is not backed by an efficient record-keeping system that would enable authorities to follow-up. Moreover, tags are regularly lost or tampered with, leading to considerable confusion in the administration of animal identification. The Republic of Mauritius is therefore seeking to set up a National Livestock Information System (NLIS) to address the problem of animal identification. In 2019, short-term technical support was obtained from the FAO which enabled the country to define the traceability system for cattle, goat and sheep. A traceability system was set up utilizing microchips as the main method of identification. The microchipping of the cattle herd is more or less complete for the island of Mauritius.

Building on the achievements in the island of Mauritius and on reports of previous consultants, it is necessary to extend the system (a) to the island of Rodrigues and (b) to other species such as pigs, poultry, bees and deer. Rodrigues is a dependency of the Republic of Mauritius that has a sizeable livestock population (10000 cattle, 29000 goats and sheep, 16000 pigs, 2790 beehives and 200000 chicken).

A consultant is recruited for undertaking a study of the current livestock production systems with a view to propose a practical identification method and traceability system for Mauritius and Rodrigues. The method/system proposed should:

  • Effectively identify and enable trace-back of livestock and products of animal origin to the farm from which it was sourced (including where an animal is exported to Mauritius)
  • Be simple and cost-effective to administer.
  • Integrate with an information system to be developed at a later stage.
  • Integrate with the traceability system in Mauritius.

The consultant shall also effect an assessment of the institutional setups in both Mauritius and Rodrigues with a view to determine:

  • Human resource requirements for the administration of the traceability system in Mauritius and Rodrigues
  • Desirable reporting structures in Mauritius and Rodrigues and between the islands for the efficient administration of the traceability system
  • Appropriate procedures for registration of farms, animal identification and other events in the administration of the traceability system
  • Train users once the animal identification and traceability system and the databases associated with it are approved and set-up

Reporting Lines:

The International Expert on Animal Identification and Traceability will work under the direct managerial and administrative leadership of the FAO Representative in Madagascar as the Budget Holder, the technical supervision of the Lead Technical Officer (LTO) and in close collaboration with the national team and the developer of the database.

Technical Focus:

Animal Identification and traceability System (AITS)

Database for the management of AITS

Institutional Framework for AITS

Training

Tasks and responsibilities

The consultant is expected to:

  • Meet stakeholders in the livestock sector and make a detailed analysis of the production systems in Mauritius and Rodrigues.
  • Based on past reports and own findings, submit a report detailing the traceability system in Mauritius and Rodrigues for all concerned species;
  • Submit a report on the desirable institutional setups in Mauritius and Rodrigues including the elaboration of appropriate procedures for the administration of the traceability system. Procedures shall be in such format as to be useful to an information technology specialist for the development of appropriate software at a subsequent stage.
  • Conduct a validation workshop with all relevant stakeholders.
  • Support the database developer with technical inputs on AITS
  • Together with the database developer, organize and conduct training on technical use and operations of the NLIS

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

  • University degree in Agriculture or Veterinary Science or Animal Production or any related field
  • Seven years of experience in enforcement of legislations and knowledge of requirements thereof.
  • Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of one of the other FAO languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish). Working knowledge of English will be sufficient for PSA.SBS.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

  • Strong administrative and organisational skills,
  • Computer literacy
  • Good English technical report writing skills.
  • Ability to provide team leadership and motivation
  • Ability to work independently, with minimum supervision
  • Knowledge and proven experience in procedures for the administration of the traceability system, analysis of the production systems
  • Knowledge and proven experience of the process for animal identification
Added 2 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: fao.org