National Specialist on Digital Agriculture

Organizational Setting

The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) has requested FAO to support the conceptual development and provide technical expertise for the development of “Smart Village” pilot implementation to provide capacity development activities to the newly re-settled community members to re-build their existing capacities for smooth integration/adoption to the rural environment/economy, as well as to learn from, share experiences, and establish linkages with a network of international smart villages.

In this regard, FAO launched new TCP project for technical support and provision of capacity development for the rural population on community development planning practices, as well as demonstrate examples of innovative approaches and best practices through exploring economic initiatives in a participatory way (production units that are planned to be established, agri-food sectors to be promoted, and opportunities for green/digital rural business development).

Subsequently, the project will provide support to the decision makers, planners and local authorities of the “Smart Village” initiative through provision of advice as well as relevant information materials on a variety of thematic areas, from digital agriculture to climate smart technology and practices; land conservation. Knowledge sharing and technology transfer will be further supported through “village twinning” – an important tool for building long-term relationships between communities that enables cooperation and dialogue on topics of common interest.

Reporting Lines

The National Specialist on Digital Agriculture will work under the overall supervision of AFAOR, and the technical guidance of the Digital Agriculture Team Leader and in close collaboration with the International Consultant on Digital Agriculture, National Programme/Operations Specialist, and the project team. LTO will be responsible for the technical implementation of the project.

Technical Focus

The National Specialist on Digital Agriculture will work closely with the national specialist on community development, the international consultant on digital agriculture and the project task force to support the delivery of activities aligned with the Digital Villages Initiative participatory approach to rural development and digitalization in agriculture.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Work closely with the rural community and the project team to identify rural communities’ needs, local assets and achievable actions that involve the use of ICTs in agriculture and rural development (implementing FAO methodology “DVI Readiness Assessment”); this involves engaging in field visits, in interviews with stakeholders and a series of community workshops; • Undertake a stakeholder mapping exercise, and propose suitable methods to engage rural community members and vulnerable people in workshops and dialogues • Conduct research on “smart solutions” being digital technologies, product and services, as well as international smart/digital village good practices that could be successfully introduced or replicated in the village; provide support to their implementation; • Contribute to the development of the Community Development Plan by identifying digital interventions to be added to the plan (a “DVI roadmap”); • Contribute to the development and implementation of a small-scale investment support scheme for digital solutions; • Contribute to the development of a digital agriculture training need assessment and a training programme based on the needs identified; coordinate and assist in implementing trainings on ICTs at village and national levels; • Support the organization and actively contribute to the delivery of various workshops, both at national (e.g. inception and closing workshops) and local levels (workshops with community leaders to understand their needs, trainings, etc.); • Support the establishment of a demo farm; • Support the International Consultant in identifying smart/digital villages in other countries that could become long-term partners to the rural community in Azerbaijan; coordinate “twinning” activities (virtual and physical, including a study tour) aimed at sharing knowledge, experience, and transfer technology among villages; establish plan for future cooperations (“twinning agreement”); • Support the International Consultant in outreach activities and dissemination of Azerbaijan’s experience with smart villages, including through the production of written content; • Provide technical inputs and contribute to various written outputs, include a discussion paper and policy recommendations for national and regional policy dialogue based on the smart village experiences, as well as a concept note for potential donor funding for scaling-up the project experiences; engage in discussions with potential resource partners; • Perform any other duty as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree (preferably Master’s degree) in Computer Science, Engineering, Rural Development, Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, Public Policy or other related fields, • 5 years of relevant experience in Computer Science, Engineering, Rural Development, Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, Public Policy or other related fields, • Working knowledge of in English and Azerbaijani languages are required, • National of Azerbaijan or a resident with a valid work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Strong and demonstrable understanding of digital agriculture • Familiarity with rural development and participatory approaches • Previous experience in working with rural communities and farmers and/or in agriculture-related domains • Ability to adopt new ideas • Commitment to participatory and bottom-up approaches • Ability to communicate, including advocating to government agencies