Food Security and Value Chain Analyst

UNDP is a global knowledge network that promotes human development and connects countries with knowledge, experiences and resources to help people build better lives.

UNDP has supported Djibouti since 1979 in its solutions to development challenges and capacity building that will help them achieve the goals of sustainable development.
In line with the Djibouti National Development Strategy, the UNDAF and the UNDP Strategic Plan, we are committed to supporting the Government and people of Djibouti.

Djibouti is a country with a chronic and permanent food deficit, due to unfavorable conditions. Agriculture is poorly developed, and livestock production is low because it is plagued by natural disasters such as recurrent droughts. The country is therefore totally dependent on imports to cover its food needs and is therefore highly vulnerable to extreme shocks such as sudden increases in food or oil prices.
Crop production is limited to oasis agriculture, very often associated with sedentary livestock. For a potential cultivable area of 120,000 ha of which 10,000 ha can be easily irrigated along the wadis of which only a little more than 1,000 ha are currently exploited. The agricultural potential of the country is limited by (i) the poverty of the soils (especially in organic elements); (ii) the low and random level of rainfall, which averages 150 mm; (iii) high temperatures ranging from 30 to more than 45°, resulting in high evapotranspiration (1800 mm). These agro-climatic conditions only allow the practice of small-scale irrigated agriculture, of the oasis type, whose production is dominated by market gardening on small traditional family farms (around 0.5 ha on average), in which women play an increasingly important role by participating in production activities and, above all, in the transport and marketing of products. The low yields are due to the poor mastery of agricultural techniques, particularly with regard to irrigation techniques and the use of unsuitable means of drainage (motor pump). Production is around 10,000 tons and covers only about 10% of the population's needs.
Private sector involvement in Djibouti's land use and agriculture is still nascent. With an arid landscape, scant arable terrain, and limited water supply, agriculture in Djibouti has remained largely underdeveloped, focusing on subsistence-level production of drought-tolerant crops and rearing livestock. Consequently, Djibouti relies on imports for about 90% of its food needs, predominantly from neighboring Ethiopia. Agricultural endeavors within the private sector are mainly facilitated through cooperatives, with a notable number of these groups being led by women.
These cooperatives are crucial to the local economy, producing and selling agricultural products in local informal markets. Yet, they face challenges in accessing broader markets, including the critical Djibouti city market, which serves the majority of the nation's population, and other major regional cities, thus limiting their expansion and national economic contribution. Moreover, these cooperatives often lack proper structure and coordination. Acknowledging the sector's potential to contribute to economic expansion and enhance food security, the Government of Djibouti (GoDj) is increasingly looking to involve the private sector in agriculture, with a focus on developing sectors such as dairy and other agricultural products.

Under the direct supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor and Team Leader of Greening Djibouti Portfolio, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:
1. Identify the relevant government strategies policies and administrative frameworks promoting agri-business and agro-entrepreneurship in Djibouti
2. Analyze the transboundary socio-economic and socio-political mechanisms and parameters governing the agri-business and agro-based markets
3. Assess the impact of climate change on the food security of the population in Djibouti
4. Support the design and undertake market analysis to develop dataset on supply and demand of various agriculture, livestock and fishery-based value-chains
5. Support the Capacity Gap and Needs Assessment to identify the institutional, political, and infrastructure potential and challenges to develop agriculture, livestock and fishery-based value chains
6. Develop a situational analysis report on the status of food security and price fluctuation in Djibouti
7. Support the feasibility of the existing value-chains and identify the areas of improvement to support the Vision 2035 ambition of economic diversification and SDG targets
8. Identify key challenges disaggregated by the cluster or value chain and the types of interventions in the region that are seen to be needed to address them
9. Mapping and analysis of the key stakeholders for promotion and scaling up of the value-chain based agri-business
10. Consider the gender dimension in the analysis of value chains: constraints and specific needs of men, women, and youth in value chains
11. Support mapping the cooperatives at the national and regional level and develop livelihood support interventions in support of climate-resilient value-chain development opportunities.
12. Support in preparation of a concrete roadmap with a costed action plan for cross-border agri-business development to secure the food supply chain with stable pricing for the population of Djibouti, including a resilience framework in the events of crises