Climate Smart Agriculture Technical Assistant

The Regional Office for Africa leads FAO’s response to regional priorities for food security, agriculture and rural development. It ensures a multidisciplinary approach to programmes, identifies priority areas of action for the Organization in the region and, in collaboration with departments and divisions at Headquarters, develops, promotes and oversees FAO's strategic response to regional priorities. In its programme delivery, RAF contributes to the achievements of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially the eradication of poverty, achieving zero hunger, good health and well-being. Africa is particularly affected by and vulnerable to climate change. This is mainly due to the important role of agriculture sectors for the populations’ livelihoods for the countries’ economies. The impact of climate change combined with the vulnerability of Africa's agriculture sectors and rural livelihoods call for appropriate climate change adaptation and mitigation (CCAM) measures as well as Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and resilience building in the region.

Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is an approach developed by FAO and its partners to help guide actions to transform and re-orient agricultural systems to effectively and sustainably support food security under the context of climate change and in line with countries’ commitments to the Paris Agreement as outlined in their NDCs. CSA aims, to achieve three main objectives\: (i) sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and income; (ii) adapting and building resilience to climate change; and (iii) reducing and/or removing greenhouse gases emissions, where possible.

In Response to the commitments of Africa’s Heads of State “to enhance resilience of livelihoods and production systems to climate change and climate variability, the AU/NEPAD vision to have 25 million farm households adopting CSA practices by 2025” was endorsed. FAO is engaged to support the countries in achieving this target through capacity development and improved information and knowledge sharing on CSA. In this context, the preparation of regional policy briefs and country CSA profiles is an important step towards sound CSA up-scaling.

The consultant will work under the day-to-day supervision of the Natural Resources Officer (Climate Change), the technical supervision of the Senior Forestry Officer (RAF) and the oversight of the Delivery Manager of FAO Regional Initiative on “Sustainable Intensification and Value Chain Development”(RI2) / Focal Point for FAO Strategic Programme “to make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable” (SP2).

Technical Focus

Technical expertise in the following areas\: (i) climate smart agriculture technologies and practices in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) including natural resources management, sustainable bioenergy development, agro-climatology, water resources management, forestry and land use; and (ii) complex natural resources management systems and land use issues in the context of climate change.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Liaise with the FAO country offices and partners in the counties where CSA activities are being conducted to collect relevant information on opportunities and needs for CSA scaling-up at national and local levels;
• Assist in compiling relevant information and compile information sheets on country needs and adapted CSA practices;
• Perform statistical analysis of collected CSA data to show regional and sub-regional trends;
• Contribute in the preparation and dissemination of one regional CSA brief and at least two CSA country profiles;
• Assist in coordinating and developing CSA training modules adapted to the needs and context SSA Africa ecological regions;
• Provide operational support in the organization of meetings, workshops and webinars; and
• Perform other duties as required including particular support to RI2/SP2 technical areas of work as needed.

Minimum Requirements

• National of Ghana or in possession of a valid work permit in the country
• Advanced degree (Master’s Degree, PhD or equivalent) in Natural Resources/ environmental/agricultural sciences, with a strong focus on climate change
• At least five years of relevant experience in natural resource management, including, sustainable bioenergy development, agro-climatology, water resources management, or forestry and land use
• Ability to work in both English and French (working knowledge in both writing and speaking) would be an asset

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

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work
• Proven ability to write technical and scientific articles
• Familiarity with statistical analysis of quantitative and qualitative data related to climate change and CSA practices
• Ability to analyze complex natural resources management systems, land use issues in the context of climate change
• Depth of familiarity with climate smart agriculture technologies and practices in Sub-Saharan Africa•