Mechanization Technical Expert, Mechanization Design Team International Consultant
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Job Title: Mechanization Technical Expert, Mechanization Design Team
Mission: To support the Design Phase of the Togo Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA)
Unit/Division: Programme Unit / CO Togo
Contract Type: International Consultancy / CST
Contract Duration: between 1 October 2022 and 15 December 2022 (2 months) with the possibility of longer-term engagement with the Togo ATA
ABOUT WFP
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impact of climate change.
WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, color, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status, physical or mental disability.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic is one of the smallest countries in Africa and home to 8.6 million people. Situated in the Gulf of Guinea, Togo serves as a critical corridor to enable the COVID-19 response to landlocked countries in the Central Sahel region.
Togo’s economy depends heavily on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, with both sectors providing employment for 60 percent of the labor force. Socio-political and economic turmoil coupled with devastating floods and now COVID-19 have seen a deterioration in its food and nutritional situation.
Agriculture and food systems are vital to food security, livelihoods, and development. The sector has proven to be more effective for poverty alleviation and job creation than others, and sustainable transformation of agriculture and food systems can underpin economic development for many African countries. One innovative approach to spur transformational change is in the use of a Nodal Agency—successively leveraged by many Asian countries and beyond.
The nodal agency model was successfully leveraged by many Asian countries in the 1960s to 1990s to drive transformational growth and rapidly expand their economies. More recently, the nodal agency model was used successfully by the Government of Ethiopia when it established the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) in 2010.
The nodal agency model leverages key characteristics to achieve impact:
- Operates from a “center of government” position with strong links to senior government officials including the Head of State.
- A high level of authority, independence, and responsibility that allow it to innovate, use evidence to inform decision making, work across public and private sectors, exert influence over actors, and manage and ensure effectiveness.
- High organizational performance that enables efficient systems to be implemented, focuses on results, and ensures learning takes place within and across institutions and programs to adapt to changing contexts and take advantage of opportunities.
The Government of Togo (GoT), in its 2025 Roadmap, has positioned agriculture as a priority engine of growth for production, income, and job creation. The roadmap specifically identifies mechanization, irrigation, and extension through public-private-partnerships as areas of significant opportunity.
To further support progress on the roadmap and in recognition of the need for transformational growth in the sector, the GoT in March 2022 made the decision to leverage the Nodal Agency model and create an Agricultural Transformation Agency. The GoT has engaged TASC to support the scope, design, and establishment of this Agency by January 2023. Togolese stakeholders have worked with TASC to complete development of the scope of the Agency, which includes 5 priority focus areas for the new ATA: mechanization, irrigation, digital extension, ZAAPs (agricultural production areas), and value chains.
To further the development of the Togo ATA, the GoT seeks technical expert consultants to contribute to focus area teams and contribute to the development the Agency so that it can begin operations in January 2023.
JOB PURPOSE
The Government of Togo in partnership with WFP/FAO is now looking to form a high-performing design team that can develop these priority focus areas into a clear set of projects, initiatives, and workplans to enable the ATA to begin activities in January 2023.
Each priority focus area will be led by a Lead who is responsible for delivering the design outputs within this phase of work. The key deliverables for the Mechanization Focus Area are expected to be:
- Mechanization Diagnostic and Strategy
- Provide a technical review and ensure quality control of the diagnostic study, methodology and output
- Support the identification and sequencing of potential mechanization initiatives that can be considered in the agricultural mechanization strategy.
- Mechanization Services Centre (MSC) Project
- Work with Ministry of Agriculture hired transactions consultants to support the process of setting up the Mechanization Service Centers (including project design and key activities) and to create the implementation plan
- Technical review of tractor purchase plan
- Provide a technical review and input of the plan of the Ministry of Agriculture for acquisition, deployment and use of new and recently acquired agricultural equipment.
A Mechanization Technical Expert is required to support the project design for the Mechanization focus area. As context, the Government of Togo is developing a Mechanization Service Centers to be operated by the private sector as part of a public-private partnership. At present, MoA consultants are developing recommendations for a public-private-partnership for the operations of agricultural mechanization service centers. Further it is expected that the consultants will identify different areas where mechanization makes sense and under which circumstances. The Mechanization Technical Expert will support the Ministry of Agriculture in validating the consultant’s deliverables and help to translate the recommendations into workplans that include location of a pilot center in each of the six regions of the country so that they are attractive to private sector investments and can potentially support ATA focus ZAAPs (farmer groups jointly operating 100 ha of land)
Specific areas for mechanization will be market dependent and if possible support the ATA focus crops: maize, rice, soy, cassava, chili, coffee/cacao, sesame, mango, cashew. The Agronomic Technical Expert will provide support for this effort. Additional support provided by experts within the MoA.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority):
The Mechanization Technical Expert will be under the supervision of the Focus Team Lead who is responsible for the delivery of the Focus Team deliverable. The Lead in turn will report into an overall Design Phase Director.
Expected activities and responsibilities of the Mechanization Technical Expert include the following, which are dependent upon any contextual
- Work closely with Focus Area Lead as part of the Focus Area Team
- Work closely with mechanization departments of the MoA
- Identify mechanization needs
- Contribute to the validation of mechanization needs based on MoA consultant report
- Support consideration of various factors for mechanization needs, including: crop (maize, rice, soy, cassava, chili, cacao, coffee, cashew, mango), farm type (small scale, farmer group, commercial); soil type.
- Support the ATA Design Team agronomist for support on crop considerations if needed
- Work closely with ZAAPs Design Team for focused input on ability of farmers to access and use mechanization
- Support to the Ministry of Agriculture consultants on Mechanization Service Centers
- Accompany the consultants to develop recommendations for provision of service to various types of farms by private sector companies for each Mechanization Service Center
- Support the consultants to identify geographic locations for the Mechanization Service Centers
- Conduct a risk analysis for the 6 pilot Mechanization Service Centers
- Identify an additional mechanization initiative from the Mechanization Strategy for the Togo ATA to consider implementing in 2023
- Support the consultants in charge of the development of the mechanization strategy and evaluate potential opportunities
- Recommend potential impactful initiatives for the Togo ATA that fit within its resource and organizational development stage
- Review the tractor purchase plan
- Support the Ministry of Agriculture plan for the acquisition of agricultural equipment
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
Education:
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in relevant agricultural science or business development
Experience:
Minimum of 4 years+ experience in relevant roles focused on the application of mechanization to crop production.
Deep understanding of Africa’s technical and institutional agricultural context is required, and a professional network of relevant agricultural actors who could be leveraged in this design phase would be a key asset.
Knowledge & Skills:
- Clear understanding of the business of agricultural mechanization and the tradeoffs that need to be made to create a profitable business
- Clear understanding of the bottlenecks faced by farmers in accessing mechanization and the potential solutions to bridge supply and demand
- Deep technical knowledge of African agricultural context, focused on the ability of mechanization to improve crop production in focus crops: coffee/cocoa, chili, mango, cashew, maize, rice, soy, sesame, cassava
- Proven experience and results related to supporting the introduction and expansion of mechanization through private sector initiatives
- Ability to engage the private sector and translate their needs into a suitable business model
- Act as a key technical point of contact for the mechanization focus area design work – including close collaboration with relevant government partners
- Strong interpersonal, operational, and organizational skills, and able to effectively problem-solve and come up with innovative solutions
- Deep institutional knowledge and a professional network of relevant agricultural actors who could support this design phase
- Familiarity with broader non-agronomic challenges faced by farmers, farmer groups, and commercial farms
Language:
Fluency (level C) in French and at least an intermediate knowledge (level B) in English (written and verbal).
WHY WORK WITH US?
This is an opportunity for an exciting and challenging position in a multi-cultural and interdisciplinary team, based in a unique location, on a topic with high relevance. In addition, we offer:
➡️Meaningful and impactful careers:
Our day-to-day work makes a difference in the lives of the people we serve
➡️Continuous learning and training:
We provide learning tools for our staff to continually develop their careers
➡️Multicultural and stimulating work environment:
We encourage gender and cultural diversity to make our teams stronger
Join us to make a difference, watch this video to know more about us!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnaxfnNKdsM&t=7s
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: September 7, 2022
All employment decisions are made based on organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.
