FAO recruits a specialist on diaspora engagement in agribusiness
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Organizational Setting
Uganda’s agriculture sector plays a critical role in the economy, accounting for 70 percent of employment, more than half of all exports and 23 percent of GDP. However, youth engagement and interest in agriculture remain wanting, mainly hindered by a wide range of challenges such as lack of affordable financing for agribusiness start-ups, limited access to land, lack of agribusiness skills, lack of infrastructures and appropriate technologies. As a result, many rural Ugandans, especially youth, migrate from rural to urban areas or abroad in countries in the Middle East, Europe and America in search for business and employment opportunities. As a large share of migrants originate from rural areas, investing in resilient rural livelihoods and broader rural development, including in sustainable agricultural value chains, value adding activities and support services, is crucial to providing sustainable livelihoods and ensure that migration is a matter of choice rather than necessity.
Migration can be an engine of economic growth and innovation and holds great potential for the development of countries of origin and destination. There is a wealth of evidence illustrating how the financial resources and knowledge of diaspora communities can promote development in their countries of origin. To date, however, diaspora engagement in agriculture and rural development has been limited due to the challenges of investing in rural areas. These include lack of expertise in agriculture, a lack of information on investment opportunities, inability to enforce decisions and understand market dynamics from a distance, the remoteness of rural areas, the difficulties of channelling contributions to their destination and the limited networking and partnership interaction between rural institutions and diaspora associations. With the right support and platforms, diaspora organizations can play a key role in helping rural areas, in form of capital investment, skills and technology transfer, know-how and improved social networking and partnerships.
The potential of the Ugandan diaspora in promoting value addition and contributing to unlocking youth employment opportunities through dedicated investments in the agri-food value chains is an untapped area worth further exploration and analysis. The Government of Uganda has a dedicated Department working on diaspora-related matters under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is in the process of drafting a National Diaspora Policy (NDP). However, the existing national coordination mechanism on migration, is still wanting and this affects effective engagement with the Ugandans in the diaspora, including on topics related to agribusiness investment opportunities and market linkages
In consideration of the above, FAO has developed a project that aims to empower value chain actors to promote youth employment and assess opportunities for diaspora to engage in agri-business.
As part of the project, a study on diaspora engagement in agribusiness will be carried out to assess the Ugandan diaspora’s main areas of expertise and potential for investment in the agri-food sector, with a focus on the coffee value chain. The analysis will also identify recommendations and define a roadmap to strengthen diaspora engagement in agribusiness. The results of the analysis will also inform the revision of the coffee value chain analysis report carried out as part of the project, and which focuses on job creation and decent rural youth employment opportunities.
Reporting Lines
Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Uganda through the Assistant FAOR-Programmes, the Specialist will report to the Rural Migration Officer for all the technical aspects of the assignments and will work under the direct supervision of the International Migration Consultant. During the activity implementation, the Specialist will work in close collaboration with the Project National Coordinator/FAO Youth Focal Point in Uganda. In addition, the consultant will also contribute to the work of the National Value Chain Analyst when working on the Coffee Value Chain Analysis Report.
The Specialist is expected to collaborate closely with relevant stakeholders in Uganda (Diaspora Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Uganda Investment Authority, Uganda Coffee Development Authority, Office of the President, and Parliament, Ministry of Trade etc.) and in destination countries (diplomatic missions, diaspora associations, etc.).
Technical Focus :
The overall objective of this assignment is to carry out an assessment of the Ugandan diaspora and its potential role to engage in agri-business, with a special focus on the coffee value chain, and identify recommendations to strengthen their engagement.
The study will cover the following areas :
- Assessment of the institutional arrangements for diaspora engagement and agri-business investment in the country. This includes analysing policies promoting and enabling diaspora agribusiness investments, including through key informant interviews with diaspora associations and officials in relevant governmental institutions, both in Uganda and abroad ;
- Assessment of Ugandan diaspora’s skills and expertise, as well as challenges and propensity to invest in agri-business, including but not limited to the following elements
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- Skills and employment (including skills level and area of work) ;
- Economic profiles (income level, saving patterns, etc.) ;
- Current level of engagement of diaspora members in diaspora associations ;
- Perceived challenges and investment opportunities in rural areas and agri-business ;
- Interest and propensity to invest; typology of investments and patterns with focus on value chains prioritized by the NDP II (Uganda National Development Plan) and the NSYEA (National Strategy for Youth Employment in Agriculture) ;
- Measures that will facilitate investments in agri- business, particularly in the coffee value chain.
- Identification of on-going initiatives and good practices of diaspora engagement in agribusiness in Uganda ;
- Identification of recommendations, lessons learnt and drafting of a roadmap on how to engage the Ugandan diaspora in agribusiness, especially in the value chains prioritized by the NDP II and the NSYEA, including the coffee sector.
Moreover, this assignment will contribute to and complement the findings of the SP4-led Coffee Value Chain Analysis Report by integrating migration and diaspora-related aspects and considerations.
Tasks and responsibilities :
- For the purpose of this assignment, under the present Terms of Reference, the National Consultant is responsible for performing the following tasks and submit the related deliverables ;
- Elaboration of the report on diaspora engagement in agribusiness ;
- Definition of outline and validation of work schedule in consultation with FAO project team ;
- Perform a desk review of legislative and institutional mechanisms and available best practices in Uganda on diaspora engagement, with a focus on agri-business ;
- Work on formulation of methodological instruments in consultation with FAO project team: definition of stakeholders’ identification procedures for key informant interviews, Focus Groups (FGs) and online surveys ;
- Draft report and presentation of preliminary findings in the validation workshop.
Draft a final report, including the following :
- Data analysis of primary and secondary data, with a particular focus on the relationship between mapped diaspora members’ skills and investments profiles and the sectorial agribusiness priorities ;
- Recommendations on how to enhance diaspora engagement and foster diaspora-led investments in agribusiness in general, with a focus on the coffee sector.
Make a presentation of final results
Revision of the Coffee Value Chain Report to include aspects related to challenges and opportunities for diaspora investments.
Methodology :
Secondary data analysis including analysis of existing data sets in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, other relevant ministries, departments and agencies, foreign missions and international organizations like IOM and UNDP;
Perform a desk review of Ugandan legislative and institutional framework pertaining to diaspora engagement in the agribusiness sector and available best practices in this area;
Key informant interviews with relevant stakeholders, both in Uganda and abroad (national officials, diplomatic missions, Ugandan diaspora associations, diaspora investors, value chain actors, etc.);
Online survey questionnaires administered to selected Ugandan diaspora associations and investors in three countries of destination ;
Focus group discussions with Ugandan communities abroad.
Candidates will be assessed against the following :
Minimum Requirements :
- Advance degree in sociology, migration studies, law or development studies. Complementary studies in economics and/or statistics will be an advantage ;
- At least 5 years of relevant work experience in the areas of migration, agriculture and rural development ;
- Research and analytical experience, particularly in the use of qualitative methods, including qualitative tools of data collection and data analysis (e.g. key informant interviews and FGs) ;
- National of Uganda or resident in the country.
FAO Core Competencies :
- Results Focus ;
- Teamwork ;
- Communication ;
- Building Effective Relationships ;
- Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement.
Technical/Functional Skills :
- Proven experience in facilitating focus group discussions on topics relevant to the assignment (migration, diaspora, agribusiness, investments) ;
- Experience in the use of on-line survey tools (e.g. survey monkey, google docs, etc.) ;
- Good knowledge of the migration and development context in Uganda, particularly the diaspora engagement and agribusiness nexus ;
- Availability for the duration of the consultancy to undertake travel within Uganda and to countries of destination of Ugandan nationals to conduct the study.
Selection Criteria :
- Please note that shortlisted candidates will be required to develop the submitted concept note into a detailed technical proposal and make a presentation to FAO. It is at this stage that the best candidate will be identified ;
- Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency
Additional information :
- FAO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing) ;
- Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list ;
- Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications ;
- Candidates should upload language certificate/s when submitting their application ;
- For further information on categories, contract duration and honoraria, please refer to the Conditions page ;
- For more information, visit the FAO employment website.
How to apply :
To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Only applications received through the recruitment portal will be considered.
Vacancies will be removed from the recruitment portal at 23:59 Central European Time (CET) on the deadline for applications date. We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline
If you need help please contact: Careers@fao.org4