DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS22 February 2025-23:59-GMT Greenwich Mean Time (Lome)
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Job Title: Consultant Programme Policy (Post-Harvest Handling and Management Expert)
Unit/Division: Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) / CO Togo
Contract Type: International Consultancy / Regular CST
Contract Duration: 3 months
Duty Station (City, Country): Lomé, Togo
MISSION
Improve the ability of the Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) focus Planned Agricultural Development Zones (ZAAPs) to meet post-harvest quality standards for specific markets and identify machines that will add value addition on site.
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 and home to 8.6 million people. Situated in the Gulf of Guinea, Togo serves as a critical corridor to landlocked countries in the Central Sahel region.
Agriculture and food systems are vital to food security, livelihoods, and development of Togo. Togo’s economy depends heavily on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, with both sectors providing employment for 60 percent of the labor force.
The Government of Togo, in its 2025 Roadmap, has positioned agriculture as a priority engine of growth for production, income, and job creation. The sector has proven to be more effective for poverty alleviation and job creation than others, and sustainable transformation of agriculture and food systems is seen to underpin economic development for many African countries.
The Togo Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) was created in November 2022 as a key initiative of the Office of the President and the Ministry of Agriculture with support from WFP’s Agri-Food Transformation Advisory Support Center (TASC) program. The ATA is charged with in helping Togo implement its 2025 National Roadmap that centers agriculture as the engine of economic growth by realizing opportunities for increased production, income, and job creation for smallholder farmers in ZAAPs (Zones d'Aménagement Agricole Planifiées or Planned Agricultural Development Zones) and addressing food needs for the country.
The intervention model of the Togo ATA’s ZAAP program is a multi-year effort to pilot ever-increasing services to 60 ZAAPs through private sector engagement. The ATA uses a contract agriculture approach to engage the private sector to provide services (inputs, information, mechanization, purchasing) that are technically and economically viable and provide a good return on investment while meeting the challenges of climate change using climate resilient techniques.
As of 2024, the Togo ATA implements several programs: Contractual Agriculture, Cantonal Enterprise for Mechanized Works, Hydro-Agricultural Development, Agricultural Land Development and Storage.
Post-harvest quality is a key component for the ATA Contractual Agriculture Program because it allows producers to receive more income from their harvests, reduces post-harvest loss, meets standards for the private sector, and modernizes Togolese agriculture. “Post-harvest operations” herein refers to the harvesting, threshing, drying, storage, processing, packaging, transportation, and any other treatment and handling of agricultural products by the cooperative between their harvest and their delivery to buyers.
JOB PURPOSE
The Post-Harvest Management Expert is expected to produce a set of standards for key crops (maize, rice, soybean, sesame, and others) based on local and international standards, identify local market opportunities and their quality specifications, assess up to 60 ZAAPs for their ability to meet those standards, develop a detailed action plan that will enable each ZAAP to meet those standards, generate recommendations for improvements in infrastructure (buildings, silos, cold chains, etc.) and machinery to add value to harvests for ZAAPs, and deliver trainings to selected ZAAPs and ATA staff on post-harvest management.
In addition to identifying realistic market opportunities where improved quality will increase purchase price and/or quantity sold, the expert will also design a post-harvest management clearing database, encourage local manufacturing of selected and recommended technologies, and liaise if needed with financial institutions to ensure effective access to finance for technology manufacturers, agri-food Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, and farmers.
It is expected that the Post-Harvest Management Expert will visit ZAAPs on a regular basis, talk to the farmers, identify value addition opportunities that are technically and economically feasible, and recommend specific post-harvest infrastructure or machinery that would be appropriate for different ZAAPs.
The day-to-day activities and overall technical assignments of the job holder will be managed by the Togo ATA. The Post-Harvest Management Expert will report to the Director General of ATA. Administrative oversight will be provided by the WFP Togo Country Office (CO).
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority)
Specifically, for each ZAAP identified as a priority for engagement (up to 60; exact number to be determined) and for each crop supported by the ATA (corn, rice, cotton, soybeans), the Post-Harvest Management Expert is expected to:
Key deliverables include but are not limited to:
Functional Capabilities
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
Education:
Master’s Degree or higher in Agriculture Sciences, Post-Harvest Handling and Management, Crop Protection, or relevant fields with a focus on post-harvest evaluation and management; a bachelor’s degree will be considered if the focus is specific to post harvest management and includes exceptional field experience.
Experience:
At least 5 years of relevant work experience in multiple countries evaluating post-harvest handling and management of staple crops grown by smallholder farmers in low resource settings and experience in developing post-harvest management programs that build the capacity of smallholder farmers.
Knowledge & Skills:
Language:
Fluency (level C, written and verbal) in French and basic English required (written and verbal).
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REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
WFP is dedicated to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our recruitment process is inclusively crafted to welcome candidates of all backgrounds, celebrating diversity and ensuring a respectful environment for all. We aim for an accessible and fair recruitment journey. Should you need any reasonable accommodations or have accessibility concerns, please reach out to us confidentially at global.inclusion@wfp.org. Our DEI team is here to ensure your full participation in our recruitment process.
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REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).
Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language
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Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time
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