Organizational Setting

The main aim of the FAO country offices, which are headed by an FAO representative, is to assist governments to develop policies, programmes, and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to help develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner to ensure zero hunger in the country. FAO provides support in three priority areas: sustainable increase in production and productivity, agriculture-based economic growth, and increased resilience of livelihoods to threats and crisis. The current portfolio of projects in Nigeria includes activities related to agriculture (crop), livestock, Fisheries, Natural Resource management and Food Security Information Management and Analysis.
The incumbent will contribute to the country’s programme and portfolio as foreseen in the project he/she will be assigned to provide technical support.

FAO in Nigeria will be assembling a survey team to implement two important statistical capacity development projects, namely: 1) second phase of the Global Strategy to improve Agricultural Rural Statistics (GSARS II), and 2) 50x2030 initiative through farm-based modular survey models. The GSARS II will support the implementation of the 50x2030 initiative as preliminary investments for implementing integrated surveys through technical assistance and training. 

The 50x2030 Initiative to Close the Agricultural Data Gap is a joint initiative between the World Bank, FAO, and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) that aims to increase the capacity of low and lower middle-income countries to produce, analyze, interpret, and apply data to decisions in the agricultural sector that support rural development and food security. Within the framework of this initiative, the Survey Team of FAO Statistics Division (ESS) is coordinating the implementation of the Data Production component, which aims at supporting national statistical Offices (NSOs) and Ministries of Agriculture (MoA) to accelerate production and dissemination of high quality and timely statistics on the agricultural and rural sector, integrating production data with data on the technical, economic, environmental and social aspects of the agricultural holdings.

In Nigeria, FAO is providing technical assistance (TA) for preparation and implementation of the National Agricultural Sample Census (NASC). The NASC is the first agricultural sample census conducted in the country for nearly 30 years and fill a critical gap in the national statistical system. Given the expansive nature of conducting an agricultural census, the country, and more specifically the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), are in great need of technical assistance to implement and analyze the NASC according to international standards. The 50x2030 initiative’s technical support is critical since the NASC will form the basis for a longer-term program of agricultural surveys in part supported by the 50x2030 initiative. 

Reporting Lines

Under the general supervision of the FAO Representative in Nigeria and the direct supervision of the Assistant FAOR Programmes (AFAOR-P) and the Coordinator of the Surveys team of the FAO Statistical Division in Rome, the consultant will work i) as a focal point for the implementation of the two projects implemented with the support technician of the FAO Statistical Division in Nigeria: the 50x2030 initiative and the Global Strategy for Improving Agricultural and Rural Statistics and ii) as support for the operations unit in areas linked to monitoring the tools used and operational planning, answering the following tasks within the 50x2030 and GSARS-II projects and within the Operations Unit of the FAO Representation in Nigeria. The incumbent will work in close collaboration with the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (Directorate of Agricultural and Environmental Statistics), the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), and the FAO Survey Team towards the implementation of the work plans jointly identified by the two institutions. In particular, s/he is expected to accomplish the following tasks:

Technical Focus

Support FAO Nigeria in providing technical assistance (TA) for preparation and implementation of the National Agricultural Sample Census (NASC). The NASC is the first agricultural sample census conducted in the country for nearly 30 years and fill a critical gap in the national statistical system. Given the expansive nature of conducting an agricultural census, the country, and more specifically the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), need technical assistance to implement and analyse the NASC according to international standards.

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Support in the organization and logistics of meetings, preparation of agendas, preparation of informative notes, ensuring the participation of interested parties in online and in-person meetings.
•    Support in the preparation and conduct of international expert missions and GSARS training on AGPROD and INDICATORS packages and 50 x 2030 Initiative planning,
•    Participate in all technical and coordination meetings of both projects and prepare summary notes.
•    Contribute to the organization of the dissemination event of NASC 2022 data (Information and Communication Technologies aspects) and computation of Indicators (CAADP).
•    Support in organizing regular project coordination meetings and other engagements, manage invitations, mobilize participants, and support preparation of meeting notes and ensure follow up on required action points.
•    Advise the FAO Representation on matters relating agricultural, food security data, statistics and contribute to preparation of technical elements for briefs, reports, FAOR speaking points, concept motes and other relevant documents from time to time, liaise with other projects in the domain of agricultural development.
•    Represent FAO Country office in relevant coordination platforms and technical working groups at country level.
•    Identify the critical technical limitation of the NBS and FMAFS related to agricultural statistics for planning future technical assistance.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements 
   
•    Advanced university degree in Statistics, Agricultural Economics or University degree in Statistics, Agricultural Economics, Development Economics, Social Science with at least more than 5 years post qualification experience. 
•    3 years of relevant experience working in analysing, interpretation, and application of data for planning, decisions making, and monitoring in agricultural sector in support of rural development and food security.
•    Relevant experience in producing high quality and timely statistical data in the agricultural and rural sector, integrating production data with data on the technical, economic, environmental, and social aspects of agricultural holdings.
•    Working knowledge of English and any relevant local language in Nigeria.
•    Nationale of Nigeria

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

•    Work experience in more than one location or area of work.
•    Extent and relevance of experience in the use of statistical tools for data collection, analysis, and processing.
•    Extent and relevance of experience in the use and application of Microsoft suits.
•    Familiarity with farm base data modules for agriculture and food security surveys.