Resilient Agriculture Specialist (Bangladesh)

A. About Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

ADPC is an autonomous international organization established for scientific, educational, developmental, and humanitarian purposes with a vision of safer communities and sustainable development through disaster risk reduction and climate resilience in Asia and the Pacific.

Established in 1986 as a technical capacity-building center, ADPC has grown and diversified its expertise across social and physical sciences to support sustainable solutions for risk reduction across a broad range of specialist areas. With over 100 staff from 19 different nationalities and a wide range of professional expertise from atmospheric scientists to social scientists with experiences from all levels of engagement typically required for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Resilience (CR) in an effective manner. ADPC is a competent regional resource center and has seven thematic departments: ADPC Academy, Risk Governance, Climate Resilience, Urban Resilience, Health Risk Management, Preparedness for Response and Recovery, Geospatial Information. These are supported by Finance, Human Resources and Administration, and Strategic Planning departments. In addition to the departments, ADPC works on three cross-cutting themes: Gender and Diversity, Poverty and Livelihoods, and Regional and Transboundary Cooperation through permanent working committees.

ADPC Strategy 2020 guides the organization in providing comprehensive risk reduction support to countries and communities in Asia and the Pacific. ADPC recognizes the importance of examining the linkages between disaster risk management, poverty reduction, gender equality, sustainability, rights-based approaches, climate change and regional cooperation.

With financial support from the World Bank Group, ADPC has been implementing a five-year project titled “Climate Adaptation and Resilience Project for South Asia” (CARE). The project aims to create an enabling environment for climate resilience policies and investments across South Asia. This objective will be achieved through enhanced regional cooperation and knowledge exchange for climate resilience and adaptation and mainstreaming of resilience and adaptation in national policies, plans and investments.

For details please refer to ADPC website at http://www.adpc.net/

B. Background

The impact of climate-induced disasters in South Asia has significant repercussions for the agriculture sector in the region. Agriculture, being a primary source of livelihood for a substantial portion of the population, faces considerable challenges and setbacks due to these disasters. Disasters brought on by climate change have had a severe and negative impact on South Asian agriculture, increasing already existing vulnerabilities in the area. The World Bank estimates that between 1990 and 2019, climate-related disasters harmed a whopping 1.68 billion people, claimed almost 267,000 lives, and caused economic losses in South Asia of more than US$127 billion. Numerous crops have been lost as a result of these catastrophes, which include floods, droughts, and cyclones. Floods submerge farms, and droughts result in water shortages. Crops are not the only things that are damaged; irrigation systems and transportation networks also suffer, which disrupts the entire supply chain. Farmers are feeling the financial pinch as ongoing restoration operations shift funding away from long-term agricultural growth.

Bangladesh specifically is also highly vulnerable to climate change mainly because of its challenging topography, diversity of climate zones, climate-sensitive farming practices, and socio-economic conditions, as well as people’s dependence on resources–based livelihoods. The agriculture sector in Bangladesh contributes 14.8% to the country’s Gross Domestic Product and provides employment to 41% of the economically active population in the country. (World Bank, 2017).

The majority of traditional farming practices in Bangladesh are heavily dependent on weather conditions and seasonal rainfall. Therefore, changes in precipitation patterns are likely to affect rainfed agricultural activities, causing significant annual yield variability due to increased temperature and rainfall variability which have resulted in shifts in agro-ecological zones, prolonged dry spells, and higher incidences of pests and diseases.

To increase resilience and achieve climate commitments, there is a need for a transformational shift toward policies and institutions that enable climate-resilient investments. Investing in more resilient infrastructure is both profitable and urgent as disruptions are extremely costly for governments, households, and the private sector, and large ongoing investments in infrastructure assets will have long-lasting repercussions as poor maintenance and natural disasters result in a vulnerable stock.

The Resilient Agriculture Specialist will be hired with the objective of supporting the country project team to smoothly implement the agriculture sector activities under CARE component 2. The proposed initiative aims to foster CSA practices. Additionally, the initiative will encompass capacity-building programs aimed at risk and impact assessment, as well as upscaling climate-smart agriculture for agriculture extension, farmers, and community-based organizations (CBOs).

In this setting, a qualified and motivated individual is required to assist ADPC in supporting the country team for the agriculture sector under the project’s Component-2 activities.

C. Statement of Intent

Resilient Agriculture Specialist (Bangladesh) will be the focal person to lead the Agriculture Sector in Bangladesh and work closely with the Ministry of Agriculture in Bangladesh and Resilient Agriculture Specialist (Regional) in the formulation of key guidelines/roadmap documents and implementation of activities under the CARE for South Asia Project.

Note:

It is not the intent of this Terms of Reference to cover every aspect of the position requirements, rather to highlight the most important areas of personal and joint responsibilities.

D. Duties and Responsibilities

The position will be responsible for:

• Review previous project reports and outputs prepared by the CARE for South Asia project to make sure the proposed step-by-step guideline/road map aligns with the policy gap and CSA practices highlighted in the reports;
• Interact with national level government stakeholders to provide technical support to DAE to scale up climate-smart agriculture at the subnational level;
• Support government stakeholders by developing a proposal and identifying available financing and investment to upscale CSA practices;
• Present the work plan and consult with relevant SFPs and stakeholders for feedback;
• Lead the consultation on finalizing/validate the step-by-step guideline/road map with stakeholders;
• Coordination and dialogue with government stakeholders particularly SFPs to ensure the ownership and buy-in of the government on the step-by-step guideline/road map and process adopted in preparing it;
• Join coordination meetings as required by the project needs with stakeholders and ADPC;
• Proactively coordinate with RIMES for the same sectors, and the World Bank for efficient communication consulting with the project Director.
• Assist in the development of training modules and reports, and conduct training sessions focused on climate risk/impact assessment, climate-smart agriculture, and upscaling practices for extension workers, farmers, and community-based organizations (CBOs); and
• Perform other relevant tasks as assigned by the Project Director.

E. Expected Output/s

• Report explaining the activities, methodology, plan, timing, and resource allocation within two weeks of agreement;
• Review and provide feedback on draft step-by-step guideline/road map documents;
• Feedback collection and incorporation including stakeholder workshop;
• Successful coordination and engagement established with SFP and stakeholders;
• Inputs to training modules and reports, and conduct training sessions focused on climate risk/impact assessment, climate-smart agriculture, and upscaling practices for extension workers, farmers, and community-based organizations (CBOs);
• Final task completion report.

F. Qualifications

The candidate should at least have:

• A master’s degree in one or more subjects such as Agriculture, Agronomy, Natural Resource Management, Environmental Science, or other related fields
• At least 10 years of experience in the field of agriculture and food security. Experience of 15 years in the field of agriculture and food security is preferred.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in climate change resilience and climate-smart solutions for the agriculture sector
• Strong understanding and knowledge of climate change impacts on the agriculture sector in South Asia and Bangladesh
• Knowledge of or related to CSA, policies, and investment plans in climate-resilient agriculture
• Teamwork with strong communication skills and the capacity to work under pressure and short deadlines
• Cross-cultural awareness and ability to work amongst a diverse group of staff and partners
• Experience in training and capacity-building initiatives related to risk assessments using modeling, and climate-smart agricultural practices for various stakeholders
• Excellent English proficiency in oral and written communication, including a demonstrated track record in technical report writing and the ability to communicate technical matters effectively to a general audience. Fluency in the local language is preferred
• Required computer proficiencies: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Microsoft Teams

G. Reporting Relationships

The Resilient Agriculture Specialist will report to the Project Director and work in close coordination with the Project Implementation Unit and Resilient Agriculture Specialist (Regional).

H. Contract Duration

The time-based contract duration will be 12 months with a possibility of extension.

Start Date: 15 March 2024

End Date: 14 March 2025

I. Selection Method

The consultant will be selected in accordance with ADPC’s recruitment process and in compliance with the World Bank Procurement Regulations.