Short Term Consultant – Agriculture Economist

 

A consulting firm of repute requires the services of an Agriculture Economist for a Punjab-based Project, as per following detail.

 

1.      Scope of Work Summary:

 

The consultancy has the following major scope:

 

• to help establish and operationalize the proposed “Policy and Strategy Units” (PSU) at the Department of Agriculture (DOA), Government of Punjab;
• to undertake a series of evidence base research assignments related to economic analysis of agriculture policy and reforms in Punjab, particularly focusing on the horticulture, and DOA strategy, under the guidance and supervision of Secretary of Agriculture; and
• to facilitate undertaking informed strategic decisions, policy and institutional reforms by Department of Agriculture, backed by strong qualitative and quantitative economic analysis.

 

For this assignment, the consultant will carry out all tasks related to data collection, primary and secondary research, analysis of economic impact of current policies, comparison of various policy options with respect to socio-economic impact, and will provide findings and recommendations in the form of reports, briefing papers, policy briefs, short concept notes etc., after having extensive consultations with the Secretary and other internal and external stakeholders. The consultant will also help develop the systems and work processes that can ensure sustainability of the unit.

 

 

2.      Background:

 

The Project has been designed to support advocacy for policy and regulatory reforms and early implementation of the same in agriculture sector (horticulture, livestock and dairy subsectors) of Punjab. This project would work in partnership with the Punjab’s public & private sector, civil society organizations and academia to create an environment that is more conducive to the growth of target sub-sectors. The project will also develop and implement a set of activities that will result in significant policy reforms and capacity building of its partners.

The provincial Department of Agriculture (DOA) is a line department, responsible for development of agriculture (including horticulture) sector through policy formulation, institutional support and service delivery in the province. Through its Planning and Evaluation section, DOA is undertaking short, medium and long term planning in consideration of available information of crops, land and farmers, and annual growth targets of government. The section is also responsible for evaluation of various ongoing interventions.

For developing the horticulture sub-sector for accelerated growth, effective medium and long term planning coupled with right priorities and allocation of adequate resources are imperative. Setting right priorities, making strategic decisions, and formulating policy require evidence based applied research that can provide qualitative and quantitative analysis of various policy options and instruments along with their respective budgetary and socio-economic impact. Carrying out gap analysis of on-going interventions, regular operations and prevailing service delivery mechanism are also equally important to gauge the effectiveness and efficiency of current budgetary allocation. Such analysis can provide input or lead to policy and institutional reforms required to meet current and emerging socio-economic challenges.

To strengthen the policy and strategy formulation function, Department of Agriculture has decided to set up a “Policy and Strategy Unit” (PSU) in the Department. The Project has agreed to provide technical assistance with the following objectives.

 

1. Strengthening strategy, planning, and policy formulation functions and processes of the department, by providing institutional support.

 

1. Identifying major policy challenges, and undertaking evidence based qualitative and quantitative research, either in-house or by other project partners, for developing policy recommendations for improving rules, regulations by-laws and pertaining standards, procedures and SOPs.

 

1. Facilitating the Department of Agriculture to develop business enabling environment through formulating conducive policies and taking strategic decisions. The project will engage the policy communities on various policy issues through policy dialogue, seminars, round tables, conferences and workshops and will provide the synthesized information to Department of Agriculture through newly established unit for incorporating in new policy and institutional reforms.

 

With this backdrop, for the proposed PSU, the Project intends to hire the services of a short term consultant who can work as “Agriculture Economist”, to undertake various assignments, related to economic analysis of on-going interventions and service delivery model, existing policy regime and proposed policy reforms in horticulture sub-sector of Punjab.

 

3.      Objective and Purpose of the Consultancy:

 

The overall objective of this assignment is to help establish the proposed PSU, to assist in its sustainable operationalization, and to serve the proposed PSU as a technical resource, under the direct supervision of Secretary Department of Agriculture. Working at PSU, the consultant will undertake various assignments related to economic and financial analysis of current policy / operations / projects / interventions of DOA and proposed shift in policy and associated interventions in a way that can support and facilitate the top leadership and policy makers of DOA in order to undertake decisions on strategic issues of horticulture sub-sector, that is directly or indirectly affecting the sector growth and in turn socio-economic indicators of province. In addition, he / she will provide the necessary technical advice / recommendations on strategic issues, as and when required, with quick evaluation of the subject matter, with economic angle.

 

 

4.      Principal Duties & Responsibilities:

• To report to the Project COP at the beginning of the consultancy and provide regular updates on the status and progress of the deliverables of the assigned assignments.
• To attend PSU office at designated office hours during the consultancy period.
• To liaise with the Secretary of DOA on daily basis for work assignments given by DOA and updating him about the progress, as and when required.
• To work independently or jointly on various assignments with a small team of consultants, having expertise of public policy and ICT, deployed in PSU.
• To provide the technical inputs to team on agriculture economics and economic cost / benefit analysis of various joint assignments, as per need and requirements.
• To hold regular meetings with internal and external stakeholders of DOA for extensive deliberations on the economic analysis of the assignments.
• To develop the situational and economic analysis, briefing papers, concept notes, short reports and recommendations as well as producing other deliverable, after due diligence and research work.

 

5.      Specific Tasks of the Consultant:

 

The consultant shall use his / her education, experience, competencies, and skills to accomplish the following:

 

        I.         Have a meeting with the Project COP and respective professionals, to understand the role and responsibilities of the Project in this collaboration and setting up of PSU. Hold an initial meeting with Secretary of DOA to understand the purpose, objectives, functions, modalities and role of newly established PSU.

     II.         Develop a fair idea of economic issues in the horticulture sector of Punjab and all the underlying socio-economic aspects of policy and strategy documents so far prepared for agriculture sector of Pakistan / Punjab.

   III.         Carry out the economic analysis and economic modelling of possible responses for major policy challenges, in consultation with Secretary of DOA, being faced by DOA for sector development, after necessary primary and secondary research.

  IV.         Analyze economic and statistical data of horticulture sector (land, crops, farmers, agriculture machinery, pre and post-harvest losses, horticulture export / import) in a structured manner to examine the pattern and trends that can provide valuable information for policy decisions. Such strong economic and financial analysis can facilitate DOA to prioritize areas that require policy response for improvement.

     V.         Devise methods and procedures for collecting and processing data, with the use of available data sources as well as various econometric and sampling techniques, with the ultimate objectives of generating useful information that can serve as stepping stone for policy decisions.

  VI.         Compile and analyze data related to farm employment and crop productivity to take crop specific policy measures, and also can serve as inputs to other government departments and ministries to develop policies related to employment, poverty alleviation, subsidies, etc.

1. Analyze the various subsidies and support price, given in horticulture sub-sector for its effectiveness and impact. Likewise, to promote certain technologies, and to support small farmers, carry out a cost-benefit analysis of various subsidies or price support interventions.
2. Analyze various economic impacts on horticulture sub-sector due to various changes at national and international fronts, for devising appropriate policy response and planning. Changes in fuel prices, electricity cost, fertilizer cost, Pak rupees depreciation / appreciation, Federal Government economic and monetary policies and other economic trends could be some of the factors that are important to incorporate in economic analyze / modelling.

  IX.         Carry out short study of various opportunities in agriculture sector for investments, and in turn development of pre-feasibilities, if required so.

     X.         Assist ICT expert with economic models, to facilitate designing of such ICT applications that can help collect crop data in real time, and can quantify the expected corps production, and its impact on pricing and inflation / farm income.

  XI.         Carry out small scale research on farm credit or agriculture financing to find out its correlation with agriculture production in province and recommendations for State Bank to increase / modify agriculture financing portfolio of banks.

1. Assist DOA for developing PC-1 by writing its relevant parts, related to socio-economic impact and sustainability.
2. Coordinate effectively with experts engaged for technical assistance to DOA and other technical staff of the department to analyze various policies affecting horticulture sub-sector.
3. Provide structured analytical and advisory work to PSU, in form of economic briefs, economic analysis, cost-benefit analysis, power point presentation, etc.
4. Support and participate in economic and social policy dialogue as appropriate under the guidance/supervision of the Secretary Agriculture.
5. Participate in the meetings and to liaise with public and private stakeholders and experts on various aspects of agriculture / horticulture sector, as per advice of Secretary. Moreover, the consultant will coordinate, arrange and participate in the meetings between DOA relevant directorates, governmental stakeholders, elected representatives and experts working on behalf of the Project.
6. Provide feedback on the various documents, emanating from various departments and ministries with respect to economic aspects.

 

The analysis and recommendations of the consultant should be logical reflection and in line with international best practices, market led liberalization, globally integrated economy, electronically connected world economy, demographic transition of Pakistan, greater participation of women in economic activities, sustainability of resources, and critical benchmark of a modern horticulture sub- sector.

 

6.      Deliverables:

 

1. In the first five working days of consultancy, in consultation with Secretary of DOA, the consultant will develop Scheme of Work (agenda), along with list of deliverables, milestones, and work plan for the consultancy period and will be shared with the Project and DOA for joint approval.
2. A monthly progress update in the form of presentation in the joint meeting of the Project and DOA.
3.  Monthly report on every 3^rd working day of next month, encompassing all the research work, analysis and other tasks completed in last calendar month.
4. Final report after completion of consultancy assignment.

 

7.      Job Qualifications

• Advanced university degree in agriculture economics, economics or development studies.   
• At least 10 years of professional experience of working in a role of economist in public sector, multinational organizations, and development agencies and / or as a consultant on assignments related to various economic issues of agriculture / horticulture sector.
• Good understanding of agriculture / horticulture sector of Pakistan and of other countries.
• Strong analytical and writing skills, and experience of presenting complex technical information in a comprehensible way for non-specialist readers.
• He / she must be well versed with the policy and strategy documents, so far been developed by governmental or development agencies for policy and institutional reforms in Pakistan / Punjab with respect to underlying economic factors and impact.
• Good communication skills and fluency in English and Urdu.

8.      Duty Station:

 

The duty station for this consultancy is Lahore. The consultant is supposed to attend PSU office daily during office hours.

 

9.      Reporting:

 

The consultant will report to the Project and Secretary Agriculture on their deliverables, and will be supervised by the Secretary or his designee for the day-to-day work. All the deliverables will be approved by Project COP as well as DOA. The Project will, thru the sub-contracting consulting firm, pay the consultancy fee whereas Department of Agriculture will facilitate the consultant by providing office, stationery, furniture, IT equipment, and other support including conveyance, if required, for accomplishment of assigned tasks.

 

10.  Duration of the Assignment:

 

This assignment is planned for a duration not to exceed 60 days LOE (based on five working days) extendable up to 120 days based on satisfactory performance and deliverables evaluated jointly by the Project COP and Secretary of  DOA.

 

The consultant will work for 40 hours a week, in line with the working schedule, chalked out by Secretary or his nominee. The Secretary or his nominee will sign the time sheet of the consultant.

 

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