Short Term Consultant –
Agriculture Business and Economic
Analyst

Short Term Consultant – Agriculture Business and Economic Analyst

Chemonics international is executing a five year USAID funded Punjab Enabling Environment Project (PEEP). It requires the services a short term consultant having expertise in agriculture economics and business to work with Department of Agriculture (Punjab Government).

USAID PEEP 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. The project is working 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.

1.      Background

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.

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, with the following objectives.

1. Strengthening strategy, planning, and policy formulation functions and processes of the department, by providing institutional support.
2. Identifying major policy challenges, and undertaking evidence based qualitative and quantitative research, for developing policy recommendations for improving rules, regulations by-laws and pertaining standards, procedures and SOPs.
3. Developing business enabling environment through conducive policies and strategic decisions.

With this backdrop, for the proposed PSU, PEEP intends to hire the services of a short term consultant who can work as “Agriculture Business and Economic Analyst”, 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.

2.      Objective of Assignment

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.

3.      Principal Duties & Responsibilities:

• 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.

4.      Specific Tasks of the Consultant:

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

       I.         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.

    II.         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.

 III.         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.

 IV.         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.

    V.         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.

 VI.         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.

1. 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.
2. Carry out short study of various opportunities in agriculture sector for investments, and in turn development of pre-feasibilities, if required so.

 IX.         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.

    X.         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.

 XI.         Assist DOA for developing PC-1 by writing its relevant parts, related to socio-economic impact and sustainability.

1. 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.
2. Provide structured analytical and advisory work to PSU, in form of economic briefs, economic analysis, cost-benefit analysis, power point presentation, etc.
3. Support and participate in economic and social policy dialogue as appropriate under the guidance/supervision of the Secretary Agriculture.
4. 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.
5. 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.

5.      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.

6.      Duty Station:

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

7.      Reporting:

The consultant will report to Secretary Agriculture on their deliverables, and will be supervised by the Secretary or his designee for the day-to-day work. The project will 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.

8.      Duration of the Assignment:

This assignment is planned to take place as per a start date of on or around April 30, 2015 and end date of on or around August 10, 2015 hereto for a total of 60 days LOE, extendable up to 120 days, based on satisfactory performance and deliverables.

Application Instructions:

Please email a CV, cover letter and three references with contact information to [email protected] by April 26th, 2015. Please include ‘’Agriculture Business and Economic Analyst” in the subject line. Early applications are encouraged. No telephone inquiries, please. Only finalists will be contacted. We welcome you to learn more about Chemonics International atwww.chemonics.com

Chemonics is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factors.