FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Terms of Reference for Consultant /PSA Minimum number of years of relevant experience required: 1yr 5yrs 12+yrs Name: Job Title: National Gender Consultant Division/Department: SEC Programme/Project Number: SEC Regular Programme Location: Home based with mission(s) to the capital (if home base is different) Expected Start Date of Assignment: XXX July 2014 Duration: 25 days Reports to: Name: SEC Gender Focal Point Title: SEC Gender Focal Point GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF TASK(S) AND OBJECTIVES TO BE ACHIEVED Under the general supervision of the FAO Sub-Regional Coordinator for Central Asia (SEC) and the technical supervision of the Gender Focal Points of the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (REU) and of the Sub-regional Office for Central Asia (SEC), he/she will: Carry out a comprehensive country gender assessment of the national agriculture and rural development sector to reveal gender disparity in access to critical resources, knowledge, opportunities and markets. The country gender assessment will be particularly useful to support FAO sub-regional and country office staff and representatives of the MoA in capturing the main gender dimensions of their technical areas of work and in adequately mainstreaming the perspective of gender quality in their planned interventions (SEC - 20 days) Annex 1. Prepare a final report of the country gender assessment (SEC - 5 days). KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS Expected Outputs: Draft report of the country gender assessment submitted Final report of the country gender assessment submitted Required Completion Date: XXX July 2014 XXX July 2014
REQUIRED COMPETENCIES Advanced university degree in Sociology, Social Sciences, Economics, Development Economics, or other related disciplines, Excellent oral and written English and Russian language skills, Excellent knowledge of the key gender equality, social equity and women s empowerment issues in Azerbaijan and/or the Central Asia Region in the context of agriculture and rural development, Demonstrated ability (through publications in English) to produce written analysis of socio-economic and gender issues, Significant experience in analyzing and integrating the perspective of gender equality in programme formulation in the context of agriculture and rural development and experience in socio-economic and gender analysis Significant knowledge of the UN System, its working and programming mechanism, knowledge of FAO would be an asset
Annex 1 Country Gender Assessment in agriculture and rural development Azerbaijan 1. Background a. Country Programming Framework (CPF) The Country Programming Framework (CPF) is a framework for agreed priorities in the cooperation between the national government and FAO. It is a planning tool for FAO to prioritize, guide and manage its assistance at the country level in a comprehensive and structured manner. It sets priority areas and activities for FAO assistance in support of the attainment of the country s agriculture, fisheries, natural resources and rural development policy related objectives including food and nutrition security, gender equality and capacity development. In 2013 the Government of Azerbaijan and FAO Subregional Office for Central Asia undertook review of the implementation of the 2010-2012 NMTPF, in alignment with the joint efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture and other development partners for enhanced coordination and aid effectiveness and to agree on the FAO technical assistance priorities in the 2013-2016 Country Programming Framework (CPF), the latter being a new programming approach introduced by FAO and building on the NMTPF experience. To this effect, a stakeholders workshop was organized on 12 September 2013 in Baku, hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and supported by FAO Subregional Office for Central Asia (FAO SEC) and Azerbaijan FAO Country Office. This Country Programming Framework (CPF) sets out priority areas to guide FAO s partnership with and support to the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan (GoA), bringing together innovative international best practices and global standards with national and regional expertise during the four years 2013 2016. The formulation of the CPF is done through a participatory and iterative process in close and direct cooperation with MoA and in consultations with numerous stakeholders in the agriculture and food processing and trade sector, national institutions as well as the UN Country Team and donor community. Technical support for the CPF process is provided by the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) of the FAO Subregional Office for Central Asia (SEC) in Ankara and FAO country office in Azerbaijan. The CPF document is jointly owned by the GoA and FAO. The CPF as a dynamic document will be jointly reviewed by FAO and the GoA and adjusted every year to reflect the merging requirements and changes in the situation of the agricultural sector and GoA policies as well as FAO global and regional priorities. The promotion of gender in rural organizations and income generating activities for women who live in rural area were identified as a crosscutting issue throughout the whole implementation of the CPF. Currently, there are limited gender-related activities supported by the Organization in the country. b. Gender equality Gender equality is central to FAO s mandate for achieving food security for all by raising levels of nutrition, improving agricultural productivity and natural resource management and improving the lives of rural population. Working towards gender equality will increase the impact of FAO interventions, while at the same time contributing to the achievement of the broader UN goal of human rights and social justice. A country gender assessment/gender analysis of the national agriculture and rural development sector is a requirement by the corporate CPF guidelines 1 and mandated by the FAO s Policy on Gender Equality 2. The gender assessment has the objective to reveal gender disparity in access to critical resources, knowledge, opportunities and markets, which have been shown to contribute to low agricultural 1 See page 49 of the Guide to the Formulation of Country Programming Framework. 2 See page 6, Gender Mainstreaming Minimum Standards of the Policy: http://typo3.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/gender/docs/fao_finalgender_policy_2012.pdf
productivity and food and nutrition insecurity. It contributes to closing the knowledge gap by compiling existing empirical evidence and investigating the gender gaps in access to resources and opportunities in the agriculture and food sector to inform the country programming process. The country gender assessment may be accompanied by support to programming in form of assistance provided to FAO sub-regional and country office staff and representatives of the GoA in capturing the main gender dimensions of their technical areas of work and in adequately mainstreaming the perspective of gender quality in their planned interventions. If applicable, synergies will be foreseen with the FAO GCP/SEC/007/TUR "Capacity Development Support to Rural Women on the Socio-economic and Gender Aspects of Sustainable Rural Development". Proposed methodology The assessment will be mainly based on desk review of secondary data available and it will be integrated and validated by qualitative primary data collection. The desk review will include: Available relevant academic literature/studies, country reports, journal articles, etc. from other UN agencies, other international/national institutions, NGOs Available relevant national policies, strategies, legislative framework Available relevant statistical data. Findings from the desk review will be integrated and validated with the collection of primary qualitative data from selected key national and international stakeholders. These will include: Individual or focus group interviews with Government officials, FAO technical officers, employees of UN and other international development agencies, universities and research institutes, representatives of civil society and rural institutions 3. Proposed outline 1. Background (Methodology: Desk review; interviews with FAO technical officers) 5 days The background will highlight the main demographic and socio-economic characteristics of rural population in Azerbaijan, making use of the available data. The priorities identified in the CPF and main activities carried out and planned by FAO in the country will also be assessed to identify priority areas for gender mainstreaming (e.g. water, land, credit, extension services). Documents to be reviewed will include: CPF of Azerbaijan FAO closed, ongoing and planned projects Objectives of section 1: Provide a demographic and socio-economic background of rural women and men Identify selected priority areas for gender mainstreaming on which the assessment will be based 3 Rural institutions may include formal and informal institutions depending on the needs, e.g. local government, extension services, farmers associations, cooperatives.
The analysis needs to focus on the rural population and the agriculture sector. After a very brief general overview, all information related to basic social services and economic opportunities need to focus on to what extent they are available to rural women and men and, what hinders equal access to these services (e.g. education, care and health care, water supply and sanitation, housing, transport, employment, literacy). After this, the main part of the report needs to focus on areas that are most relevant for FAO, that is what are the challenges for equal access to the assets, services and opportunities for rural women and men, what are reasons for these gaps, what is being done to address them and what could be done (recommendations). 2. Macro/Policy level (Methodology: Desk review; interviews, if needed) 5 days At the macro level, the assessment will focus on national priorities and international commitments undertaken by the Government in the field of gender equality in the agricultural and rural sector. Documents to be reviewed will include: International commitments (CEDAW Country reports and recommendations; Reports/Reviews of the Beijing Platform for Action and MDGs, particularly MDG3) National Gender Policy Strategy and/ or Action Plan Relevant national legislation on gender equality Selected sectoral policies, e.g. national agriculture and/or rural development strategy/policy, including land property and rights, inheritance mechanism, customary norms, credit as well as any additional ones related to the CPF priorities (do they reflect Government s commitments to gender equality?) Report on national literature on main gender issues in the agro-rural sector and existing agrorural gender policy in the Republic of Azerbaijan Objectives of section 2: Identify priorities and gaps on gender equality in the agricultural and rural sector at the policy level Make recommendations and provide guidance for integrating gender at the policy level 3. Meso/Institutions (Methodology: Desk review; interviews) 5 days At the meso level, the assessment will look at the institutional structures of Azerbaijan in the agricultural and rural sector in their capacity to advocate for, integrate and implement gender-related activities in the sector. Issues to be assessed: Presence of a gender/women machinery in relevant national institutions (main FAO partners, e.g. MoA, NSO, agricultural extension services) Presence of CSOs working in the field of gender/women in the agricultural and rural sector 4 assess their involvement in policy process, their capacity to influence the policy makers 4 This should include a description of their profile and activities.
When relevant, assess whether governmental institutions reflect gender balance in their personnel, e.g. extension services, vocational schools Objectives of section 3: Identify priorities and gaps re gender equality in the agricultural and rural sector at the institutional level Make recommendations and provide guidance for integrating gender in FAO programming and projects at the institutional level Identify possible FAO partners, particularly among CSOs 4. Micro/Community (Methodology: Desk review; interviews; focus groups with potential FAO beneficiaries in priority geographic areas to be considered) 5 days At the micro level, the assessment will analyze the current roles and responsibilities of rural men and women to identify their major needs and constraints. Issues to be assessed: Critical differences in the socio-economic status, roles, responsibilities, needs and constraints of rural men and women in Azerbaijan Access to and control over the following productive resources, assets, services, knowledge and opportunities o Access to land, water, livestock o Access to agricultural and non-agricultural employment o Access to financial services (credits, loans) o Women s participation in development planning o Women s rural organizations o Access to agricultural education, extension and rural advisory services o Access to markets, role in value chains o Access to agricultural technology and infrastructure (storage, irrigation etc) o Access to information and communication technology (e.g for market information) o Access to social security (health insurance, unemployment benefits, pension, etc) Effects of land related investments on rural women and men Effects of climate change on rural women and men Objectives of section 4: Identify Needs and constraints of rural women and men as well as priorities and gaps on gender in the agricultural and rural sector at the community level Make recommendations and provide guidance for integrating gender in FAO programming and projects at the field level Identify possible FAO partners, particularly among CSOs and farmers organizations