Lead National Consultant: Status-quo Study for Integrated Agro-ecotourism and Organic Agriculture in Ca Mau province

Terms of Reference for Consultant Category A *

Name:

Job Title**:

Lead National Consultant – Status-quo study for integrated agro-ecotourism and organic agriculture in Ca Mau province

Division/Department:

FAO Vietnam

Programme/Project Number:

TCP/VIE/3703

Duty Station:

FAO Vietnam, Hanoi

Expected Start/

End Date of Assignment:

1 April 2021/

30 June 2021

Duration/

Level of efforts:

90 days

40 working days

Reports to:

Name:

Mr. Hoang Van Tu

Title:

National Programme Officer – Food Systems

* Please note: If this TOR is for Consultant / PSA.SBS contract, the minimum relevant experience required for the assignment is as follows:

1 year for a category C

5 years for a category B

12 years for a category A

** Please enter a short title (max 25 chars) for this assignment.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF TASK(S) AND OBJECTIVES TO BE ACHIEVED

Ecological degradation associated with health and environmental hazards due to chemical dependent agricultural production systems have become global concerns. Organic agriculture is proven to be a holistic production system, which enhances health of agro-ecosystem and provide opportunities to benefit value chain actors. Viet Nam has tremendous potential for organic production thanks to favourable agro-ecological conditions. However, despite rapid expansion in other nation, organic agriculture production in Viet Nam remains modest.

Ca Mau is considered having tremendous potential for organic production given its favourable cultivation conditions. Soil and water contamination is considered much lower than other provinces in the Mekong Delta region thanks to private water catchment and high prevalence of extensive farming. The province defined organic farming as a spearhead for agriculture production and launched a plan for organic agriculture in 2019. At the programmatic dialogue with FAO in 2019, the MARD officially requested support of FAO’s TCP on integrated organic agriculture and agro-ecotourism. Ca Mau was selected as a pilot to generate lessons for scale-up in Mekong Delta and other regions.

This study aims to capture the status of organic agriculture production and agro-ecotourism in Mekong Delta with special focus on Ca Mau province, which include comprehensive analysis of potential (production and market), comparative advantages, disadvantages, challenges of organic production, eco-tourism and integration of the two sectors; the implementation and gaps of the provincial organic agriculture production plan; and the roles and participation of private sector, farmers, research institutions and government in promotion of organic production and agro-ecotourism. Based on that, the study shall provide recommendations for the provincial tourism development plan, which is planned to be developed in 2021; for promotion and development of organic agriculture (including gap filling to the provincial plan and implementation); for scale-up and replication in other regions of Vietnam as a strategic measures for sustainable production and consumption in circular economy perspective.

A consultant team, including a Team Leader- agro-ecotourism and a Team Member- Organic Agriculture Specialist will be recruited to carry out this study. The Team Leader – Agro-ecotourism expert will lead the team and be responsible for sector analysis, synthesis of the report. Under his leadership, the Organic Agriculture Specialist will participate in the study, contribute to technical analysis of and provide inputs for organic agriculture aspects.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Expected Outputs:

Required Completion Date:

1. Conduct a literature review to capture and analyse the status-quo of organic agriculture and eco-tourism in Mekong Delta

2. Prepare a protocol for the field study in Ca Mau

3. Conduct a field study

4. Present a draft study report for FAO’s comments

5. Make a presentation at a national food system summit dialogue

6. Addressing comments and finalize the report in English

10^th April 2021
10^th April 2021
20^th April 2021
30^th April 2021
10^th May 2021
15^th May 2021

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

Minimum requirements:

Candidates should meet the following:

Master degree in economics, business mmanagement, tourism or related discipline;
Experience in tourism sector analysis, development, with a focus on sustainable/responsible/eco-tourism/community-based tourism;
Knowledge in sustainable production and consumption, circular economy, value chain, local economic development, private sector engagement is advantageous;
Proven experience in designing and leading field survey, data analysis, report writing, presentation is a must;
Good written and spoken language skills (both English and Vietnamese).

Selection Criteria:

Candidates will be assessed against the following:

Relevant academic background;
Relevant experience in local economic analysis with a focus on organic/sustainable agriculture;
Relevant experience in one or more areas of development policy, integrated approach, sustainable production and consumption, circular economy, value chain, local economic development, private sector engagement;
Extent of experience in research design, leading field research, data analysis, report writing, presentation;
English skills

How to apply : Please send application via email to [email protected] [1] with copy to [email protected] [2]

Deadline for application : 22 March 2021

Job Details

Organisation Name:

FAO

Application Deadline:

Mon, 2021-03-22