Call For Moldovan Experts for the Wheat, Maize, and Sunflower Value Chains

04th November 2024
by secretary

Agrinatura News

Study period: December 2024 to October 2025

Deadline for applications: Friday 15^th of November 2024

Please send your CV to laura.felisatti@agrinatura-eu.eu

BACKGROUND

Value Chain Analysis for Development (VCA4D) is an EU-funded project implemented by Agrinatura, the European Alliance of European Universities and Research Centres specialised in agricultural research for development. The main activity of VCA4D is to perform value chain analyses according to the VCA4D Methodology (whose approach is summarised in this short video: EN).

The EU Delegation to Moldova has contacted VCA4D to perform analyses on three products: wheat, maize, and sunflower. To respond to this request, VCA4D proposes that:

The analysis of wheat is carried out by a team of VCA4D international experts. This team will be supported and shadowed by a team of three national experts
The three national experts will then be in charge of performing the analyses of the maize and sunflower value chains, with quality support from the VCA4D team.

The 3 national experts will be recruited possibly from public Universities and/or the research system and/or independent experts with a long-standing collaboration with these types of bodies with sound knowledge of the disciplines involved and a good understanding of VCs in the country.

One of the 3 experts will be identified as coordinator of the national part of the team.

These national experts will be selected firstly on the basis of their scientific disciplines (agro-economics, social sciences, environmental sciences or related disciplines) and their ability to easily integrate the VCA4D methodology and tools, and secondly on the basis of their knowledge of value chains and the wheat, maize and sunflower in particular.

As a general characteristic, relevant knowledge of national institutions (technical, economic, and political) and stakeholders (public and private) involved in the wheat, maize, and sunflower VCs is required.

PROFILES OF THE NATIONAL EXPERTS

The national economic expert
He/she will be a senior economist with solid knowledge of economic analysis of value chains. He/she will help to draw up the financial and economic accounts of the VC players and the VC as a whole.
He/she will be able to undertake a functional analysis in its entirety with the help of colleagues and in particular his/her international counterpart.
He/she will have consolidated professional experience in the economic analysis of CVs in Moldova.
Professional experience in the analysis of the wheat, maize, or sunflower sector will be a substantial asset.
Knowledge of English is required
Experience in stakeholders’ management (including relations with high-level officials and the private sector) and analysis of public policies are a plus.

The national social expert
He/she will be a senior social expert (sociologist, socio-economist, geographer, etc.) with sound knowledge and experience of social issues related to value chains (inclusion, working conditions, land rights and access to water, gender equality, food and nutritional security, social capital, living conditions, etc.).
He/she will have experience in at least two of these domains and will be able to handle the others.
Experience in the social analysis of the agricultural sector in developing countries is required.
Experience in the social analysis of wheat, maize, or sunflower VCs is an asset
Knowledge of English is required
Experience in stakeholders’ management (including relations with high-level officials and the private sector) and analysis of public policies are a plus.

The national environmental expert
He/she will be a senior expert with sound knowledge of the environmental analysis of production processes.
He/she will preferably have a background in environmental engineering (waste/pollutant treatment, environmental/territorial management, risk management, water treatment, hydraulics, modelling, etc.) or, failing that, in process engineering in a broad sense (industrial processes, agri-food/technology, mineral processing, etc.), or even in chemistry, physics or agronomy with good experience in quantifying physico-chemical flows.
Experience in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Simapro is an asset.
Experience in wheat, maize, or sunflower value chains is an asset.
Knowledge of English is required
Experience in stakeholders’ management (including relations with high-level officials and the private sector) and analysis of public policies are a plus.

TIME AND INPUT REQUIRED

The assignment is expected to start in December 2024 till October 2025.

The number of working days required for each national expert will be around 100: 20 days to contribute to the wheat value chain analysis; and 40 days for each value chain analysis of maize and sunflower.

A provision to cover per diem and local costs for field visits will be provided. The experts will be accompanied by VCA4D experienced experts and the VCA4D Project Management Unit (PMU) for quality support and coaching on the methods.

SEQUENCING OF THE ACTIVITIES AND ANALYSES

The first step will be to start the analysis of the wheat value chain in Moldova. The analysis will be carried out by three international experts (one economist, a social expert, and an environmental expert) with previous experience in the VCA4D methodology.

The three international experts will be accompanied and shadowed by the three national experts who will support in providing general information on the value chain, identifying key players and existing relevant information and data for the analyses; selecting the most relevant data from available sources, to clarify inconsistencies and to improve coherence between analyses; facilitate and complete the data collection, in agreement to the guidelines of the Team Leader.

Throughout the study, time will be devoted to sharing knowledge about the tools of the VCA4D methodology and their use.

The work of the national experts may take place before the missions (preparation), during the missions (support for their colleagues’ missions), between the missions (gathering additional information for the missions, supervising surveys, calculating indicators, and providing additional analysis, etc.), or even after the missions (providing additional information).

The team of national experts will take the opportunity during the field missions for the wheat value chain analysis to also gather information and data available on the sunflower and maize value chains.

Also, the VCA4D PMU and other experts will be mobilised to support the team of national experts in capacity strengthening, to become more proficient in the use of the methods mobilised in VCA4D and their application (also in terms of interdisciplinarity).

As soon as the input on the wheat value chain from the national experts is concluded (mainly after the field missions), the team will start working on the two value chain analyses on sunflower and maize, with the organization of field missions and data collection as relevant. The team will be supported by VCA4D throughout the performance of the assignment to ensure that the reports comply with the VCA4D standards.

Call For Moldovan Experts for the Wheat, Maize, and Sunflower Value Chains

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