DESCRIPTION OF THE OFFER

CALL FOR INTERNAL APPLICATIONS FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF AN AGRICULTURAL FINANCING ADVISOR FOR THE “SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS AND AGRICULTURAL POLICIES” PROJECT OF DEUTSCHE GESELLSCHAFT FÜR INTERNATIONALE ZUSAMMENARBEIT GmbH FOR THE CITY OF YAOUNDÉ.

The Rural Development Cluster (CDR) is made up of several projects in the sector which plan to improve the economic situation of the rural population, particularly women and young people in Cameroon. The target group of the projects varies between the technical ministerial departments involved, specialized institutions, practical agricultural training schools and the private sector, associated with producer and processor organizations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The position holder will allocate 100% of their working time to the “Sustainable agricultural systems and agricultural policies (AgSyS)” Project. This project, whose coordination is based in Yaoundé, is looking for an Agricultural Finance Advisor for the office in Yaoundé as part of the implementation of its activities.

The overall AgSYS project is part of the new special initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ) “Transformation of agricultural and food systems” (SI AGER), which aims to contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal No. 2 (SDG2) – Zero Hunger. It plans to focus more on sustainability-oriented reform processes, particularly in the agricultural sector and with emphasis on collaboration with the private sector.   

The objective of the AgSyS project is formulated as follows: “Transformation processes towards more sustainable agricultural systems in partner countries and globally are supported  ”. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of green economies  in  the context of climate change as well as on gender equality and the strengthening of civil actors (interactor council platform). The four areas of intervention of the project are 1) transformative agricultural policy, 2) institutional anchoring of proven solutions, 3) advocacy and empowerment of “agents of change”, 4) financing of transformation and 5 ) to establish links between the levels of transformation.

Description of tasks

Under the supervision of the Project Manager and the Advisor in advisory support to political partners and those in the private sector, the post holder will be mainly responsible for ensuring and/or facilitate :

• Participation in the existing inter-institutional task force on the national agricultural financing strategy and in dialogues on agricultural financing, supporting the various partners in their pleas for a reorientation of agricultural financing and for the improvement of framework conditions for the sector private ;
• Coordination of all AgSYS advisory support activities related to agricultural financing, while creating synergies with other donors and players in the field such as the French Development Agency and the Deutsche Genossenschafts- und Raiffeisenverband (DGRV);
• Support for the development of sub-regional agricultural financing regulations with COBAC in order to take into account vulnerable people in the requisition of guarantees and repayment deadlines following production cycles;
• Identification of subjects of interest to introduce them into political-private dialogues, while respecting priority subjects for the project such as the modernization of production systems and the improvement of productivity, resilience and local transformation, as well as sustainable cultivation and production methods and with a focus on agroecology and women and youth;
• The mobilization of experts to support specific subjects linked to the implementation of the strategy and/or for the development of financing solutions; 
• Monitor the anchoring and scaling of training and credit products that the Agricultural Finance Project (ProFINA) has introduced and continuation of work with partner microfinance institutions (APECCAM, MUFID, MIGEC, MUPECI), in close collaboration with the Advisor on strengthening entrepreneurs’ networks in Douala;
• The preparation and facilitation of exchange platforms and/or workshops and participation in different exchange formats (working groups, task forces );
• The mobilization of experts for specific subjects and the coordination of possible studies on the economic, ecological and social impact of production and transformation models;
• Contribution to the development of training and communication materials, visit and evaluation missions and the development of reports.