Background

The agricultural sector remains one of the main sectors for employment within the country and as a result is important for maintaining and improving sustainable development and equality levels in rural areas. Agricultural sector constitutes almost 18% of GDP in 2016 and about 35% of overall employment in 2015 . Export of agricultural products was 27.8%  of total exports in 2014. The recently approved Program of the Government of Armenia for 2017-2022 targets an increase in gross agricultural output by at least 5% annually. It aims at enhancing the level of food security, developing high value agriculture, introducing modern technologies, substituting imports, increasing export volumes and creating favorable conditions for the activities of economic entities in the agricultural sector. Moreover, Armenian Strategy for Sustainable Rural and Agricultural Development for the period of 2010-2020 among main objectives also prioritizes improvement in sales of agricultural and agro-processing products and increase of export volumes, as well as increasing agricultural competitiveness and promoting know-how.
Nevertheless, Armenian agribusiness, with majority of SMEs attempting to grow their competitiveness and exports, face many business challenges which require the attention of policy makers. It involves higher risk than domestic sales operations and requires more working capital and deeper business know-how. SMEs, usually find it difficult to gather resources necessary to embark on export deals . In the meantime, today, around 80% of global trade in goods and services takes place within the international production networks , thus linking to global and regional value chains provides the best opportunities for profitable growths and technology transfer for producers, especially SMEs. Armenia could become part of the global agribusiness value chain, leveraging its rich agro-biodiversity and suitable climate to produce high-value agribusiness goods and its processing capabilities.
UNDP in partnership with UNIDO has already supported the Government of Armenia within the framework of the European Neighborhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD) with funding from the European Union and co-funding from the Austrian Government. Assistance was provided to: (i) strengthen primary producer groups; (ii) effectively engage producer groups in value addition activities; (iii) strengthen value chains that provide improved access to affordable, better quality food. However, there is still a necessity to strengthen linkages and competitiveness of market systems for targeted value chain products, to improve agriculture productivity and profitability of small farm production systems for targeted value chains and ensure access to wider international market. Having these in mind, UNDP Armenia is looking for options to   increase competitiveness and profitability of small and medium farm production systems for targeted value chains for export oriented high-value agricultural commodities.

[1] http://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Armenia/data_gdp_current_local_currency/
[1] Ministry of Agriculture of Armenia (2015), Agro investment guide
[1] OECD (2015) “Connecting Armenian SMEs to global value chains. The case of Agribusiness”. Policy Handbook.
[1] OECD (2015) “Connecting Armenian SMEs to global value chains. The case of Agribusiness”. Policy Handbook.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall coordination of UNDP Sustainable Growth and Resilience Programme Analyst and direct supervision of ENPARD Project Coordinator, the International Consultant will be recruited to serve as the resource person to support UNDP CO and the Government of Armenia  in: (i) sufficient understanding on the current status and future export potential of different agricultural commodities; (ii) mapping/analyzing value chains and market systems in the selected export oriented sub-sectors, with focus on competitive high-value non-traditional products; (iii) identifying specific bottlenecks and opportunities in the respective value chains that can be addressed and leveraged through UNDP interventions.
More specifically the objective of the consultancy is producing a comprehensive analysis of international market demand and value chains for green, non-traditional high-value products (aromatic, medicinal and oil plants and other products), as well as livestock production (high value breeds, forage production, animal health aspects, etc.) including the segments of primary production, initial storing, some processing, supply of end-products to retail networks and final consumers.

Duties and responsibilities:
The Consultant will work closely with local expert as coordinated by UNDP and will perform the following duties:

Data review and product analysis

• Desk review of existing reports and data to assess in-country supply chain system structure in terms of performance standards and international market requirements;
• Review and identification of major production pocket, growth potential, market trends and competitiveness of selected value chains from supply and demand side, including its prospects in the international market;
• Explore the current and potential demand, various market destinations and related price trends, as well as market requirements, so as to allow analysis to identify constraints, barriers and opportunities;
• Conduct competitiveness calculation of products (existing in the market and non-existing based on product proximity ) with consideration of tariffs, transportation cost, standards, etc.;
• Based on analysis to recommend at list 5 value chains that have highest export and employment generation potential and can create a high impact on the income of SMEs;

Value chain mapping and anlaysis

• Mapping the value chain with identification of main actors, their functions and interactions;
• Assessment the flow of products, information and financial resources along the value chain – both descriptive and as value chain map;
• Functional analysis of the value chain – profiling the industry structure by describing and quantifying the sequence of operations for commodity production, processing, marketing and final consumption;
• Identification of constraints and opportunities within the selected value chains and provision of recommendation to overcome those constraints;
• Analyses of the degree of competitiveness and identification of lead firm for each value chain and final buyer for output market, type of contractual agreements, quality standards, regulatory and consumer requirements and preliminary estimates for transaction costs.
• Analyses in quantitative terms dynamics of processing and value creation, reward distribution, value chain governance and power relation structures;

 Policy environment and institutional analysis    

• Identification of underlying policy, institutional and infrastructural issues that affect competitiveness of the selected value chains with reference to the role of government and private sector;
• Processing institutional gap and functional analysis of existing institutions and organizations, at regional and local level and their role in value chains and export promotion, including private public partnerships (PPPs);
• Revision of international best practices in regional or local PPP based farmer’s support logistic centers facilitating expansion of business with small holder producers through promotion of technology transfer, knowledge generation, private investments, export oriented high value primary production and its collection, storage, processing, packaging and linking to respective markets.
• Describe PPPs operational mechanisms - including shared responsibilities and risks, resources and benefits;  
• Defining specification of services provided to producers by government, as well as by input providers, traders, banking institutions, extension providers, etc. 
• Provision of recommendations to the government on possible PPP based long term institutional modalities applicable for Armenia for intensification of production and operationalization of value chains.     

Terms and Conditions for provision of services:

• The assignment will be a combination of in country mission and the desk study. The country visit tentatively for five days is envisaged to conduct interviews, gather the first-hand information and provide inputs into discussions around subject;
• The consultant will report to UNDP CO Armenia. The Consultant will liaise closely with the national expert, UNDP ENPARD project and other partners that will support the work.

Expected outputs 

Payment mode:
Lump sum payments (including travel cost) will be applied in the following installments upon completion of the tasks under each output and approval of deliverables by UNDP CO:  
- Deliverable 1 -  20 % of total amount
- Deliverable 2 -  40 % of total amount
- Deliverable 3 -  40 % of total amount

Competencies

• Proven understanding of the value chain concept and market related mechanisms,
• Understanding of and practical exposure to the institutional framework governing agriculture economy in the countries with economies in transition;
• Strong interpersonal skills with ability to establish and maintain effective work relationships with people of different social and cultural backgrounds;
• Strong track record with producing high quality research and strong quantitative skills in project design, scenario analysis;
• Proven knowledge of communication tools, excellent writing skills;
• Excellent coordination and collaboration skills, with ability to work under time pressure and handle multiple activities and projects concurrently;
• Ability to work independently and to participate effectively in a team based information sharing;
• Good computer literacy, knowledge of MS office software and web based applications.                                                                                      

Required Skills and Experience