Socioeconomic Sustainability Global Value Chains Specialist

Overview

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

The Markets and Trade Division (EST) monitors and analyses developments and trends in international, regional and national agricultural commodity markets and the factors affecting them, collecting and disseminating up-to-date and comprehensive market and policy information for the major traded commodities and those important to food security. It also undertakes forward-looking outlook studies. The Division analyses issues that affect global food and agricultural markets and trade, including analysis of trade policies and agreements, and provides technical support and capacity development to FAO Members in all these areas.

Through its Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS), the Division is responsible for FAO's early warnings on food shortfalls and food security problems. EST is also responsible for the production of FAO flagship publication The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO) and the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook. The Division houses the secretariats of the Committee on Commodity Problems (CCP) and its subsidiary Intergovernmental Groups (IGGs), the G20 Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) and the World Banana Forum (WBF).

The Team on Responsible Global Value Chains in EST facilitates the work of the World Banana Forum (WBF), a platform to support global collaboration between all stakeholders of the banana sector on challenges facing the industry. Working Group 3 on Labour Rights (WG03) and Working Group 2 on Distribution of Value (WG02) of the WBF promote decent work and fair distribution of value along global banana supply chains respectively.

The price competition between large retailers in developed countries has forced the industry to reduce the price of bananas to levels that are increasingly seen as unsustainable. While real prices at production level have remained low, the costs of production, maintenance and transportation in producing countries have increased significantly. Low producer prices have created socio-economic challenges for millions of families in developing countries that depend on banana trade for their livelihood, as this can prevent adequate social development and worsen working conditions for banana workers.

The Specialist will report directly to the Secretary of the WBF, under the overall guidance and supervision of the Senior Economist/Team Leader of the Responsible Global Value Chains in EST.

Specific areas of technical support include: multi-stakeholder working group facilitation; global trade; social and economic statistics; costs of sustainable production; living incomes/wages; due diligence; responsible business conduct; quantitative and qualitative research; and decent work and gender equity analysis.

The generic functions for the profile include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Facilitate and manage the operations of the World Banana Forum’s Working Group 3 on Labour Rights (WG03) and Working Group 2 on Distribution of Value (WG02) to promote decent work and fair distribution of value along global banana supply chains including the implementation of their work plans, projects, activities, as well as their reporting;
• Under the supervision of the WBF Secretary, liaise with WG03 and WG02 members for the organization of meetings, preparation of documents, provision of advice, support and follow-up to their decisions;
• Support the coordination of project implementation and technical backstopping to capacity development activities within member countries, as regards WG03 and WG02 activities;
• Support the technical work, research and analysis on policies and trends related to socio-economic sustainability issues in the banana industry, with a particular focus on the WBF priority areas…