Background
The African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) is a specialized technical Office of the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (DREA) of the African Union Commission (AUC). AU-IBAR's mandate is to support and coordinate the utilization of livestock, fisheries and wildlife as a resource for both human wellbeing and economic development in the Member States of the African Union (AU). The mission of AU-IBAR is to provide leadership in the development of animal resources for Africa through supporting and empowering AU Member States and regional Economic Communities (RECs).
The project "Strengthening the Capacity of African Countries to Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of African Animal Genetic Resources" aims at strengthening the capacity of African countries and Regional Economic Communities to sustainably use and conserve animal genetic resources (AnGR) through institutionalizing national and regional policy, legal and technical instruments and implementing actions that will result in judicious exploitation of AnGR in Africa.
This will be achieved through:
- Establishment of the status and trends of animal genetic resources in Africa
- Development of Policy frameworks for the sustainable use of AnGR
- Supporting and strengthening national and regional conservation and improvement strategies and initiatives
- Increasing knowledge, attitude and practice of the contribution of livestock and livestock sector to economic growth, food security and poverty reduction.
Context
Africa is endowed with a rich diversity of Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR) for food and agriculture which are essential for food security, sustenance of livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, for agriculture-led economic development and equitable growth. AnGR play a very important role in livestock production systems. These genetic resources possess important adaptive traits which make them cope with adverse conditions such as lack of feed and water, heat, disease pressure and therefore, making them more suitable for rearing in the sometimes harsh African environments. However, for various reasons, Africa has been losing some of its important animal genetic resources due to various factors including indiscriminate crossbreeding with exotic breeds, poor breeding programmes, lack of supportive policies and legislation and inadequate measures to ensure deliberate conservation of these resources.
The need for Africa to develop its own State of AnGR report was recommended at the Project Inception Workshop in Abidjan in 2013 and this was endorsed by the first Project Steering Committee meeting in July 2014. As a result, the first African report on the State of African Animal Genetic Resources on the continent was developed. The data source for this report has been 40 questionnaires developed by AU-IBAR and completed by the Directorates of Animal production across the continent and 40 Country reports completed towards the 2nd SoW-AnGR.
This publication is the first African assessment of the status and trends of AnGR and the state of institutional and technical capacity to manage and develop these important resources. The document serves as an updated reference and seeks to provide up-to-date information and data on the status of AnGR on the continent. It is anticipated that this first edition of the State of AnGR in Africa report, is a flagship continental document that will effectively guide the continent’s utilization and management of AnGR. The report is projected to be finalized by the end of May 2016 and will be officially launched by the Commissioner of DREA, thereby raising its profile to the appropriate level.
The Genetics Project team has finalized the first draft of the document. However, there is a felt need for an independent expertise desirable for the finalization of the report. In the above regard AU-IBAR is through due diligence seeking to engage experts (5) to review and provide input for the publication of the State of Animal Genetic Resources in Africa.
The specific objectives are:
- To critical review the draft document for the quality, appropriateness and completeness of information provided
- To provide all necessary missing information
- To participate in a writeshop to finalize the document.
Review Team
The team will be composed of 05 renowned experts in the field of Animal Genetic resources in Africa.
Reporting
The results of the peer review will be documented in a final report that will contain the observations, good practices, recommendations and suggestions of the review team.
Documentation for Review
The Project team will make any relevant reference material available to the Team, where appropriate sufficiently in advance to allow preparation of the experts.
This documentation will cover:
- Draft publication
- Other relevant national documents that need to be considered, e.g. national legislation and regulatory requirements.
Financial Consideration and Method of Payment
Each expert will carry a lump sum of USD 1500, which is 300 USD x 5 days (One Thousand Five Hundred) all inclusive. Other fees related to the writeshop (Travel cost, and DSA) will be paid by AU-IBAR.
Selection of Consultants
The selection of the consultant will be based on the technical evaluation. The consultant with the highest technical score will be selected.
Evaluation Criteria
The applications will be evaluated on the basis of the relevant technical qualifications, experience and competence of the candidates.
HOW TO APPLY:
Submission of Proposal
The deadline for submission of the proposal is 23 May 2016 at 15h00.
The address for submission of the proposal is applications@au-ibar.org
