We are looking for a Climate Change and Policy Associate Scientist to be based in Yaounde, Cameroon. The selected candidate will be required to travel within the region to the country offices of the different nodes and within the ASB platform network.

The position

Under the direct supervision of the Regional Coordinator, the incumbent will have the following responsibilities:

Research

1.    Carry out and contribute to research in the areas of climate change mitigation and adaptation, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+), Reducing Emissions from All Land Uses (REALU), payment for environmental services (PES), sustainable land management, and biodiversity conservation as their link to agroforestry
2.    Lead and coordinate ICRAF-related ASB Partnership activities in the West and Central Africa Region
3.    Coordinate and support development of methodologies for climate-related forest policy and other land uses
4.    Analyze existing policies and potential policy reforms in terms of their impact on climate change debates at national and international levels
5.    Carrying out thematic action research at landscape scale to evaluate the impact of climate change policy instruments in achieving landscape connectivity and in reducing deforestation and degradation
6.    Publish outputs in high quality publications, including peer-reviewed journals, extension technical notes and policy briefs
7.    Supervise graduate students in  research in one or more of the above mentioned areas

Policy, capacity building in the area of climate change, REDD+ and payment of environmental services

1.    Promote links to regional forestry and environmental management policies
2.    Actively engage in the development of relevant policy for agroforestry development  through science-policy processes
3.    Contribute technical expertise  in the development of  REDD demonstration activities in the ASB benchmarks

Fundraising and project management

1.    Develop project concepts (seeking opportunities for proposals, developing proposals, follow ups) and raise resources for research activities in the West and Central Africa region
2.    Assist the Regional Coordinator in steering and managing specific projects

Requirements

1.    PhD in Agricultural Economics, Rural Sociology, Ecology, Resource Management, Forestry, Soil Sciences or a related discipline
2.    Minimum of 5 years experience in forest management, monitoring and evaluation of landscape agroforestry and livelihoods
3.    Sound experience and skills in REDD and climate change issues
4.    Good skills in conceptualisation, communication, writing and reporting
5.    Experience in the preparation of donor reports
6.    A good publications track record
7.    Good database development and management skills
8.    Competence in basic computer applications including statistical packages
9.    Good geographic information systems and remote sensing skills
10.    Ability to work independently in a multidisciplinary team and a multicultural environment
11.    Proficiency in spoken and written English and French
12.    Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
13.    Working experience in the West and Central Africa Region will be an added advantage
Terms and conditions

The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) is an equal opportunity employer offering a competitive salary and benefits package. The appointment will be for an initial period of two (2) years with nine (9) months probation period, with potential for extension and renewable subject to assessment of performance and availability of funds. The organization offers a collegial and gender-sensitive working environment, believes that staff diversity promotes excellence, and strongly encourages applications from qualified women.

Applicants are invited to send a cover letter illustrating their suitability for the above position and detailed curriculum vitae, with names and addresses of three referees (including telephone, fax numbers and email address). All correspondence should be addressed to the Human Resources Unit, World Agroforestry Centre, P.O. Box 30677, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya. Applications can also be sent via email to: icrafhru@cgiar.org. Applicants should indicate “Application for a Climate Change and Policy Associate Scientist – ASB-ICRAF/WCA” on the application letters or email submissions.  Applications will be considered until 15 January 2011 or until the position is filled.

The World Agroforestry Centre, supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), carries out research to generate science-based knowledge about the complex role that trees play in agricultural landscapes and uses its research to ensure that policies and practices benefit the poor and the environment. Our vision is an ‘agroforestry transformation’ in the developing world—a massive increase in the use of trees on landscapes by smallholder rural households to ensure security in food, nutrition, income, health, shelter and energy, and a regenerated environment. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, the organization conducts research in 23 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
    
The West and Central Africa (WCA) Regional Office based in Yaounde, Cameroon covers a vast geographical area comprising 21 countries with a population of 330 million and a surface area of about 1200 million hectares. The region’s activities are carried out in the Sahel, Upper Guinea and in the Humid Tropics Zones where significant potential exists for ICRAF and partners to contribute to reduction of poverty, hunger and malnutrition among the rural poor communities.

Only shortlisted applicants meeting the above requirements will be contacted.
We invite you to learn more about ICRAF by accessing our website:
http://www.worldagroforestry.org

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A study by the University of Nairobi and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) has found that an overwhelming majority of people in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya prefer fuel briquettes over wood charcoal because they not only burn longer but are also 3 times cheaper. The briquettes studied were made from sawdust and charcoal-dust coming from selected agroforestry tree species.

The conversion of charcoal dust and sawdust to fuel makes it possible for more fuel to be produced per tree.  ”Making fuel briquettes from tree by-products extends the tree value chain while contributing to resource conservation both in rural and urban areas” say authors Mary Njenga and Aya Yonemitsu. A switch to briquettes would result in 50 percent saving on the cost of cooking fuel, say Ms Njengaand Ms Yonemitsu.

The briquette fuel is welcome relief at a time when demand for fuel wood is forcing 16 million cubic metres of wood to be felled annually. The authors say “Only 10-30 per cent of the raw wood turns to charcoal and 10-15 per cent of the charcoal is wasted as dust”. In addition “230,000 tonnes of waste in the form of sawdust is produced annually in Kenyan Sawmills.”

Read more of Making a living from dust here.

A couple in Helena, Montana, in the USA are showing that agroforestry is worthwhile even in a home garden in the developed world. The New York Times report’s that Marc and Gloria Flora have developed a demonstration garden comprising 300 small trees in an agroforestry arrangement. In this arrangement, different types of trees and shrubs are grown together in an integrated and interdependent way. They hope the demonstration garden will inspire agroforestry adoption in America.

The Flora’s 2 acre plot produces healthy vegetables thanks to the ability of agroforestry trees to improve soil health. Ms Flora says, “The extensive tree canopy and the use of native plants make the garden more resilient in the face of a changing climate, needing less water, no chemical fertilizers and few, if any, pesticides.”  They produce crops for home consumption as well as for commercial purposes. By turning their garden into an agroforestry demonstration site, Ms Gloria Flora is following in the footsteps of many farmers in the developing world.

In developed countries like America, the major hindrance to agroforestry adoption seems to be reluctance to move away from well-established input-intensive agriculture. “Families spent generations removing trees to practise agriculture, and we’re up against that,” said Gene Garrett, an emeritus professor of forestry and former director of the Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri. “We have to stress that if you don’t put them in the way, you can use working trees to benefit agriculture,” he added.

Read the whole story at A Quiet Push to Grow Crops Under Cover of Trees.

In sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly one-third of the population is undernourished, growing both indigenous and exotic fruit for local markets has great potential to improve the diets of smallholder farmers and increase incomes, according to a new review by the World Agroforestry Centre.

The study – recently published in the journal International Forestry Review – argues that the cultivation of indigenous fruit tree species in the region could make a much more significant contribution to the nutrition and livelihoods of local people if certain bottlenecks were removed.

“In East Africa, the average daily intake of fruit is 35 grams per person, way below the World Health Organization’s recommendation,” says Ramni Jamnadass, head of the Centre’s Quality Trees research programme. “Agroforestry with trees that produce good quality fruit shows great promise for improving people’s physical and financial health”.

Jamnadass and her colleagues, working with partners across Africa, have developed a list of priority indigenous fruit trees for domestication in over a dozen countries in the region. “In order for these species to reap wider benefits for smallholder farmers, certain obstacles need to be addressed,” explains Jamnadass. Poor access to superior quality cultivars that are bred for African environments is one of the main constraints facing smallholders in the region. Poor farm management and post-harvest practices, as well as weak marketing systems, also limit the widespread uptake of quality fruit trees.

Like their indigenous counterparts, exotic fruits also offer great potential for improving nutritional security and incomes. “The problem here is that exotic fruit cultivars grown in Africa over many years are not as good as new cultivars of the same species now being grown outside the region,” says Jamnadass. “So in order to increase the cultivation of quality trees in Africa, we need to introduce these new types, which are frequently found in developed countries as well as in many parts of Asia. And then, we need to develop efficient ways to distribute these cultivars to smallholders.”

Plantings of high-quality guava, tamarind, pomegranate, papaya, custard apple and jackfruit stock from outside the region all have great potential in Africa.

To facilitate the international exchange of domesticated fruit trees, better coordination between relevant legislation is needed to remove unintended hindrances to the transfer of improved plant materials that can benefit farmers and consumers more widely.

To help widespread uptake of high-quality indigenous fruit trees, the study recommends a process in which smallholder farmers themselves select superior types of local species. Called participatory tree domestication, the approach marries local knowledge of fruit tree cultivation with scientific advances in collecting and propagating genetically superior plants by rooting, cuttings and grafting.

Another hurdle for producers of both exotic and indigenous fruit is access to markets. “Producing good quality fruit is one thing, but being able to sell it at a fair price is another,” says Steven Franzel, one of the study’s co-authors and head of the Centre’s Marketing and Extension research programme. “We also need to understand consumer demand and expand and improve markets if smallholders are to benefit more broadly.”

By looking at the value chain, bottlenecks in delivery can be identified and acted upon; resulting in better outcomes for farmers.

Value chain analyses on the njansang nut in Cameroon, for example, led to stronger farmers’ producer groups that had better negotiating power and were able to sell members’ nuts in bulk. Consequently they received a much better price for their produce.

“We need to find efficient, low-cost and achievable ways to boost nutrition; and with the right interventions, agroforestry with quality fruit trees has great potential to do this,” says Jamnadass.

Story by Geoff Thompson

Extrapolating from the current ratio of one extension worker for every 4000 farmers in Africa, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) says it is going to take some time  before reaching an ideal ratio of one extension worker for every 400 farmers. According to a story published on allAfrica.com, experts at the recent  international extension conference in Nairobi, Kenya agreed that the ratio gap can be closed by encouraging more farmer to farmer information sharing and by helping farmers to engage with emerging communication technologies.

“Farmers themselves are also leading the way in sharing information with other farmers,” says the article. Mary Gichuki is one such farmer helping other farmers. She has been working with the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and the East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) project to promote the use of fodder trees to feed dairy cows. Mary Gichuki says “Farmers are able to see the benefits first hand on my farm. They know my advice is based on experience”. Mary benefits from using her mobile phone to access market data also.

The rise in the number of smart phones and community radio stations across Africa have the potential to improve smallholder farmers’ access to vital information, such as relating to markets, says the author. The story gives the example of the Scientific Animations Without Borders (SAWBO) project which uses Bluetooth technology to transmit informative videos to farmers.

Read more of World’s Smallholder Farmers Lack Expert Guidance here.