AFR-05

Organization title: Land O’Lakes
Field Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Policy Location: Arlington, VA, USA

DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION

Land O'Lakes International Development, a division of Land O’Lakes Inc., facilitates market-driven business systems to generate economic growth, improve health and nutrition, and alleviate poverty. We apply a private-sector value chain approach to agricultural productivity and competitiveness; food processing, product development, and quality assurance; enterprise, cooperative, and association capacity building; and food security and livelihood creation. Land O’Lakes applies an integrated approach to international development that capitalizes on Land O’Lakes 85+ years as a leading farm-to-market agribusiness.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Ethiopia Dairy Development Program (EDDP) is a five-year, USAID-funded cooperative agreement, in which Land O’Lakes and its partners World Wide Sires, Ltd. and HUNDEE are working to increase productivity throughout the dairy value chain and to maximize economic benefits to smallholder dairy farmers in selected milk sheds. Land O’Lakes implements market-oriented and private sector-led initiatives and investments targeting production and market access, while building the capacity of key government, non-governmental, and private sector organizations and service providers. Land O’Lakes is also targeting people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) with dairy income generating activities (IGA).

FIELD PLACEMENT

The fellow will work under the supervision of Land O’Lakes Country Manager in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to assist Land O’Lakes in integrating an HIV focus into the EDDP by supporting the development of policy guidance, programming tools, and capacity building efforts. The fellow will be based in Addis with regular travel to Land O’Lakes field programs in Ethiopia, as well as a trip to Land O’Lakes programs in Rwanda and Zambia. Work will focus specifically on dairy IGA among PLWHA. A few examples of possible activities and deliverables are:

Develop indicators and methods to assess the effectiveness of the pilot activities at improving household livelihoods and nutrition. Develop a tool that guides selection of appropriate livelihood activities for PLWHA based on household characteristics with practical implementation guidelines for these activities for the EDDP. Liaise with the Land O’Lakes staff member seconded to the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to solicit input into the development of innovative approaches and tools, to communicate the results of effectiveness assessments, and to assist in disseminating best practices and tools through Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development services, programs, and extension agents. Review overall lessons learned and best practices from Land O’Lakes HIV and IGA/livelihoods activities in Rwanda and Zambia through field visits to these countries.

POLICY PLACEMENT

For the policy year, the fellow will be based at the Land O’Lakes Arlington, VA office, where s/he will support the development and dissemination of a strategy for livelihoods, nutrition, and HIV integration. While the need to promote livelihood programs for PLWHA is important, there is limited general international experience, guidelines, and programming tools to support the quality integration of livelihood approaches into HIV programming, including links with nutrition and food security. There is a need to document best practices and to develop practical operational tools for use by NGOs, donors, or national governments. Activities may include the following, among others:

• Help develop a strategy for integrating nutrition and HIV into Land O’Lakes livelihoods programs.
• Develop an assessment tool for examining policy, programming/services, business, and community environments in preparation for introducing IGA/livelihoods activities for PLWHA to:
  • Identify challenges to address
  • Identify opportunities for linkages across sectors, including nutrition
  • Guide the selection of the most appropriate type of IGA/livelihoods activity(ies)
• Assist in development of monitoring and evaluation indicators for HIV, nutrition, and IGA/livelihoods programs.
• Synthesize lessons learned and best practices from Land O’Lakes HIV, nutrition, and IGA/livelihoods activities in Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Zambia into a written report.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

• Coursework and/or experience relevant to program area. Prefer an applicant with a background in HIV/AIDS, livelihoods, agriculture, or nutrition.
• Previous experience desired, preferably in Africa.
• Should have strong knowledge of issues related to links between livelihoods, nutrition food security, and HIV/AIDS.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office and internet-based research.
• Experience developing behavior change communication materials and conducting training/capacity building activities.
• Excellent skills in written and spoken English; Amharic languages skills would be a plus.
• Experience conducting operations research and strong understanding of monitoring and evaluation indicators and systems.
• Should have an ability to link community-based program work with national policy and programming; should be a strong team player able to work with a variety of partners; should have willingness to participate in overall agency’s development of programs to integrate livelihoods into HIV care and support.