BOARD REPORT

FARA Board Report

Human Resources and Administration Progress Report

Prepared for the

19th FARA Board of Directors Meeting

Accra, Ghana

21-22 November 2016

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1. Introduction

With effect from January 2016, the portfolio of Human Resources and Administration (HRA) was expanded to include the following additional functions: information technology services and support, translation and interpretation, legal affairs and procurement. This report summarises the progress in the full complement of HRA functions from January to October 2016, the challenges experienced and perspectives for the near future.

2. Human Resources

2.1 Personnel strength

The total number of personnel employed by the Secretariat currently stands at 40 (21

female). This includes 31 (17 female) regular full time staff; 7 (3 female) long-term

consultants and 2 (1 female) staff seconded by the government of Nigeria. Of the 31 regular

staff, 10 (3 female) are internationally recruited (IRS). Table 1 below and Annex 1 provide a

breakdown of the personnel by category and gender.

The number of staff in the long term consultant category was increased in 2016 as a cost

containment measure in the context of the restructuring carried out last year, to retain skills

critical to the functioning of the Secretariat but for which the budget was not able to

accommodate engaging the relevant professional on full pay. The long term consultants

include three personal working part-time on a retainer basis.

Table 1. Breakdown of personnel complement by category and gender

Gender Regular Staff Long-term

consultants Seconded

staff Total

IRS GSS

Male 7 7 4 1 19

Female 3 14 3 1 21

Total 10 21 7 2 40

Funding for thirty one of the 40 personnel (including 27 regular staff and 4 long term

consultants) is sourced from the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF). The rest (3 IRS, 3 long

term consultants, 1 GSS and 2 seconded) are covered by project funds and the Nigerian

Government.

The personnel complement at the beginning of the year stood at 45. Over the year, 7 staff

left the employment of FARA either because the project they were implementing

(UniBRAIN) ended or they resigned to pursue other opportunities (see table 2). During the

same period three staff were recruited, namely the Financial Assistant and the Internal

Auditor who joined in March and the Management Accountant who joined in July.

The following positions remained vacant in 2016 and are likely to be filled in 2017 when new

initiatives such as the African Development Bank-supported Technologies for African

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Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), which have provided for these positions, come on-

stream.

Advocacy and Resource Mobilisation Officer

Agribusiness and Youth Officer (Consultant)

Programme Officer (Capacity Development)

Communications Officer

Procurement Specialist

Some of the tasks planned for these positions are performed by existing staff.

Interns

One of the measures the Secretariat is using to cover gaps in performing administrative functions is the increased deployment of interns. Currently three interns have been engaged to provide general administrative support, reception and front desk support and IT support. The interns are remunerated with a lump sum of USD 200 monthly.

Separations

Since the beginning of the year, a total of 7 staff have left the employment of FARA. Table 2

provides the reasons and date of their departure.

Table 2. Staff who separated from the FARA Secretariat from January to October 2016

No Designation Name Reason for separation Date 1 Conference &

Logistics Supervisor Francisca Forson Resigned. The assistant

has performed this role in acting capacity. A Receptionist was moved to Assistant position and an Intern engaged as receptionist

February 2016

2 Resource mobilisation officer

Gbadebo Odularu Resigned. Roles were absorbed by existing staff

February 2016

3 Program Officer Pia Chuzu Closure of the UniBRAIN project

March 2016

4 UniBRAIN Facility Coordinator

Mr Alex Ariho June 2016

5 Community Officer Ms Mary Njeri

6 UniBRAIN Accountant

Mr Kofi Adin

7 Conference & Logistics Assistant

Ms Donna Sam Resigned. The plan is to engage an Intern

August 2016

In addition to the seven listed above, two senior staff have signalled their intention to leave

the employment of FARA at the end of 2016. These are Dr Nelson Ojijo, the Lead Specialist

for Capacity Development and Dr Emmanuel Tambi, the Policy Advisor. Steps have already

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been taken to recruit the replacement for Dr. Ojijo. The replacement for Dr Tambi is being

sought through a secondment from the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa.

2.2 Staff sharing

The Secretariat signed an MoU with the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory services to

share the Secretariat’s expertise in Monitoring and Evaluation and in Financial

Management. Another MoU was signed with CORAF/WECARD to share staff expertise on a

reciprocal basis where FARA makes its Internal Auditor available to CORAF/WECARD and

where CORAF/WECARD makes its Procurement specialist available to FARA.

2.3 Performance review

This year the Secretariat started a process where performance evaluation is carried out

twice: in the middle and at the end of the year. This is a departure from past evaluations

that were only carried out at the end of the year. The end-of-year evaluation will

commence in the final week of November 2016. Due to funding constraints the evaluations

do not have a provision for rewarding excellent performance.

2.4 Staff contracts

The employment contracts of all regular staff (except the Executive Director) will be expiring at the end of December 2016. For staff intending to continue working with FARA, their contracts have been renewed on the same terms for 2017. The long term consulting assignments that will spread into 2017 have been re-advertised.

2.5 Human Resources Manual

Some additions and revisions have been made to the Human Resources manual particularly highlighting the categorisations of staff, including clauses that define various staff compensation, eliminating certain leave and basically outlining step by step procedures for implementing the various policies. The operations manual has been updated accordingly.

3. Administration

3.1 Planned relocation of the FARA Secretariat abandoned

Since June 2016 the Secretariat has been in discussion with the Association of African

Universities (AAU) about moving to the newly constructed AAU office complex. In October

2016 it became clear that the space the AAU was willing to offer to the Secretariat was

grossly inadequate for the Secretariat’s needs. For this reason the Secretariat has been

compelled to renew its current tenancy. Furthermore, with the help of a Board Director,

Mr. Samuel Adam, the Secretariat has engaged the government of Ghana at the highest

level (the presidency) concerning the government’s undertaking to provide office

accommodation for FARA. These discussions are still ongoing and there are indications that

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as an interim measure the government will make a contribution towards FARA’s rent,

starting in 2017.

3.2 Human Resource Information System

Essential modules of the long-awaited Human Resource Information System (HRIS) have been completed and are now live. Staff have been trained on its use. Some customisation particularly for travel management will be done towards the end of the year. The system is web-based and will promote efficiency, good turn around and response time. It will also help in storing data.

3.3 Conference and logistics

The conference and logistics unit continues to provide support in the organisation of meetings and issuance of tickets. This year the unit devoted most of its attention to supporting the organisation and travel associated with the 7th Africa Agriculture Science Week and FARA General Assembly. Table 3 shows the earnings made from ticket issuance from 2014 till date. These are commissions earned from tickets issued internally and those requested by partner organisations. The conference and logistics unit charges US$50 as an administrative cost for each ticket it issues. This revenue is used to cover the cost of the staff in the Conference and Logistics Office and the balance is transferred to the reserve fund.

Table 3. Earnings from issuance of airline tickets (2004-2016)

Year Amount

2014 59,700

2015 33,808

2016 (Jan-Sept) 22,446

Total 115,954

3.4 Other administrative services

The protocol, translation and information technology, legal and procurement offices continue to play their support roles in the course of the year. These functions help in fulfilling of our statutory obligations, provision and maintenance of IT support services, transparency in procurement, legally sound contracts and ensuring that Secretariat upholds its bilingual character with regard to key documentation.

3.7 Facility/assets disposal

In line with provisions in the Operational manual the Secretariat auctioned/disposed of assets, materials and equipment which were fully depreciated, damaged or not functional. These include broken conference chairs, old cabinets, office furniture, UPS, damaged laptops and keyboards etc. A total of GHC 5,763.30 was earned from the exercise.

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3.8 Support/hosting

The African Agriculture Innovation Network (AAIN) was hosted by the Secretariat for a period of eight months. AAIN decided to relocate its office in August 2016. Previously, the hosting arrangement with JIRCAS ended in April 2016. With the departure of these two organisations, the Secretariat is not hosting any organisation.

4. Challenges

The main challenges encountered over the reporting period and interventions to address them are listed in Table 4.

Table 4. Challenges encountered over the year (January to October 2016) and interventions to mitigate them

S/n Challenge Intervention

1 High cost of rent, general operations, electricity and utilities

Relocating and sharing premises with other organisations is designed to minimize the cost

2 Workload management: with the departure of several staff, there is extreme pressure on the remaining staff to cover their tasks.

Prioritization of work has been the key tool. Interns have been deployed to cover gaps in administrative functions.

5. Looking ahead

Staff costs account for a sizable proportion of the Secretariat’s annual budget. To attract and retain talent and ensure this talent is used optimally, the Secretariat must devise ways of mobilising resources that can be flexibly used to cover staff costs. It is also observed that there is room for projects to increase their contribution towards financing the support (operational) functions. There is need to deepen cost recovery. The Secretariat must continue engaging with the government of Ghana to secure a long term and sustainable solution to its office accommodation needs.

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Annex 1: Full complement of personnel supporting the Secretariat

Designation Post Holder Category Funding source

1 Executive Director Yemi Akinbamijo IRS Regular staff

MDTF

2 Senior Administration Assistant

Daina Anyomi GSS

3 Internal Auditor Prince Bosompim GSS

4 Office/stores assistant

Wisdom Gadagoe GSS

5 Director, Research & Innovation

Irene Annor-Frempong IRS

6 Lead Specialist, Monitoring & Evaluation

Clesensio Tizikara IRS

7 Administrative Assistant (DRI)

Merline Mensah GSS

8 Lead Specialist, CDI Nelson Ojijo IRS

9 Administration Assistant

Mariam Sanni GSS

10 Director, Corporate Partnerships & Communication

Aggrey Agumya IRS

11 Finance Manager Johnson Ukpong IRS Partly on Humid tropics

12 Financial Accountant Grace Owusu-Asare GSS MDTF

13 Finance Assistant Georgina Kwao Swanzy GSS

14 Management Accountant

Belinda Kasei GSS

15 Human Resources & Administration Manager

Ama Tabiou-Malkaye IRS

16 HR Assistant Courage Dzormeku GSS

17 Conference & Logistics Officer

Akouvi Legbeze GSS

18 Protocol Officer Patience Sackey GSS

19 Compliance Officer- Procurement

Muna Osei-Bonsu GSS

20 Compliance Officer – legal

Edna Yeboah GSS

21 Receptionist Martha Asiedu GSS

22-24

Gardner/Cleaners a. Musa Zakaria b. Ernestina Assebri c. Cynthia Doggu

GSS

25-27

Senior Transport Officer & Transport Officers

a. Gordon Mbii b. Tanko Dombo c. Matthew Andoh

GSS

28 Knowledge Management Officer

Dady Demby N/A Long term consultan

Biomass project

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Designation Post Holder Category Funding source

29 Translator Christabel Essel ts, Retainer and Post Doc

MDTF – Lump sum 30 Policy Advisor Emmanuel Tambi

31 STI Advisor Mandi Rukuni

32 Legal Brenda Afari

33 Consultant Rose Omari – charged to BNFB

N/A International Potato Center (CIP); Building Nutritious Food Baskets program

34 Post-doctoral Fellow Augustine Kouevi N/A Humidtropics

35 Administrative Assistant (Programmes)

Debbie K Nwaozo GSS Regular staff

36 Lead Specialist, KDS Wole Fatunbi IRS PARI project

37 Grant Manager, PAEPARD

Vesta Nunoo IRS PAEPARD

38 PAEPARD Project Manager

Jonas Mugabe IRS

39 Secondment - IT Daniel Ayeni N/A Nigerian Government & MDTF

40 Secondment – communications

Taiwo Elizabeth Owoeye N/A