Hr Admin FARA

1. 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

2. Page 1
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
sum30 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