Consultant - Farmer Resilience Rebuilding Initiative (FRRI), Cabo Delgado, Moz

Terms of Reference

Farmer Resilience Rebuilding Initiative (FRRI), Cabo Delgado, Mozambique - Consultancy | Agriculture and Agribusiness Coordinator 

1            Organization Background

iDE is an international NGO with over 38 years of experience in designing and delivering market-based anti-poverty programs in 11 countries. We are a world leader in making markets work for the poor as well as the longest-established market development specialist NGO in Bangladesh. iDE believes that markets can be a powerful force for improving smallholder prosperity by creating income and livelihood opportunities for poor rural households.  iDE Bangladesh currently has eight projects in agricultural markets, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and access to finance with a focus on women’s economic empowerment and climate-smart technologies.

2 Project Background

USAID Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) funded Farmer’s Resilience Rebuilding Initiative, Cabo Delgado program has been implemented by iDE Mozambique since 2022 working with over 10,000 smallholder farmers in the districts of Chiure, Mecufi, Namuno and Palma in the Cabo Delgado province, Northern Mozambique. The program aims to increase the productivity of horticulture and rainfed crops as well as develop and strengthen the market ecosystem for agriculture. The project combines training through the Farmer Field School Model with entrepreneurship development targeting rural entrepreneurs at different levels and with different roles within the value chains. 

3 About the Assignment

Location: Pemba, Mozambique - with frequent travel to the districts of Chiure, Mecufi, Namuno and Palma.
Duration: 4-5 Months 

The consultant will oversee and coordinate field activities in close collaboration with the Project manager (PM) and supervise and train iDE’s field teams (across the districts of Chirue, Mecufi, Namuno, and Palma). As the Rainfed-crop season is currently ongoing and the horticulture season activities will begin starting in March 2024, the consultant will be responsible for the following tasks: 

• Support the co-creation and administration of a training curriculum for horticulture with focus on regenerative agriculture techniques including agroforestry, involving the field team, lead farmers and M&E staff. 
• Coordinate the establishment of 360 Farmer Field Schools following the horticulture production hubs model in the Districts of Chiure, Mecufi, Namuno and Palma, each involving approximately 30 farmers. This activity will be conducted with the support of a field team of approximately ~25  field technicians and interning agronomists as well as 360 trained lead farmers. 
• Design and implement business models and targeted investments to achieve profitability of these production hubs with the support of 2 entrepreneurship development staff and trained field technicians.
• Coordinate the establishment and oversight of 40 shading net with drip irrigation systems with the support by field teams and technology recipients
• Provide continuous technical support and training to iDE field team on agriculture production and agribusiness and through periodic field visits to production sites 
• Provide market systems development and business development support to rural entrepreneurs involved in FRRI”s program spanning from production (of horticulture and rainfed crops, access to market, processing and more) in close collaboration with FRRI”s access to finance/entrepreneurship development team & iDE country programs unit.
• Lead the development of private sector partnerships in the field of agribusiness, agro-processing and related fields in support of market-system development, in close collaboration with FRRI”s access to finance/entrepreneurship development team & iDE country programs unit
• Impact: In parallel with what the project has been doing so far in the core market system and the enabling environment spheres, whether the MSD activities have been able to actively play a role in generating the desired impact across the beneficiary groups, and how much of that impact can be attributed to the project.
• Sustainability: To what extent whether these changes have been adopted at the beneficiary/ market actor level and will be organically carried out going forward?

4 Major deliverables of the Consultant/ Firm/ Organization

The firm/organization/consultant is expected to deliver the following listed deliverables: 

5 Major responsibilities of the  Firm/ Organization/ Consultant

The consultant/firm/organization will work with the USAID BHA FRRI project team collaboratively to develop strategies and complete the assignment. The major responsibilities of the consultant are:

• Collect relevant program documents from FRRI Cabo Delgado Team clarify ToR, and prepare a work plan with a timeline;
• Understand the objective of the assignment through desk review and discussion with the FRRI Cabo Delgado program team and develop the work plan for the assignment;

• Develop a schedule for the field activities, and
• Submit the preliminary draft reports for discussion with the  FRRI Cabo Delgado Technical Team; 
• Incorporate valid suggestions and comments from the team to prepare the final high-quality reports; 
• Present the final presentation and reports for the sign-off; 
•  Present the results of the consultancy in a co-creation workshop involving project management and key staff from the SMT, in collaboration with the project manager

6 Major responsibilities of iDE

The USAID BHA FRRI, Cabo Delgado Program Team will provide the firm/ organization/ consultant with the necessary support to undertake and implement the assignment and execute the objective of this ToR. Such responsibilities include the following:

• Provide relevant program documents as requested by the firm/ organization/consultant;
• Approve proposed work plan and assessment schedule. 
• Provide feedback and approval for the activities and deliverables  in a timely manner;
• Communicate with stakeholders to coordinate their participation in proposed activities; 
• Review the draft report and provide feedback to finalize the report and wrap up the assignment.
• Monitor regularly, and provide feedback and ensure the effectiveness of the contract; 
• Provide relevant feedback to the consultants on activity quality as well as draft and final reports, and, 
• Disburse payment as per the agreed schedule.

7.             Tentative Work Schedule

The Firm/ Organization/ Consultant is expected to commence the assignment on or around April 7th 2024)  and must complete all the deliverables as mutually agreed by both parties by September 15th 2024. If events beyond the consultant's control, such as natural disasters and political unrest, arise and affect the consultant’s ability to perform the services as agreed in the original timeline, the firm/organization/consultant shall seek written approval from the iDE Mozambique for a revised timeline and/or work plan. The impossibility of revising the timeline/work plan due to such events will result in a temporary suspension or anticipated termination of the consultancy contract. A final detailed work schedule will be determined during the kick-off meeting. 

8.              Proprietary Rights

Any document, information, or data entrusted to or produced by iDE in connection with this assignment shall be strictly confidential and cannot be used by the contract employee for any other purpose without the written consent of iDE. This provision shall remain valid even after the completion of this assignment. iDE reserves the right to terminate this agreement at any time with the consultation of contracted individuals.

9.        Deliverables and Schedule of Payment 

The financial proposal should include the firm/organization/ consultant’s daily consulting fee rate (including VAT and TAX). The firm/consultant is responsible for all accommodation, travel costs as well as per diems and it should be included in the daily rates. The consulting fees payment and other subsequent payments such as per diem, accommodation costs, travel costs etc. will be made upon the submission of the timesheet as well as reimbursement forms as per the guidelines of iDE HR/ Admin policy at iDE Mozambique and subject to approval from the consultant’s  direct line manager/ supervisor at iDE Mozambique. 

The following terms and conditions will apply:

• The payment will be made through account payee cheque/wire transfer (account name, number, type, bank name, and branch name is required for wire transfer);
• All applicable VAT/ TAX clearance is the responsibility of the consultant; 
• The contract amount decided by both parties is final and will not be subject to change based on any circumstances;
• The consultant will be entitled to lodging benefit at a fully-equipped guest-house facility in Pemba for the duration of the assignment 

10.             Eligibility Criteria

General experience and expertise required for the firm/organization/consultant for this study are:

• Minimum 15 years of experience in agriculture - especially horticulture, and agribusiness, preferably in Mozambique or similar context with smallholder producers. 
• Fluent in the Portuguese language;
• Experience in the implementation of Farmer Field Schools and Production Hubs;
• Experience in the provision of training to agriculture professionals and small holder Farmers;
• Experience and deep understanding of Mozambique and the districts of implementation.

 11.            Submission of Expression of Interest (EOI)

All EOIs should include the following to be considered complete submissions: 

• Cover letter which should include the brief description of the consulting firm/ consultant; highlight the areas of expertise; and demonstrate past performance. 
• Curriculum Vitae  (maximum 7 pages) which should include:
• Personal information 
• Previous work experience 
• Educational background
• References 
• The evidence of appropriate legal affiliation/entity.
• Proposed Daily Rate 

Interested and qualified consultants/firms are asked to submit their Cover letter and CV and/or Capability Statement to [email protected]. Please write “FRRI Cabo Delgado Consultancy” in the subject line. The proposals should be submitted by 5 pm Central Africa Time on April 7st, 2024. We are only able to consider electronic submissions. Only shortlisted consultants will be contacted and invited for a technical discussion.

           Deadline: April 7th, 2024 (5 pm CAT)

Requirements

Eligibility Criteria

General experience and expertise required for the firm/organization/consultant for this study are:

• Minimum 15 years of experience in agriculture - especially horticulture, and agribusiness, preferably in Mozambique or similar context with smallholder producers. 
• Fluent in the Portuguese language;
• Experience in the implementation of Farmer Field Schools and Production Hubs;
• Experience in the provision of training to agriculture professionals and small holder Farmers;
• Experience and deep understanding of Mozambique and the districts of implementation.