TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR

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1 TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR VALUE CHAIN/MARKET SYSTEMS ANALYSIS OF AGRICULTURAL CROP PRODUCTS IN DOLOW AND BELET-HAWA DISTRICTS, GEDO REGION, SOUTHERN SOMALIA HOW TO APPLY COOPI Cooperazione Internazionale invites qualified and registered Consultants and to provide quotation for provision of consultancy services as per the attached Terms of Reference (ToR). Kindly send us your technical and financial offers via by 15 th June Submitted bids should indicate the price per unit and should be valid for a period of 90 days from the date of the bid. The bids should be delivered electronically to the following address: COOPI Nairobi Regional Office coord.nairobi@coopi.org hr.nairobi@coopi.org By 15 th June, :00 (EAT) in Nairobi Office

2 TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR VALUE CHAIN/MARKET SYSTEMS ANALYSIS OF AGRICULTURAL CROP PRODUCTS IN DOLOW AND BELET-HAWA DISTRICTS, GEDO REGION, SOUTHERN SOMALIA PROJECT SUMMARY COOPI Cooperazione Internazionale is a relief and development organization founded in Italy in COOPI s envisions a world without poverty where diverse cultures live together sharing equal rights and equal opportunities. COOPI s mission is to reduce poverty in the global South through interventions of long-term sustainable international cooperation. COOPI also conducts advocacy activities in Italy, to fight the cause of the serious economic gap between the North and South. COOPI is part of the Somalia Resilience Program; an NGO led consortium piloting resilience based initiative in Dolow District, Gedo Region. The Somalia Resilience Program (SomReP) is an ambitious approach to tackle the challenge of recurrent droughts and the chronic vulnerability among pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, and peri-urban households in one of the poorest countries in the world. SomReP is being implemented through a consortium of 7 INGOs (ACF, ADRA, CARE, COOPI, DRC, Oxfam and WVI) with the Technical Unit housed under World Vision Somalia for the coordination and provision of technical support/direction to the program. These seven international organizations have deep experience in Somalia and jointly aim to build resilient households and communities across Somaliland, Punt land and South-Central Somalia using their own potential and abilities other than depending hand-outs. This approach was adopted to foster synergies on approaches and best practices by different members to better support the communities. "Enhancing resilience in Somalia" project funded by DFAT is embedded within this program and implemented by three of the seven partner agencies. These are COOPI in Dollow and Belet-Hawa districts, ACF in El Berde district and World Vision in Odweyne District. The project has just finished 2 years while the third year is at implementation phase. The key objective of this project is to increase the resilience of chronically vulnerable people, households, communities and systems in targeted pastoral, agro-pastoral and peri-urban livelihood zones by improving adaptive capacity, absorptive capacity, ecosystem health, local civil society capacity to manage resources, and promoting learning and research. The following is the overall objective and results: Overall Objective Expected Results To increase the resilience of chronically vulnerable people (disaggregated by Age Gender & Diversity - AGD), HHs, communities and systems in targeted pastoral, agro-pastoral and periurban livelihood zones 1. Improved adaptive capacity of individuals (disaggregated by AGD), HHs and communities through support to livelihood diversification and improved access to markets, financial services, and basic livelihood services

3 2. Improved absorptive capacity of HHs and communities through collective action in support of effective disaster risk management, adoption of positive coping strategies and improved access to formal and informal safety nets 3. Eco-system health improved through promotion of equitable and sustainable natural resource management. 4. Transformative capacity improved through support to greater coordination of community based governance structures in livelihoods, DRR, conflict mitigation and natural resource management 5. Program learning and research generated and shared among relevant stakeholders (including communities, NGOs, and government) In each agency, SomReP staff under the grant is responsible for implementation in close collaboration with local administration, clan leaders and other stakeholders targeting most vulnerable households and communities affected by drought and other related shocks in agro-pastoral, pastoral and peri-urban communities. Each agency has frontline technical officers facilitating the program implementation under the leadership of program managers in respective agencies. In Gedo region, the program is implemented by DRC and COOPI for Dollow district in addition to Belethawa district which is covered by COOPI. Current Status The consortium program interventions are now in fourth year of implementation. Implementation of each grant started with community entry process and/or Community Vulnerability Assessment (CVA) that involved creating awareness about the program and needs assessment. This was followed by development of community action plans (CAP) and program plans which helps communities to articulate the needs/gaps, potential activities to address these and what each stakeholder would contribute towards each activity. In addition, a country wide baseline survey was conducted by a consultant for the whole SomReP program. The findings from both exercises helped to refine the activities under the program to be in line with community expressed needs. It was clear from the CAP & CVA process and baseline that the recurrent drought and erratic rain in target areas impairs crop and livestock production across many parts of Somalia. Out of the community consultation and CVA meetings and baseline survey, the communities prioritized crop production under irrigation. The following factors were also highlighted as some of the factors limiting crop production: poor irrigation infrastructure, poor/erratic seasonal rainfall, drought, using unimproved crop seed varieties, lack of access to crop seed, unorganized farmers, poor agronomic practices and poor soil fertility, crop pests/disease, invasive weeds and lack of appropriate storage structures. Therefore, improving crop production for food and income (market access) is one of the key interventions supported across the consortium. The major component of this is in South Central Somalia, which traditionally is an agricultural area. With funding from DFAT, farmers were supported with bush clearing on cash for work to reclaim land for cultivation, crop seeds and tools, and rehabilitation of irrigation canals to improve water use efficiency and irrigation pumps. Training on crop specific good agricultural practices (seed rate, row spacing, plant spacing, weeding, timely harvest and proper storage) was provided to farmers.

4 Infrastructural interventions supported under DFAT grant included rehabilitation or construction of irrigation earth canals for either full or supplemental irrigation. Irrigation is not an option but a must and dominates as a mitigation measure against shocks from drought especially for crop and fodder production. The use of motorized pumps for irrigation using river water is common in Dollow. Like other SomReP implementation areas in Somalia gravity-fed irrigation schemes have limited options because of the flat terrain. Individual farmers and/or groups own pumps from their own resources or with support from other NGOs used for irrigated farming. To date, there are over 90 farmers groups using irrigation pumps to grow crops and/or fodder under the consortium. The common crops grown include cereals (maize and sorghum), legumes cowpea), vegetables (tomato, watermelon and onion) and fruits (lemon, grapefruits and banana) for home consumption and marketing for cash crop and food excess production from food crops. Consultancy Description COOPI, under the SomReP umbrella, has made significant investment in building communities productive assets at the village level through rehabilitation and construction of community livelihood infrastructure. In order to increase agricultural production, farmers have been supported with tools and trained on good agricultural practices of which some key innovations have been realized via share cropping. While production has increased, there is need to move these producer groups to a level where they can not only produce for external markets but also provide an enabling environment to stimulate business linkages. One of the key components of the program is Market access programming which entails assessment and enhancement of key value chain for the agro-pastoral groups enabling an understanding of the key risks and enabling factors to make it work. Supporting the establishment of agricultural crop value chain assessment was identified as one of the key potential investment areas that would ensure sustainable crop production and ready market. As part of activities supporting this program, COOPI would like to carry out detailed value chain/ market systems analysis of agricultural crop products in Dolow and Belet-hawa districts, Gedo region, southern Somalia Several factors constraining the sub-sector include lack of organization of actors, low productivity, and poor access to certified quality seeds, droughts, and poor marketability of products. Most of these constraints also derive from severe capacity limitations, requiring strategies that exploit the potential of the agro-pastoral system that is undergoing rapid changes due to climate and land tenure issues. The consultant(s) will review and map the value chain to identify weaknesses and opportunities at several levels including but not limited to product, process, technological, institutional and markets. The consultant(s) will assess opportunities and recommend specific crop value chain businesses with potential benefits to actors especially women and youth along the chain. The resulting mapping and analysis will identify value chain opportunities and propose interventions to explore those opportunities. Major study audience include; beneficiary communities, Agricultural crops VC actors and potential investors, since the study will help them to understand the market dynamics. Additionally, the report will be useful to multiple stakeholders including donors, decision makers, public policy makers and nongovernmental organisations implementing agricultural support projects in the Gedo region of Somalia. The study findings will be used to raise the awareness of policy makers at the strategic, tactical and operational levels and propose alternative mechanisms for farmers to better their livelihood options.

5 The study will: 1. Map out key market actors along the value chain for Maize, Cowpeas. The value chain for cash crops (Onions and lemon) should also be explored, identifying the key markets and recommend on their viability and sustainability. 2. Identify potential secondary economic opportunities (value addition opportunities) that could be undertaken by women and youth 3. Assess and understand existing informal relationships and governance mechanisms among actors along the value chain 4. Understand the potential risks involved with value chain development in the context of Dollow and Belet-Hawa districts and how those can be mitigated. 5. Analyze the potential crop (maize, cow peas and Onions) value chain market and advice on: The production levels at any given time, seasonality of crop production within Belet-Hawa and Dollow, based on production potential as a basis for developing a market development plan; Maize, cow peas and Onions diseases affecting production and marketing andhow these can be controlled; Existing comparative advantages for crop production in Dolow and Belet-Hawadistricts Assessment of size of markets, volume of sales and market integration Market access and information availability; The potential secondary markets for the identified value chains and their segmentations; Entry/regulatory requirements for different types of the agricultural enterprises; Quality control and other market standards in operations and explore how best this can be done and adhered to along the identified value chains. Most feasible value chain development approach in Dolow and Belet-Hawa districts To conduct the porters five analysis for the crops Objective and scope The project aims to improve production of communities through continued market access and enhance crop production, increase incomes, generate employment and support activities that increase households and communities resilience to recurrent shocks. To achieve this, SomReP proposes a detailed market assessment and value chain analysis of the cereal and cash crop sub sector by identifying: To identify the primary actors and their numbers including women and youth, volumes/quantities, key functions; the supply chain, operational challenges and potential interventions. The analysis will indicate price changes along the VCs together with the margins, market share, sub products and transactions along the VC. The consultant(s) will also evaluate the social aspects, such as participation and governance to transform the sub

6 sector into a robust market oriented VC. Specifically, the consultants will focus on three key areas. 1) Products A. Characterize the marketing of various products within the respective VCs; Supply chain of the products. Volumes of each product availed in the market. Value addition, packaging and pricing along the supply chain. Consumer perceptions. Estimate the market potential and actors at the end market. B. Characteristics of supply chain actors. C. Relationship among supply chain actors. D. Linkage between producers, traders and processors and transporters. 2) Market Potential: a. Establish market size (local and external) and market penetration by local producers b. Conduct a VCA to identify the different actors in the chain, systemic constraints, and value shares accrued at different stages on the chain. c. Identify constraints that limit market expansion. d. Missing or inadequate inter-sectoral or crosscutting markets. e. Estimate market potential of the prioritized products within the value chains. f. Identify local/external end markets including cross-border trade for the identified products. 3) Collective Marketing and Value Chain Efficiency a. Assess the utility and potential for improving market efficiency through collective marketing; propose ways of achieving this and minimum quality standards required. b. Establish existence of any producer groups for the various products. c. Determine the level of market orientation and market integration by producers. d. Recommend process for institutional formation to facilitate collective marketing perspective for the prioritized products. e. Suggest improvements in the value chain system to ensure direct linkages of the farmers with the major markets and increased incomes from their products. Expected Output 1. A detailed analysis of the overall market opportunities for the various sub sector products that can potentially be explored: locations, quantities, quality and other product requirements. Of particular interest is the possible inter linkages between the agricultural crop sub sector and other business sectors and services operated by women and youth and the general retail trading in Dollow and Belet-Hawa.

7 2. Where possible provide data that can be used to make decisions on future investment opportunities especially value addition opportunities in the sub sector. 3. Delineate and examine the different market channels for Agricultural products, outlining opportunities and additional investments, challenges and possible interventions. 4. Provide information on market segmentation and its requirements with a possible examination and decision based on the best enterprises for women and the youth to focus. 5. Analyse basic business support services needed to strengthen the market systems for very poor producers. Identify existing service gaps that need to be filled and by whom? 6. Analysis the competitors of Dollow and Belet-Hawaagricultural crops sub sector, identify the basis of the competition and outline the existence of any unique selling points of the competitors. Further, identify the consumers perception of Dollow and Belet-Hawacrop products and advice on the benefits that can be accrued from branding of Dollow and Belet- Hawa crop products and advice on the branding modalities. 7. Based on observed market conditions and opportunities, outline key future strategic interventions and development required to trigger and stimulate the development of the agricultural crops sub sector in the next 5 years. The proposed strategic interventions will be critically examined for their suitability and sustainability versus the results from the VCA. 8. Make recommendation(s) for a functional business model for Belet-Hawa and Dolow crop value products range. The consultant(s) should develop or borrow a working model that enables vulnerable groups to engage in meaningful business ventures; provide practical and context specific recommendations on maximizing benefits to producers and local traders (both formal and market enablers or brokers) on opportunities in the sub sector. 9. Recommend the most practical and feasible crop VC development approach in line with fragile context of Belet-Hawa and Dolow. Timeframe: 1. Time Frame for the consultancy is 25 days. 2. The whole VCA process should take approximately 21 days to be completed, this should include: Interaction with COOPI Program Management team & SomReP Technical unit, field teams, beneficiaries, key stakeholders and report writing. 3. The expected commencement date of the work is 21 st June 2017 and the final report will be produced by 16 th July Consultant/Team Qualifications The Consultancy team must be multidisciplinary (one of the key consultant should have Agribusiness background). At the minimum, the consultant(s) must possess the following: a. At least Masters Degree in Agriculture, Economics, and Business related disciplines, Development Studies, with a minimum of five (5) years demonstrated experience in agribusiness research and/or practice with good understanding of local value chain development. b) Demonstrate a good understanding of Somalia with practical working experience or research/surveys in such environments. c) Experience of effective interaction with local and national institutions, government departments, and business service providers. d) Be conversant with current business models and practice around the agricultural sub-sector.

8 e) Practical application of cross cutting themes like gender mainstreaming, and gender competence, M&E, advocacy. f) Good spoken and written communication skills in English and Somali. g) Proven experience of using participatory tools and methodology. h) Past experiences working on crop value chain development will be an added advantage. Expected Deliverables The required outputs of this consultancy will be as follows: a) An inception report (maximum five pages) outlining the approach/methodology and execution programme/timetable. This report shall be submitted for review and approval by COOPI/ SomReP TU two (2) days after the signature of the contract, but before commencement of the work. b) Data collection tools shall be submitted with the inception report, for review and approval by COOPI/SomReP TU; c) Draft VCA report which shall be submitted within five days after completion of the field presentation of the key findings to the stakeholders - Oral presentations of top line findings from diagnostic, mapping and recommendations in English; d) The final report incorporating comments / feedback from the Contracting Authority should be submitted within five days of getting feedback from Contracting Authority. The report must be drawn up in 2 copies and submitted also in soft copy (in MS WORD or PDF Formats) to the Contracting Authority. The report will include detailed results from the diagnostic and key recommendations and include the following chapters: Executive Summary, Background, Research Objectives and Questions, Methods, Possible Limitation to Interpretation of Data, Main Results/Findings, Lessons learned, Emerging policy and research initiatives, Conclusions and Recommendations, References, Appendices and/or Annexes and Data File.. e) Final payment to the Consultant(s) shall be made upon approval of the final report by the Contracting Authority. Bid Requirements Firms/Consultant(s) that KNOW they meet the requirements should submit an expression of interest (maximum of 10 pages), which should include the following: a) A suitability statement, including commitment to availability for the entire assignment. b) A brief statement on the proposed study methodology including a detailed work plan. c) A detailed financial proposal, including daily cost per major activity. d) Updated resume that clearly spells out qualifications and experience for the key Consultant(s). (These can be annexed, and are not part of the statement of expression of Interest in b above) e) Contacts of 3 organizations that have recently (but preferably in the last 2 years) contracted the firm/consultant(s) to carry out relevant research/survey or related work in agricultural sub sector. f) Must be registered with the local authorities