Consultant for Value Chain Analyses for Fruits, Vegetables and Cereals

Company Description

SNV is a mission-driven global development partner working in more than 20 countries across Africa and Asia. Building on 60 years of experience and grounded in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we work on the core themes of gender equality and social inclusion, climate adaptation and mitigation, and strong institutions and effective governance. Together with our team of over 1,600 people, our mission is to strengthen capacities and catalyse partnerships that transform the agri-food, energy, and water systems, which enable sustainable and more equitable lives for all.

Overview of the Position

In preparation for the implementation of the project “Promoting Climate-resilient Cereal and Horticulture Value Chains (PCAV) in South Sudan”, SNV is recruiting a consultancy firm to undertake value chain analyses. The prioritized value chains include cereals, fruits and vegetables.

The project is the component implemented by SNV in a larger 4-year programme. The project aims to promote green, sustainable, and climate-resilient economic development; and to contribute to improved food and nutrition security and resilience to shocks in South Sudan. It seeks to improve the livelihoods of 9,250 smallholder farmers with increased sustainable production, access to markets and incomes. The component by SNV will be implemented in Juba, Torit and Yambio Counties, but the Value Chain Analyses is expected to take a broader geographical view.

Job Description

The objective of the assignment is to provide an in-depth understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the up and down stream markets for sustainable growth of the selected value chains, provide technically based suggestions for the most appropriate VCs within a particular context as well as identify opportunities for integration of men, women and youth thereby providing improved livelihood opportunities. 

Sub-objectives include:

• A detailed identification of potential project target groups.
• An overview of VC actors, including service providers, buyers, companies, which are of interest to explore further engagement.
• Identification of growth trends and growth opportunities for the integration of smallholder farmers, local entrepreneurs, women and youth.
• Assessment of opportunities to support resilience of households and climate change adaptation and mitigation
• Estimations of Volumes and values to be traded based upon currently available figures.
• Differentiation between local, regional and global VCs
• Detailed descriptions of potential benefits and/or risks of smallholders to take part in particular VCs.
• A sensitive assessment of potential negative implications of getting involved in particular VCs (distorting already established VCs within a society)

Activities to be undertaken under this assignment

Activity 1: Prepare an Inception Report for the implementation of the work. This report will be submitted a few days after signing the contract, and includes amongst others an updated methodology, updated work plan, list of key stakeholders, organizations and projects for consultation, list of questions for different categories of interviewees, list of secondary resources. It will also highlight which ‘good practices’ the consultancy will apply in its assignment. The report will also present collected value chain information, which can be presented at the Inception Workshop. The Inception Report will include an inception workshop programme.

Activity 2: Prepare for and implement the VCA Inception Workshop. This will be held in each of the three counties. A PPT presentation will be prepared to explain the purpose and activities, the stakeholders already identified, a tentative programme, etc. It will also include detailed descriptions of proposed VC in each county shall be described in detail in the respective county. The programme should provide workshop participants the opportunity to question, correct, add and suggest. The Inception Workshop report should amongst other highlight which new insights have been gained or how the detailed workplan has been adjusted.

Activity 3: Identification of potential productions areas. This will include a list of production areas with rural smallholders, identified farmer groups, cooperatives, including contact details, other relevant characteristics (key crops, women-only group, youth group, etc.). It will also include whether and from which project they have recently received or are still receiving support. They will form the basis for selecting participants for the baseline survey which falls under another RFP.

Activity 4: Implement the fieldwork, collect secondary data and analyze the selected VCs following the agreed VCA outline. This will include:

1. Key statistics and synthetic info on end markets for each VC, latest market situation, market dynamics, trends and opportunities. This is not limited to the 3 counties, but includes key markets in South Sudan, major product flows within the country, import and export flows.
2. Interviews with VC actors, including producers, service providers, input suppliers, traders, processors and market operators identifying current status, challenges and opportunities, value chain functioning, flows, etc.
3. Maps of the VCs, generalized VC flowchart, showing physical and financial flows and key actors, including identifying involvement of youth/youth groups and women/women groups, private sector players working in the VCs.
4. Description of the enabling environment for smallholder production, women and youth engagement in the selected VCs. (national policies, regulations and laws; sociocultural elements; physical infrastructural elements; Mechanization, ICT and digital agriculture), with an emphasis on empowering the more vulnerable and marginalized groups.
5. Assessment of VC governance and smallholder, women, youth representation within governance mechanisms; overview of relevant policies and institutions within the agricultural sector and their effectiveness; policy or legislative frameworks that support or impede SMEs/agribusinesses in the selected value chains.
6. Description of the current level of engagement, entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for men, women and youth in each core VC function (production, aggregation, processing and distribution), with attention for the challenges that specific groups (smallholder, women, youth) face, the most common business models/production methods that they adopt and the employment and working conditions that they face (e.g. employment status, type of contracts for wage workers, formality/informality, access to social security, pay levels, application of occupational safety and health measures);
7. Assessment of the supply and demand of VC support services and their capacity to address needs of smallholder producers, women and youth entrepreneurs, disaggregated by sex (e.g. seeds provision, agro-inputs access, financial services, etc.). Support services include a wide range from financial services, BDS services, tractor services, seedling producers, etc. Given the recent challenges of financial service provision, specific emphasis will be put on assessing the current access to finance in the targeted VCs, the supply of adapted financial services (including VSLAs, SACCOs, MFIs) but also other forms of financial arrangements (i.e. contract farming, inputs on credit, etc.).
8. Identification of promising VC business and employment opportunities for men, women and youth in each node of the VC as well as in service provision, taking into account aspects of job quality, migration and environmental sustainability/green jobs.
9. Identification of the companies active in the selected value chains in South Sudan. Including potential and interest to develop partnership with the project that benefit the company and the target groups of the project.
10. Gross Margin Analysis for 4 vegetables, 3 fruits, maize and sorghum.
11. Assessment of opportunities to support household resilience and climate change adaption in the selected VCs.
12. SWOT analysis of each VC in terms of growth opportunities in different VC segments and service provision.
13. Note: The information presented should be gender-sensitive and assess the specific challenges faced by women and youth.

Activity 5: Prepare and implement the VCA Validation Workshop in 3 counties. The results of the Value Chain Analyses will be presented through a PPT presentation to validate the insights, conclusions and recommendations, to identify gaps in the analysis and additional challenges and opportunities in the selected Value Chains. The workshop programme should give ample opportunities for interaction with the participants.

Activity 6: Synthesizing all information and writing the report. The Table of Content of the report will be agreed in advance. Include small cases to illustrate the analysis. Support descriptions where possible with data. First a complete draft report will be submitted, after which the questions, suggestions and feedback as well as identified gaps can taken into account for the final report. If required, more rounds of consultation might be required.

Qualifications

• Minimum qualification of lead consultant is Masters’ level degree with at least ten years’ experience
• Proficiency in oral and written English. Proficiency in spoken Arabic. Proficiency in other local languages will be a preference.
• Proven track record in applying Value Chain Analyses in the agricultural sector.
• Proven understanding and experience of market-oriented agriculture development, private sector development, inclusive business models.
• Experience with gender-based value chain analysis and women economic empowerment initiatives.
• Excellent communication, interviewing, facilitation skills and report building with farmers, farmer groups, government stakeholders, private sector actors.
• Experience in various data collection and interview methodologies
• Demonstrated experience in analyzing complex situations
• Demonstrated experience in well written, well structured, concise reports

Additional Information

Timeline

The assignment is expected to start February 1 and finalise the assignment by end of March 2025. The Report of identified production areas will need to be submitted before March 1, as this will be used for undertaking base-line surveys.

Level of Effort

The level of effort is estimated at 50 working days for the consultancy team. This will be elaborated in the proposal by the consultant.

The consultant should assume he/she is responsible for organising workshops, travel arrangements, security, etc., and that should be taken up in the proposal. SNV might decide to take on specific tasks, but this will be discussed and decided at the contracting stage.

Payment

The following instalments apply:

• 30% at time of contract signing
• 40% at submission of complete draft VCA report
• 30% at finalisation of the assignment

Proposal requirements

The proposal should include:

A) Technical proposal

This includes:

1. Cover letter, signed by the head of the consultancy firm.
2. Technical proposal which should include amongst others a description of a) critical assessment of the terms of the assignment, b) proposed methodological approach to VCA; c) realistic workplan.
3. CVs of the a) lead consultant, b) other associates involved. These experts will be directly involved in the implementation of the assignment.
4. Relevant track record of similar assignments
5. At least two reports of similar assignments
6. Three references of clients for whom similar assignments have been completed.

B) Financial proposal

This includes:

1. Proposed budget with all required costs, including transport, workshops, etc., aligned to the workplan. Daily fees and number of working days of the different consultants involved should be visible.

C) Mandatory Requirements

If you are applying as a company, the following requirements are mandatory:

1. Certificate of registration
2. Operation License
3. Tax compliance certificate
4. Chamber of commerce

Failure to meet any of the above requirements will result in disqualification.

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