Call for consultancy service “Conducting assessment on selected agricultural Investments mainly in coffee and cereal commodities”

The purpose of this assessment is to address investors’ needs for independent technical backstopping, meaningful partnership development and brokering supports to contribute to more sustainable food systems, with gender-sensitive and socially inclusive improvements in land tenure security, livelihoods, resilience, and ecosystem health, through co-creation of interventions that benefits both the investment and the host community with win-win solutions and business models. The assessment will be done based on a pre set questionnaire prepared by the project. The consultant is expected to delve further and have an elaborate note on the questions. 

The needs assessment should produce descriptive, detailed, and clear information on the set questions that will allow both the project and the LBIs to understand the capacity needs of the investment to practice Responsible Agricultural Investments. The results will be basis for both the project and the investment  for meaningful partnership and co-creation of strategic interventions within the context of TLI pillars[1]and principles, while also taking into account the context of the area and the intervention types of each business model and practice.

Specific Tasks: 

The specific tasks under the proposed assignment include but not limited to the following:

1. Review  TLI project documents and related  investment regulations and incentives in relation to Responsible Agricultural pillars and principles: The TLI project responds to Swiss Development Cooperation’s (SDC) commitment to a sustainable food system transition, which is described in the Global Food Security Programme. This Program recognizes that such a transition necessitates an integrated, holistic approach that involves action on all four sustainable food system components: (1) improved global governance; (2) agroecological production; (3) inclusive agricultural and food market systems; and (4) healthy diets and nutrition. It is critical that the assignment be understood within this context.

   1. Interact with potential LBIs and select appropriate ones in their respective sectors: Assess and review the business models, practices, barriers and needs of the LBIs (6) identified by the project. The project will prepare the investments, locations and contact persons of the investments to be assessed. This will ensure that their readiness to work with TLI project and assumed to be good representative of the local context. The discussion points would be but not limited to LBI’s business models, commodities, end markets, agro-ecological zones, business origin etc. The assessment will also inform the interest and capacity of the LBIs to adopt and apply principles of responsible Agricultural Investment (RAI). 

   2. Review the assessment instruments, develop a good understanding and appreciation of the areas of interest; and provide inputs where necessary. The consultant will review and contextualize a generic assessment instrument and make inputs where necessary. It is important to ensure that the  Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) dimensions of each aspect of the assessment instrument is put front and center in the effort to contextualize in order to capture the extent to which LBIs address gender and social inclusion.

   3. Conduct interviews using the agreed assessment instrument for the selected LBIs. The consultant will conduct a desk study to provide all relevant information required about the target LBIs that is already available in prints and in electronic media. This will be followed by an in-person interview with the LBIs. The consultant is expected to benchmark the TLI principles to assess the transformative needs of Target LBIs in agriculture and forestry sectors. The identification of the implementation deficit of identified LBIs in applying the TLI principles with outcomes on sustainable food systems must be recommended. The consultant will mainstream GESI in the selection of interviewees, ensure that the GESI focus of the assessment tool gets the same attention as other topics, the analysis of the interview data and the recommendations

Detail requirements are indicted on the ToR

1. Qualifications, skills, and experience required: The proposal must demonstrate that it will have the personnel for the key positions that meet the following requirements:

• Advance degree in Sustainable Agriculture and International Development, Land governance, natural resource management, sociology, Forestry, Gender equality and any related course with at least 10 years of demonstrable experience  

• Experience /exposure to responsible agricultural investment, gender equality and social inclusion analysis, 

• Experience/exposure to    Natural resources/landscape management, local governance and community development in rural areas.

• Good understanding of land sector (both statutory and customary) land governance systems, 

• Demonstrable ability to conducting assessments, probing and good reporting, analysis skills and commitment to follow a strict time frame, 

• Fluent in English, and knowledge of local languages (Amharic, Afaan Oromo and Sidamiffaa) is advantageous. 

Detail requirements are indicted on the ToR

How To Apply

1. Submission Guideline and Application submission date: Interested and qualified applicants who meet the qualification stated above, should   submit their proposals as indicated below.

Full ToR can be downloaded from the below link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c7GGimC6lJIPgs62nTSGHOH9klSDOvlm/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100196715550210544788&rtpof=true&sd=true 

Both the Technical and Financial proposals should be submitted in a separate sealed and stamped envelope or via email to ettenders@snv.org Title of the specific assignment “Conducting assessment on selected agricultural Investments mainly in coffee and cereal commodities” should be mentioned in the envelop/email subject.  Technical and Financial proposals should be in a separate envelop or separate email. SNV will not be responsible for proposals submitted without indicating title of the assignment on the envelope or subject of the email.

Proposals must be received by SNV Addis Ababa office to the address below no later than February 03, 2025, 17:00 close of business (5:00PM).

All submissions should be sent to: SNV Ethiopia, Mexico Sarbet road Next to African Union P.O. Box 40675, Addis Ababa | Ethiopia Fax + 251 (0) 11 616 6252 Tele + 251 (0) 11 616 6232 or via email <ettenders@snv.org> as per the above guideline.