RFP: Consultancy for Development of a Comprehensive and Multi-Year Food Systems Strategy and Investment Plan for the Governments of Tanzania, Burkina Faso and Kenya

Synopsis of the Request for Proposal

Solicitation Reference No.	RFP-048-SC -2023
Title of Solicitation	Consultancy for Development of a Comprehensive and Multi-Year Food Systems Strategy and Investment Plan for the Governments of Tanzania, Burkina Faso and Kenya
Issuing Office & Address	AGRA: Website: www.agra.org
Point of contact for clarifications & questions	AGRA General Procurement,Procurement@agra.org
Email Address for submission of Proposals/Quotes	AGRA General Procurement,Procurement@agra.org
Solicitation Issue Date	June 23^rd, 2023
Confirmation of Interest to bid for the consultancy	Interested consultants/bidders are requested to register on the link below by close of business June 30^th, 2023. Any additional communication will be shared with those that will have registered on the link below.For Registration Link click: HERE
Deadline for submission of questions and clarifications	June 30^th, 2023
Deadline for Answering questions and clarifications	July 4^th, 2023
Deadline for Submission of Proposals	July 7^th, 2023, 5:00PM, East African Time.Please include the subject line “RFP-048-SC-2023” of the email.
Type of Consultant	Consultancy Firms Only
Anticipated Award Type	Consultancy Agreement
Selection Method	Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS)
Submission and Evaluation Criteria	Mandatory Eligibility Requirement: a) Company profile. b) Trading license or Certificate of incorporation or Certificate of Registration. c) Tax clearance certificate (Applicable to firms registered in Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, Tanzania, and Mozambique). d) CVs of key personnel. Evaluation Criteria a) Organizational Capacity ……………………………………………..10% b) Experience in similar assignments………….……………………….25% c) Proposed approach, methodology and workplan…………..25% d) Experience and qualifications of key personnel ……………..40% Total: ………………………………………………………………………..100 NB. 1. Minimum technical pass mark is 75% 2. AGRA will negotiate with the firm with the highest combined technical and financial score.Weightage: Technical – 90%, Financial – 10%

Preamble

The leaders as well as African Minsters of Agriculture collectively committed to prioritize efforts to address and protect vulnerable populations from the worsening food insecurity as a result of the global food crisis, and to strengthen resilience in agriculture and food systems in Africa. The leaders see the urgency to do so as the continent continues to face challenges of food and nutrition security despite the ongoing efforts through implementation of the Comprehensive African Development Programme (CAADP) and Malabo declaration. The latest biennial review report indicated that Africa was not on track to achieve the CAADP goals and target of ending hunger by 2025. The continental target for bringing down the proportion of the population that is undernourished to 5% or less, by the year 2025 is unlikely to be met by many African countries.

Africa is searching for solutions that will help to accelerate the pace of implementation of the CAADP-Malabo declaration. In 2021 The African countries carried out comprehensive stakeholder dialogues that ended up with the design of game-changing solutions to transform their food systems to attain their goals in the CAADP Malabo declaration. AGRA is supporting African countries in this journey and this assignment is one of activities the organisation is doing in support of countries.

The purpose of this assignment is for the Consultant to support the Governments of Tanzania, Kenya, and Burkina Faso to develop a comprehensive and multi-year Food Systems Strategy tailored to their own unique contexts and priorities, as well as an Investment Plan that shall provide them with a high-level guide on the priorities, resources, and coordination mechanism required to operationalize their food systems transformations in practice.

The assignment will be divided into two phases. The first phase will focus on supporting Tanzania as per the Terms of reference indicated below, while the second phase will focus on supporting Burkina Faso and Kenya based on the generic TORs indicated in Annex 1. The TORs for phase two will be updated in due course to include country context. The changes will not affect the scope of work significantly; therefore, AGRA is inviting the intended consultants to submit bids for the two phases.

Terms of Reference for Phase 1: Agricultural Sector Development Programme (ASDP) II mid -term evaluation, re-planning and updating to accommodate ongoing initiatives and other relevant national agendas

1. Background

1.1 Country Context

Tanzania’s agricultural sector plays a prominent role in enhancing food security, income generation and employment creation. It contributes about 26.1 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country and about 30 percent of the total export earnings (NBS, 2021; MoFP, 2021; MoA, 2021). Furthermore, the sector contributes about 61.1 percent of total employment and 65 percent of raw materials for the industrial sector. Small-scale farmers dominate the agriculture sector and food system in the country, constituting about 70 percent of the agricultural population. The average annual agricultural GDP growth rate from 2016 to 2020 was 5.4 percent (Joint Sector Review Report, 2021), slightly short the target of 6 percent by 2020/21 set by the second Five Year Development Plan (FYDP II). This also indicates that Tanzania’s agricultural sector performance is lower than the target of a minimum of 6 percent growth rate set by the African countries under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). The Biennial Review (BR) report shows that although the country’s overall performance for 2021 improved by 21% compared to the second BR round, the country is yet to meet the CAADP/ Malabo performance threshold on various indicators. The Government is implementing various interventions to improve sector performance.

1.2 Second Agricultural Sector Development Programme (ASDP II)

Tanzania is implementing the Second Agricultural Sector Development Programme (ASDP II) which is the country’s National Agriculture Investment Plan (NAIP). ASDP II is a ten-year programme that is implemented in two (2) phases of five-year implementation periods. The First Phase covers the period 2018/2019 – 2023/2024 and the second phase will be from 2024/2025 to 2028/2029. ASDP II aims at transforming the agricultural sector (crops, livestock & fisheries) towards higher productivity, commercialization level and smallholder farmer income for improved livelihood, food and nutrition security and contribution to the GDP. It translates policy and strategic provisions in the national development strategic framework and the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS), in alignment with the provisions of the African Union frameworks, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and Malabo Declaration. The ASDP II implementation involves all stakeholders from public, private, development partners, financial institutions, and non-state actors under the coordination of Prime Minister’s Office (URT, 2017). The ASDP II interventions are monitored by National Coordination Unit (NCU) hosted by the Prime Minister’s Office which ensures effective planning, management, and implementation of ASDP II projects in partnership with various key stakeholders. The programme entails four interlinked components under which a total of 23 priority investment areas were developed (URT, 2017). The components and their relevant investment areas are as provided hereunder.

Component 1: Sustainable Water and Land Use Management. The objective of this component is the expanded sustainable water and land use management for crops, livestock, and fisheries. Priority investment areas under this component are (i) Land use planning and watershed management; (ii) Irrigation infrastructure development; (iii) Irrigation scheme management and operation; (iv) Water sources development for livestock and fisheries; and (v) Promote Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies and practices.

Component 2: Enhanced Agricultural Productivity and Profitability and its objective is increased productivity growth rate for commercial market-oriented agriculture for priority commodities. Priority investment areas are (i) Strengthening Agricultural extension, training, and promotion/info services (crops, livestock, and fisheries); (ii) Improvement Access to crops, livestock and fisheries inputs and health services; (iii) Research and development; (iv) Strengthening and promoting agricultural mechanization (crop, livestock, and fisheries); and (v) Food and nutrition security improved.

Component 3: Commercialization and Value Addition. The objective is improved and expanded rural marketing and value addition promoted by a thriving competitive private sector and effective farmer organizations. Priority investment areas are (i) Develop market access for all priority commodities; (ii) Develop market access for fisheries and livestock products; and (iii) Development of processing and value addition for Crop, livestock, and fishery products.

Component 4: Sector Enablers, Coordination and Monitoring and Evaluation. The objective of component four is Strengthened institutions, enablers, and coordination framework. Priority investment areas are (i) Policy and Regulatory Framework and Business Environment Improvement; (ii) Strengthening organizational and technical capacities of existing and new small-scale producer, trade and processing farmer organizations and cooperatives movement; (iii) Promoting and strengthening gender inclusiveness in the agricultural sector; (iv) Improving and strengthening vertical (from PO-RALG to RSs and LGAs) and horizontal coordination between ASLMs. (v) Improved Capacity and agricultural data collection and management systems (vi) Management Capacities and Systems Improvement (vii) Development of Agricultural Sector M&E System (viii) Improvement of Capacity in all levels (ix) Improvement of ICT for Agricultural Information Services and Systems; and (x) Provision of microfinance services.

2. The Need for ASDP II Replanning and Updating

ASDP II was designed in 2017 and launched in 2018. The context through which agriculture development operates in the country has changed significantly since that time due to global, continental, regional and country emerging issues and key trends. The country has experienced changes from policy, institutional and environmental perspectives necessitating the need for updating ASDP II document to make it up-to date and fit for purpose to respond the current sector priorities, challenges, and opportunities in the second half of its 10 years’ time frame.

Among the changes that have occurred during the five years implementation of ASDP II are some of the national development goals set or derived from the ruling party manifesto of year 2020 and Third Five Year Development Plan 2021/22 – 2025/26 (FYDP III). In addition, some of implementing partners particularly from public (including the Development Partners) have also come with new strategies to positively contribute to the sector development.

Recently, the government has been ambitious to ensure that agricultural development agenda is still being supported and prioritized by adopting/initiating development agenda including the dabbed “agenda 10/30” that aims to ensure the growth of the agriculture sector to ten percent by year 2030. Prior to this and in 2021, Tanzania joined over 145 countries embarking on a journey of convening inclusive, multistakeholder dialogues to engage around the vision of the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS). In total, 12 multistakeholder dialogues were organized around the country, in both Tanzania’s mainland and Zanzibar. Based on the outcomes of the dialogues, Tanzania submitted its pathways for sustainable food systems 2030 document in advance of the UNFSS. The actions presented in this pathway focus on six levers (1) production and productivity in crop, livestock, and fisheries subsectors; (2) financing agriculture and private sector involvement; (3) nutrition, healthy diets, and safe food for all; (4) climate change mitigation, adaptation, and biodiversity protection; and (5) resilient food systems and livelihoods; and (6) a cross-cutting enabling lever including information and communications technology, gender, environment, equity, and research and development. Each lever explored game-changing actions, with milestones for 2025 and 2030. In 2023, the Government of Tanzania further laid out its priorities for agricultural transformation in the Dakar II Compact. Tanzania’s Food and Agriculture Delivery Compact prioritizes 4 value chains and 4 key investment areas. Since 2018 the country has also developed several other key strategic documents to guide investments in the agriculture sector including: The third 5-year Development Plan and the Food, Agenda 10-30, the Building Better Tomorrow (BBT-YIA) initiative, the Tanzania Agro-Industry Development Flagship (TAIDF), Dakar 2 compact among others. These documents are commitments that the Government of Tanzania has entered. The ASDP II would therefore need to incorporate these and other efforts including drawing from lessons of the implementation of Phase I of the 10-year plan. As part of this, a consultancy is being sought to bring all these together.

Corresponding with technical position of the Programme, the design was extensive allowing for multiple initiatives and investment area across different actors to be included, this calls for assessing efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of the Programme. Thus, it is important to evaluate the outcomes associated with implementation of the Programme and re-designing to accommodate new initiatives thereby increasing efficiency of the interventions in agricultural sector performance.

3. Rationale, Objectives, and Scope of the Consultancy

3.1 Rationale

This consultancy aims to accomplish two main objectives as summarized in Table 1. Given that the Government of Tanzania has developed Food Systems pathways and is committed to implementing them, this assignment will pay special attention towards packaging the updated ASDP II document into a multi-year Food Systems Strategy (for the period from 2024-2028). The updated ASDP II document shall integrate the food systems pathways into the document as well as other key strategic national priorities that have emerged in the country since ASDP II launch. It shall further articulate priority and strategic investment programs/projects, resources, and coordination mechanism required to operationalize the food systems and other agricultural development agenda.

3.2 Objectives of this consultancy

Table 1: Objectives of the Consultancy

Objectives	Details
Objective 1: To carry out Mid-term Review (MTR) of ASDP II	The objective of the MTR is to assess the degree to which planned ASDP results are on target, and the areas that may require improvement. It will review progress so far towards achieving programme objectives and outcomes and draw out lessons for how the programme can be improved during the rest of its implementation period (i.e.,2023/2024 to 2028/2029) for more positive impacts. The specific objectives of the review are: i)To ensure accountability for the achievement of the ASDP II objective by providing information on the nature, extent and where possible, the potential outcomes and impacts of ASDP II; ii) To enhance organizational and developmental learning; iii) To enable informed decision-making while replanning for ASDP II activities for the next five years; iv) To strengthen the adaptive management monitoring and cross-institutional functions of the programme.
Objective 2: Updating of ASDP II by incorporating lessons learned, emerging issues in the country.	Update the ASDP II document based on the findings, lessons learned, and recommendations from the ASDP II MTR. Specific updates will include but not be limited to (i) Aligning ASDP with Tanzania’s Pathways for sustainable food systems 2030 designed in September 2021; ii) Dakar 2 Compact; (iii) Ajenda 2030; iv) BBT-YIA, v) National Climate Change Response Strategy (2021-2026); vi) Tanzania Agro-industry development flagship (TAIDF) among others. It will also propose the rebranding and reinvigoration of ASDP II considering (a) sustained private, public and development partners continued collaboration; (b) governments commitment to continue improving the business environment.

3.3 Scope and Tasks for the ASDP II MTR (Objective 1)

The MTR will cover a period from July 2018 to June 2023. It will assess the programs’ needs, efficiency, and sustainability in achieving expected outcomes. It will collate and analyze lessons learned, challenges faced, and best practices obtained during the implementation period which will inform planning for the second phase of implementation of ASDP II.

The emphasis on lessons learned speaks to the issue of understanding what has and what has not worked as a guide for future planning and execution of the next 5-year part of the plan. The review will assess the performance of the programmes against planned results including contributing to capacity development and achieving of development goals. The findings and recommendations of the evaluations will inform the key stakeholders of this evaluation who are the Government of Tanzania, development partners and private sector.

The MTR will also assess the effectiveness of the implementation strategy. It will also look at issues of partnership arrangements, institutional strengthening, beneficiary participation, and coordination of the programme. The evaluation will include review of the project design, and assumptions made at the beginning of the programme’s development process. It will assess whether the programmes‘ results are on track; capacities built; and cross cutting issues of gender have been addressed. It will also assess whether the programmes’ implementation strategy has been optimal and recommend areas for improvement and learning.

The assignment will also include:

A detailed review of national frameworks, strategies and programmes that are linked to agriculture and food systems in the country.
Mapping out of the ongoing programs and/or projects with clear gaps and proposals for scaling up the weak areas.
Understanding key actors working in the food systems field, and a mapping of different institutions that are cutting across food systems areas such as agriculture, heath, environment, and education, among others.
Understanding financial contribution of the private sector and its inclusion in the national agriculture and food systems investment.

The results of this component will serve to highlight any food systems ecosystems and map the gaps that may exist for improvement and re-alignment for the period 2023-2028.

The Evaluation Questions

The following key questions will guide ASDP II mid-term review:

(a) Relevance – (The design and focus of the programme)

Has the ASDP II implementation strategy been appropriate and effective?
To what extent are the stated outcomes and outputs for the program on track?
To what extent have the program results so far contributed to the country’s development goals?
What factors have contributed to achieving or hindering achievement of the intended outputs and outcomes?
Was the strategy adopted and inputs identified realistic, appropriate, and adequate for achievement of the results?
To what extent have the private sector and development partner’s support contributed to the achievement of the results?
Do the programmes continue to give the expected results as per the GoT priorities in agricultural sector?

(b) Effectiveness- (The management processes and their appropriateness in supporting delivery)

Are the programme management strategies effective in delivering desired/planned results?
Is there a suitable M&E framework to monitor and support the implementation of the targeted results?
Are the strategies and tools used in programme implementation effective?
Is the programme effective in responding to the needs of the beneficiaries, and what results can we show?

(c) Efficiency – (Of Programme Implementation)

Is the process of achieving results efficient? Specifically did the actual or expected results (outputs and outcomes) justify the costs incurred? Were the resources effectively utilized?
What factors are contributing to implementation efficiency?
Do programme activities overlap and duplicate other similar interventions (funded nationally and /or by other donors)?
Are there more efficient ways and means of delivering more and better results (outputs and outcomes) with the available inputs?
Could a different approach have produced better results?
How is the programme management structure operating?
How efficient are the management and accountability structures of the programmes?
How did the programme financial management processes and procedures affect programmes implementation?
Is the contribution of private sector to the programme well estimated?
What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the programme implementation process?

(d) Develop an alignment map of ASDP II to Food Systems Transformation Agenda and other key strategic documents in Tanzania (such as Agenda 10/30, the National Food Systems Pathways and Priorities, BBT-YIA, Dakar 2 Compact, TAIDF, among others). This will be guided by the following questions:

Using empirical diagnostics and analyses, identify what Tanzania’s food systems landscape looks like, who are the key actors and key sectors are in relation to the existing ASDPII objectives?
In addition to the ASDPII, what other national frameworks and strategies are linked to agriculture and food systems, but are not reflected in the programme of work for ASDPII?
Are there key actors working other sectors that cut across food systems, such as agriculture, heath, environment, and education, among others.
Are there existing ongoing programs and/or projects that show clear gaps between the ASDPII and the national food systems pathways?

(e) Assess how effective and efficient the current ASDP II financing model (non-basket funding) has been successful in mobilizing funds for ASDPII implementation.

The alignment map will be used to guide the process of updating the ASDP II document which has food systems lens as per the TORs (see Section 3.4, Activity 3 below) of this consultancy.

3.4 Scope and Tasks for Updating of ASDP II (Objective 2)

The scope of the task of incorporating lessons and recommendation of the MTR, Mainstreaming of the Food Systems Perspective and other emerging issues in the sector is covered under the following areas. The Consultant shall carry out the following specific activities:

Activity 1: Undertake an intensive consolidation and synthesis exercise on Tanzania’s food system sub-systems

Based on the ASDP II Mid Term Review findings, and the gaps identified between the existing ASDPII strategy and the national food systems pathways of 2021, undertake an in-depth analysis of Tanzania’s food systems and key sectors to help identify strategic options and areas of focus. The focus should be on establishing the status of:

food supply sub-system;
health sub-system;
environmental sub-system;
socio-economic and political sub-system; and
Multi-sectoral government coordination mechanisms

Activity 2: To update the ASDP II document by integrating Food System Lens, lessons learned and recommendations from the ASDP II MTR and other emerging issues:

Develop comprehensive and multi-year Food Systems Strategies for Tanzania in collaboration with the Government of Tanzania and other food systems stakeholders in the country.
Integrate the strategies into the updated ASDP II document. This document shall provide a guiding framework for the delivery of Tanzania’s specific integrated and inclusive food systems agenda in alignment with national development vision and priorities including Ajenda10/30.
The updated ASDP document should include, but should not be limited to, the following:

An assessment of where the country is and where it needs to be to achieve its 2030 Vision and National Development Plan. This shall include the gaps and goals.
Clear national goals and integrated targets for each component of ASDP II.
Strategic pathways to achieve the targets.
Details on why and how the strategic pathways and associated interventions would create long term sustainable structural changes, which would create the environment for the private sector to further drive the value chain growth when public funding ends.

Activity 3: Develop Investment Plans and Business Cases

Develop an investment plan for Tanzania which shall aim to give life to the developed Food Systems and the Agricultural Sector Development Strategies.
The developed ASDP II investment plan should include, but not be limited to, the following:

A strong basis in empirical diagnostics and analyses of food systems challenges, as well as existing programs, a set of prioritized entry points and prioritized initiatives, flagships, and enablers to catalyze the national food systems transformation envisioned.
Details on how prioritized investment areas were selected and how they would build on and contribute to other significant public and private choices and investments.
A costed investment plan that clearly outlines the funding requirements and funding strategies for the multi-year strategic interventions. It should denote the types of public and private investments needed, the resources leveraged from producers and other private actors, and who would need to be mobilized to make additional investments.
An articulation of the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders in moving forward, including key businesses and investors.
Proposed approach on how government and multi/bilateral funds could be used to unlock private sector investment e.g., by buying down risk, providing critical infrastructure, reducing market uncertainties etc.
A proposed concrete and sustainable funding mechanism for the food and agriculture systems investment programme considering government budgeting arrangements and development partners’ support scheme, including a comprehensive cost & benefit analysis. The funding framework should also include a detailed programme budget, a resource mobilization plan, detailing funding sources internally – leveraging government’s own resources from savings and new allocations as well as external funds from identified multilateral and bilateral partners.
Financial and Economic analysis to project the expected impacts of the business plan.
The environmental and health impact analysis
A Monitoring & Evaluation framework showing how the investment plan links to the Strategies’ vision, indicators, and targets. This should be linked to the broader monitoring frameworks such as the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Results Framework. It shall form the basis for detailed monitoring and evaluation during operationalization.
An 18-month action plan, showing how to operationalize and deliver the Investment Plan, including a high-level roadmap specific timelines and key milestones. This should specifically consider any expected investments and efforts ahead of the biennial stock take moment of the UN Food Systems Summit at the end of 2023.
Clarity on the inclusive institutional framework and coordination mechanisms for carrying out the prioritized efforts, considering the differentiated roles of both public and private parties in food systems transformation.

4. Methodology for conducting the task.

The MTR of the ASDP II will be carried out in accordance with Tanzanian Government Norms and Standards of Evaluation and Ethical standards. The consultant will be expected to use of qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the programme implementation and its performance and to make recommendations for the remaining implementation period. A consultative and participatory approach should be employed to gather inputs from a wide range of agriculture stakeholders representing the government, development partners, civil society and the private sector.

4.1 Data Collection

The consultant is expected to use both quantitative and qualitative approaches to assess progress on the outcome indicators, agricultural system changes, provide intelligence into our interventions, and focus our learnings. Key informants’ interviews will be carried out to gather data from different stakeholders. Field visits to selected regions/districts reflecting the ASDP II agricultural zones; and briefing and debriefing sessions with private sector, Government officials, as well as with development partners are envisaged. Data collected should be disaggregated (by sex, age and location), where possible.

To use existing sources/information and avoid duplication, data will be collected from various information sources through a comprehensive desk review that will include the analysis of relevant documents, information, data/statistics, triangulation of different studies etc. Data will also be collected from stakeholder key informants through interviews, discussions, consultative processes, and observations in field missions. This phase will be comprised of:

Desk research, review and analysis of relevant documents including the GoT programmatic documents & reports, LGA’s reports, recent studies and research reports, developmental and social reports etc.
Critical analysis of available data with regards to the national guiding documents
The midterm evaluations of the ASDP II will benefit from data collected through the Agriculture Joint Sector Review (JSR) studies of 2021 that included Agriculture Sector Review (ASR) and Public Expenditure Review (PER). It should also take advantage of various analysis by the Policy Analysis Group (PAG).
The Consultant will be expected to work closely with ASDP II Review Team under the ASDP II National Coordination Unit in consultation with various ministries and institutions implementing ASDP II. S/he will receive the necessary documentation and support to facilitate the delivery of results within the set time.
Contacts with industry stakeholders including government institutions, development partners, research institutions, regional and national institutions and organizations, farmers’ organisations, the private sector, and other international institutions are expected, with primary contacts with ASLMs.

4.2 Analysis and Reporting

A mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches will be used to analyze selected systems changes, providing a systematic template to analyze systems over time and to make recommendations for the remaining implementation period. The consultant is expected to produce high quality document in Microsoft Word and a Power Point Presentation.

5. Deliverables and Proposed Payment Schedule

The consultancy firm will sign a deliverable based contract. Table 2 presents a summary of the contract deliverables and expected date of delivery. The firm shall be paid the consultancy fee upon completion of the agreed milestones. All deliverables submitted by the consultant should be approved by the supervisors before any payment is made.

Table 2: Consultancy Deliverables and Expected Date of Delivery

Deliverables	Tentative delivery date	Percent Payment
Inception report of the MTR. The inception report will include a clear proposed work plan with a timeframe for the realization of the tasks and delivery of outputs, clear survey methodology, a data collection, management and analysis approach and tools, a clear sampling methodology, findings report structure, among other aspects.	30^th July 2023	15%
First Draft of the MTR report The consultant will provide draft report that includes the Executive Summary, Background, Methodology, Findings, Discussions, Conclusions, Lessons Learned, Key Recommendations and appropriate Annexes for review. The report should meet criteria for quality and findings should be presented in an easy-to-understand graphical forms that clearly support final conclusions and recommendations for decision making	First Draft 24^th August 2023	10%
Second Draft of the MTR report	Second draft 14^th September, 2023	10%
A summary power point presentation should accompany the final report, and the consultant may be requested to present the findings in person to the ASDP II platforms namely TCD and ASC.	18^th September 2023	10%
Third and final draft of the MTR report and presentations in at least 3 meetings to be organized in collaboration with ASDP II secretariat	30^th September 2023	15%
First draft of the ASDP replanning / update document (outline of the report will be agreed upon by the supervisors)	24^th September 2023	20%
Second draft of the ASDP II replanning document and presentations in at least 3 meetings to be organized in collaboration with ASDP II secretariat	24^th October 2023	20%

6. Key Qualifications and Experience Required

The firms shall be required to demonstrate experience in carrying out similar assignments.

The firms should indicate whether they have presence in the three countries and whether they have in-country experts for each of the countries.

The assignment will be carried out by at least four (4) highly qualified team members. The firm will report to the ASDP II coordinator and an AGRA supervisor. The Lead Consultant will be required to provide regular update on progress to the AGRA’s Country Manager for Tanzania and AGRA technical team that will be providing technical backstopping to this task.

6.1 Required Qualifications for the Lead Consultant

The Lead Consultant will have the following qualifications:

An Advanced degree in Agriculture, Agriculture Economics, Social Policy, Agricultural Engineering, Development Studies, Rural Development, Public Policy and Administration or any other related degree.
Over 10 years of experience in agriculture and rural development at global, regional and national level.
At least 10 years proven experience in designing and facilitating implementation of broad-based agricultural development programs/projects particularly in resource mobilization, planning, implementation management, monitoring and evaluation. Working experience in food systems is an added advantage.
Experience in design and formulation of bankable development projects and programmes. Experience in CAADP and systems related work interventions will be an added advantage.
Strong background working with Ministries of Agriculture in developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan African countries;
Experience in investment costing and financial projections.
Experience in carrying out feasibility studies.
Strong knowledge of agricultural sector in Tanzania (including respective policies, strategies and programmes).
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English. Fluency in spoken Swahili will be an added advantage.
For Burkina Faso, fluency in French will be an added advantage.
Evidence of experience of working/ consulting with developmental institutions such as AfDB, UNECA, AU, FAO, IFAD, IFPRI, CGIAR, WORLD BANK, UNDP, etc. Proven ability to deal with multiple stakeholders and a range of complex agriculture and development issues.

6.2 Required Qualifications for the Associate Consultants (3 to 4 team members)

An Advanced degree in Agriculture, development economics, agriculture economics or any other related degree.
At least 8 years of experience in agriculture and rural development at national level.
Experience in design and formulation of programmes.
Experience in investment costing and financial projections.
Experience in carrying out feasibility studies.
Strong background working with Ministries of Agriculture in developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan African countries.
Strong knowledge of agriculture sector in Tanzania (including respective policies, strategies and programmes) and relevant stakeholders is preferred.
Proven ability to deal with multiple stakeholders and a range of complex agriculture and development issues.
Extensive experience in programme formulation, monitoring and evaluation.
Experience in evaluating similar programmes.
Experience with Sustainable Development Goals and measurement of SDG targets
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English. Fluency in spoken Swahili will be an added advantage.
For Burkina Faso, fluency in French will be an added advantage.
Demonstration of a clear methodology, sampling framework, realistic timelines and stakeholder engagement for the assessment; consultants who demonstrate clear participatory approaches and/or mixed team evaluation approaches will be rated higher.
Evidence of knowledge and use of statistical tools in the rigorous analysis and interpretation of field data, and demonstration of trend analysis in agriculture implementation
Demonstrated evidence of high-level communication and complex assessment/evaluation reports writing skills.

7. Evaluation Criteria

Interested firms shall be evaluated against the following technical criteria:

Organizational Capacity ………………………………………………………………………………..10%

Company profile, company accreditations and certifications.

Experience in similar assignments ………………………………………………………………..25%
1. Provide detailed reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments carried out.
Proposed approach, methodology and work plan…………………………………………….25%

Understanding of the project/assignment requirements, practicality of the proposed methodology relative to the context of the assignment, proposed work plan, staffing schedule, risk assessment and mitigation strategies integrated into the assignment, planning, appropriateness of the implementation schedule to the project timelines and project quality assurance measures.

Experience and Qualifications of key personnel…………………………………………………40%

(As outlined in section 6 above)

Total Score……………………………………………………………………………………………………….100%

Note:

Minimum technical score – 75%
Selection Method – Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS)
Weightage: Technical – 90%, Financial – 10%

8. Copyright

All materials / documents arising out of this consultancy work shall remain the property of AGRA.

9. Application Submission Requirements

a) Technical proposal

Company profile, Certifications and accreditations.
Proposed Methodology, approach and workplan with clear timelines.
Detailed reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments carried out.
Proposed key staff, their roles including their CVs, academic and professional certificates.
The technical proposal shall not exceed 15 pages. CVs, copies of academic certificates and other supporting documentation may be attached as annexes.

b) Financial Proposal

The firm shall provide financial proposals for carrying out the assignment, separately for Phase 1 and Phase 2. The breakdown of unit and total fees per person (for each proposed consultant) shall be provided. Use the templates provided under Annexes B, C and D for the financial proposal. You may modify them where necessary.
Reimbursable costs if applicable shall be quoted separately. The consultant is required to submit a detailed budget that will include the following reimbursable costs (if required): a. Visa costs. b. Travel costs. c. The translation costs for the final report d. Proofreading and layout of the final report. These will be reimbursed based on actual cost incurred.
Professional fees shall include the applicable withholding tax.
VAT shall be quoted separately and is only applicable to firms registered in the following countries (Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Mozambique).
If the financial proposal is silent on taxes, AGRA shall assume that these are inclusive.
Prices must be quoted in both USD and GBP. Contracting will be in GBP and bidders are encouraged to have a GBP bank account.
The financial proposal shall be sent as a separate attachment and MUST be password protected.

10. Guidelines for Preparations and Submission of Proposals

The Proposals shall be prepared in English Language.
The proposals SHALL be submitted to procurement@agra.org by the deadline indicated in the synopsis.
The technical proposal shall not exceed 15 pages. CVs and certificates should be added under annexes.
The proposal and ALL Attachments submitted via email SHALL NOT exceed 10MB. The technical proposal shall not exceed 15 pages.
VALIDITY of the proposal shall be for a period of 90 days from the date of bid closure.
Financial proposal shall be sent as a separate attachment and MUST be password protected. The password shall be requested from firm(s) that attain a score of 75% and above.

Download full RFP:

https://agra.org/archive/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/RFP-048-SC-2023-Revised-002.docx