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RFP: Consultancy to carry out Joint Agricultural Sector Review in Kenya

Synopsis of the Request for Proposal (Individual Consultants)

Solicitation Reference No.RFP/026/P&A/2021
Title of SolicitationConsultancy to carry out Joint Agricultural Sector Review in Kenya  
Issuing Office & AddressAlliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) Website: www.agra.org
Point of contact for clarifications, questions and ammendmentsAGRA General Procurement, Procurement@agra.org
Email Address for submission of Proposals/ QuotesAGRA General Procurement, Procurement@agra.org
Solicitation Issue DateApril 19th , 2021
Deadline for submission questions and clarificationsApril 23rd, 2021 1700 hours, East African Time
Deadline for Answering questions and clarificationsApril 27th , 2021 1700 hours, East African Time
Deadline for Submission of ProposalsMay 3rd, 2021 1700 hours, East African Time   Please include the subject line “RFP/026/P&A/2021-JOINT AGRICULTURAL SECTOR REVIEW IN KENYA” of the email
Type of consultantIndividual Consutants Only are eligible for this assignment
Anticipated Award TypeCONSULTANCY AGREEMENT
Submission and Evaluation CriteriaBidder are encouraged to register as a vendor via the link provided below and provide the listed information in the submitted proposal: https://ekjd.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/fscmUI/faces/PrcPosRegisterSupplier?prcBuId=300000001758868  

Mandatory pre-registration documents:
1. Curriculum Vitae
2. Copy of ID/Passport  

Mandatory Eligibility Requirement:
– Detailed Curriculum Vitae including at least 3 referees
– Copy of academic certificate
– Copy of your passport or National Identification Card

Evaluation Criteria summary:
1. Qualifications…………………………………………..20%
– Relevant academic qualifications
2. Experience of the consultant……………………………..……..50%
– Meet requirements as outlined under competencies  
– Detailed reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments carried out
3. Consultant’s methodology, work plan and understanding of the assignment…………………………………………………………..30%

NB: Only the candidate with the best technical proposal equal or above 75% shall be considered for financial negotiations  

Terms of Reference

Consultancy to carry out joint agricultural sector review in Kenya

Background

The  African  Union  (AU)  Heads  of  State  (HoS)  and  Government  adopted  the  Maputo Declaration in 2003, which anchored the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) as the overarching framework to guide agricultural transformation,  wealth creation, food security and nutrition, economic growth and prosperity for all. The declaration set  broad  targets  towards  agricultural  transformation  in  Africa  including  ensuring  at  least  10%  of  public  expenditures  committed  to the  agricultural  sector  and ensuring achievement of at least 6% annual growth in agricultural GDP. After a decade of implementing CAADP, the AU leaders recommitted to advancing the CAADP agenda through   the   2014   Malabo   Declaration   on   Accelerated   Agricultural   Growth   and transformation. The Malabo declaration sought to achieve agricultural transformation by 2025 through advancing seven commitments (AUC, 2014). 

Mutual accountability is one of the seven commitments under the Malabo declaration. It aims at enhancing mutual accountability between different stakeholders for actions and results. Under this commitment, the HoS and Governments agreed to conduct systematic regular reviews of the  agricultural  sector  to  track  progress/performance  and  foster accountability. The CAADP Mutual Accountability Framework (CAADP-MAF) was set up in 2011 to guide implementation of  MA  processes.  Joint  sector  reviews  (JSR)  and  the Biennial Reviews (BR) are the mechanisms for actualizing mutual accountability. BR is the mechanism for Mutual Accountability at the continental Level while JSR is at the country level.

Context

JSR provide a key foundation for evidence-based policy planning and implementation. In particular, JSRs provide a platform to collectively review the effectiveness of policies and institutions in the agriculture sector and assess the extent to which intended results and outcomes in the sector are being realized. Through the JSR process, state and non-state  stakeholders  hold  each  other  accountable  with  respect  to  fulfilling  pledges  and commitments  stipulated  in  the  CAADP  compacts,  national  agricultural  investment  plan (NAIP)  and  any  related  cooperation  agreements.  The  JSR  allows  a  broad  spectrum  of stakeholders  to  obtain  insights  into  and  influence  overall  policies  and  priorities  of  the sector, and thereby allowing the JSR to serve as a management and policy support tool for  inclusive  stakeholder  planning,  programming,  budget  preparation  and  execution, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and overall development of the agriculture sector. 

Ideally a JSR review for agriculture considers shared performance indicators in the NAIP results framework that are reported through the M&E framework. This years agriculture spending will be expounded to include all agriculture related functions both at National and County governments and their respective performances and the sectors performance in trade to fill the gap of food security. The review of public expenditure indicators will be derived from the ‘public expenditures in the agricultural sector’ (PEAS) database. The PEAS database includes recurrent and development expenditures for all vote groups (NT and  Consolidated  Fund  Services;  national  government  Ministries,  Departments,  and Agencies (MDAs); Counties; and the Equalization Fund) and expenditures from all sources  of funding: domestic, external – grants, and external – loans.  

These Terms of Reference spell out the scope of work and deliverables for developing the 2021 JSR for the Agriculture Sector in Kenya.

Scope of Work

The consultant will be expected to undertake an evidence-based analysis and assessment of the agriculture sector in Kenya. The JSR will involve the following: 

  • Documenting the performance of  the sector, examining trends in sector processes, outputs, outcomes and changes in key CAADP indicators. 
  • Primary data collection and primary analysis of secondary data based on the CADDP indicators, the enhanced COFOG indicators.
  • Undertake consultations with sector stakeholders on their contribution towards the attainment of indicators, and assessment of performance.
  • Identify lessons and opportunities for the Country to improve performance in the sector; and
  • Identifying the bottlenecks that the sector needs to overcome to enhance performance.  

A JSR secretariat will be established to work with the consultant in the development of the JSR. The Secretariat and the consultant shall agree on the common set of questions to  be  answered  to  guide  the  preparation  of  the  report.  Three broad  categories  of questions will be asked to guide the JSR process, namely: policy and institutional related questions, sector performance questions, and agriculture budget and expenditure-related questions.

A. Policy and Institutional Related Questions

Key policy and institutional related questions include but not limited to, the following:

  • What progress has been made in filling the gaps and addressing policy formulation and implementation constraints as envisaged in the ASTGS/ and the Big 4 agenda?
  • What   progress   has   been   made   in   building   or   strengthening   the   capacity   of policymakers and different institutions involved in formulating and implementing these policy actions?
  • How have different stakeholders contributed to the progress made?
  • Are  the  existing  policies  systematically  encouraging  investments  in  the  agricultural sectors? If not, which policies are discouraging investments in agriculture?
  • Which favorable  policies  should  the  government  promote  to  encourage  private investments in agriculture?

B. Agricultural Sector Performance-Related Questions

The  agricultural  sector  consists  of  crops,  livestock  and  fishery  subsectors,  which constitutes  of  numerous  commodities  and  commodity  groups.  The  ASTGS  and  the medium-term plan specific growth rate targets are given for the entire sector and different subsectors, commodity groups, or individual commodities. The questions include:

  • To  what  extent  have  the  growth  targets  in the  overall  agricultural  sector and  the different subsectors and commodities been achieved? 
  • How have the subsector and commodity achievements contributed to overall sector performance? This should include a review of the performance of the agricultural production and trade using mutually agreed indicators under the Malabo declaration and ASTGS;
  • What progress  has  been  made  in  addressing  the  challenges  faced  by  farmers  and other actors in the agricultural sector?
  • What   has   been   the   progress   and   effect   of   the  various   agricultural   policies, programmes, institutions and implementation processes?
  • What are the key, success factors, and potential strategic and policy options to improve the sector’s performance?

C. Agricultural Sector Actors’ Budget and Expenditure Related Questions

The main thing here is assessing the extent to which the different partners (government, development partners, private sector, NGOs, CSOs, FBOs, etc.) to the ASTGS have met their  commitments,  including  the  composition  and  quality  of  the  disbursements  or expenditures made. The key questions here include but not limited to, the following:

  • To what extent have the different partners been able to meet their overall financial and non-financial commitments? 
  • What  is the  composition  and  quality  of  the  actual  disbursements  and  expenditures and how have these been spent across the different (a) objectives of the sector, (b) subsectors  and  major  commodities,  (c)  policies,  programs  and  institutions  and implementation units at all levels?  
  • How has the amount, nature, and allocation of expenditures influenced (a) incentives of  the  different  implementing  agencies  to  deliver,  (b)  delivery  of  public  goods  and services,  (c)  production  and  productivity  in the  various sub-sectors,  and  (d)  overall sector growth? 

Study Stages

 There will be three main stages to the study. Namely;

Stage 1: Refining the Scope and Methodology

The first stage involves refining scope of the JSR study and the methodology. This will include agreeing upon common research questions by both the consultant and the secretariat. 

Counties will be divided into regions, to guide the data collection and consultations for in-depth analysis and field work.   

The consultant  will  be  expected  to  further refine  the  scope,  within  the  context  of  the overall study questions and in consultation with sector stakeholders, by:

  1. Setting out any additional research questions pertinent to the sector 
  2. Proposing specific  subsectors  and/or  issues  to  focus  on during the  study and illustrate the challenges in attaining the CAADP framework’s targets.
  3. Elaborating on the methodology for answering the research questions, including source of  information,  stakeholder  identification,  stakeholders  interview  questions,  and  a work plan.   
  4. Adapting  and  elaborating  the  report  structure  whilst  ensuring  that  core  research questions and the CAADP dimensions are maintained to facilitate synthesis.  As part of this stage and in defining the methodology, the consultant should compile and review existing literature and data sources.  This may include:
    – Available academic literature on the agriculture sector in Kenya;
    – Relevant (national and county) policy documents;
    – Statistical reports from Government Institutions 
    – Sector reports
    – Budgets and financial reports

Stage 2: Field Visits and Draft Study 

The second phase involves the consultant applying the methodology and study plan:

  1. Data analysis
  2. National stakeholder interviews, which may include:
    – National line ministries and agencies
    – Development partners bank staff and 
    – Civil society
  3. Field visits to counties.  These will include:
    – County-level interviews of politicians, departmental staff etc.
    – Consultations with key sector delivery staff and collect data on key indicators
    – Interviews with frontline deliver staff
    – Discussions with user groups/committees and sector stakeholders

The consultant will draft a report based on the agreed report structure.  In carrying out this phase, the consultant will work closely with the JSR secretariat to ensure that the research questions are being adequately answered.   The consultant will share the draft report with the secretariat.  

 Stage 3: Validation of the Report

Following  the  completion  of  the draft report,  the  consultant will  be  expected  to  make presentations in a variety of stakeholder workshops and to help facilitate discussions with key stakeholders in the sector including Government, development partners, civil society and the private sector, with a view to reaching agreement on:

  • The level of performance for the indicators,
  • Key issues affecting sector performance and,
  • Set of policy options to address those issues. 

 Duration

The assignment is expected to take place within 60 days upon signing of the contract.

Deliverables

The consultant will be expected to provide the following deliverables:

  • An inception report, two weeks after signing the contract
  • A first draft report, ten weeks after the inception workshop
  • A final draft report, one week after the national validation

Responsibility of the Consultant

The consultant will:

  1. Prepare an inception report elaborating the methodology and understanding of the assignment. 
  2. Produce high quality reports that will provide solutions to problems and challenges facing the sector
  3. Build capacity of ATO to conduct future JSR
  4. Complete the assignment within the set timeframe

Coordination and Reporting  

Based in Nairobi Kenya, the consultant will be working as part of the JSR secretariat.  Therefore, the consultant will  be  expected  to  engage  with  the  secretariat  and  ensure  that  any  analysis  are methodologically  consistent.    The  consultant  will  regularly  report  to  the  Agriculture Transformation Office (ATO) and participate in secretariat meetings and briefings.  The ATO will provide the following: ‐

  1. All relevant documentation, data and information regarding the execution of the assignment
  2. Arrange for reference group meetings and workshops with all the stakeholders
  3. Avail a team of technical personnel from ATO and Council of Governors to assist in executing the assignment and establishing a review team for the JSR.
  4. Facilitate conduction of stakeholders’ workshop to discuss the report

Qualifications & competencies

The  consultant  should  have  a  wide  experience  working  in  the  agricultural  and  rural development  sector,  particularly  in  Africa.    Specific  experience  with  the  Kenya’s agricultural  sector  will  be  an  added  advantage. The consultant should have good analytical skills, experience with project/programme management, Biennial Reporting and Public Expenditure Reviews and monitoring and evaluation.  Experience with sector-wide approach  of  programs  implementation  will  be  an  added  advantage.    Specifically, the consultant should have the following:

  1. A Minimum  of  a  Master’s  degree  in  Agricultural  Economics,  Economics,  Social Sciences or related field. A PhD will be an added advantage
  2.  At least 15 years of international experience in programme management, program reviews  and  evaluations,  performance  reviews  in  the  Agricultural  and  Rural Development Sector in Kenya or in Africa
  3. Good knowledge of management information systems 
  4. Experience working with multi-donor projects
  5. Ability to professionally interact at High Levels of Government
  6. Excellent process management and facilitation skills
  7. Strong written, verbal communication, and presentation skills
  8. Strong Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint skills
  9. Ability to function and communicate professionally and effectively.
  10. Ability to communicate and translate fluently between English and French highly desirable.
  11. Female Candidates are encouraged to apply

Evaluation Criteria

  1. Qualifications & Competencies……………………………………………………………………..20%
    – Relevant academic qualifications as indicated above
  2. Experience of the consultant…………………………………………………………………………50%
    – Meet requirements as outlined under competencies(30%)
    – Detailed reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments carried out(20%)
  3. Consultant’s methodology, work plan and understanding of the assignment…….30%

NB: Only the best candidate whose technical proposal is above 75% shall be considered for financial negotiations

Application Submission Requirements

A. Technical Proposal

  1. Detailed Curriculum Vitae
  2. Detailed reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments carried out
  3. Demonstrate possession of qualification and experience required
  4. Provide methodology, work plan and understanding of the assignment

B. Financial Proposal

  1. The consultant shall provide a monthly fee for carrying out the assignment
  2. All applicable taxes (withholding taxes) MUST be quoted separately
  3. The financial proposal shall be inclusive of the applicable withholding taxes. If the financial proposal is silent on taxes, AGRA shall assume that these are inclusive;
  4. Reimbursable costs if applicable shall be quoted separately.
  5. Price must be quoted in USD ($)
  6. The financial proposal shall be submitted separately from the technical proposal and should be password protected. Only the best candidate shall be requested for the password to their financial proposal

Guidelines for Preparations and Submission of Proposals

  • The proposals SHALL be submitted to procurement@agra.org by deadline indicated in the synopsis
  • The proposal and ALL Attachments submitted via email SHALL NOT exceed 10MB
  • 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 the best technically qualified individual

Download full RFP:
https://agra.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/RFP-Consultancy-to-carry-out-Joint-Agricultural-Sector-review-in-Kenya.docx