TOR - To Facilitate stakeholders’ engagement for Gender Responsive

TOR - To Facilitate stakeholders’ engagement for Gender Responsive Agricultural Extension service on climate smart agricultural technologies on selected business, agriculture, food security and life skills

Background

CAAP has launched the Resilience and Institutional Support to Empower Women in Somali Region (RISE Project), through partnership with UN Women, to improve resilience and livelihood opportunities of the vulnerable women and girls affected by conflict and climate change in Jedane Kebele of Shinile Woreda, Somali Region. Aligning with national and international frameworks, including Ethiopia’s ten-year development plan, the UN Women Strategic Plan (2021-2025) and the UN Sustainable Development Framework (2021-2025), the project runs from August 1, 2024, to December 31, 2026.

Women in Ethiopia play a crucial role in agriculture, yet they face significant barriers to accessing essential agricultural extension services. Despite their significant contribution to substantially to farm labor and food production, they are often systematically excluded from farmer groups and their access to inputs like seeds, fertilizers, and extension services is highly limited due to their productive and reproductive burdens. This leads to lower agricultural output compared to their male counterparts, and eventually restricting their contribution for productivity and food security at large. 

Climate change exacerbates these challenges for smallholder farmers, particularly women. To address these issues, the RISE Project aims to deliver Gender-Responsive Agricultural Extension Advisory Services (GRAES) focused on climate-smart agricultural technologies, sourcing, capacitation, and adoption. This includes conducting practical needs and capacity assessment at community and institutions level for household and group-level training and demonstration sessions on agriculture, food security, and livelihoods, as well as developing and roadmap for gender responsive agricultural extension services through digital extension training content development and dissemination. 

The goal of this assignment is to assess existing potential among government, academic, research, private sectors to realize climate smart and gender responsive technologies generation, dissemination and adoption, as well as conducting needs and potential households and community level to utilize the potential. Thus, a roadmap of tailored strategy to deliver and scale climate-smart agricultural innovations to support women smallholder farmers in Jedane Kebele to boost productivity, diversify livelihoods and strengthen resilience realizing efficient and effective gender responsive agricultural extension services in the face of adverse climate conditions. 

To effectively implement these initiatives, the project is looking for a local consultant specializing in gender-responsive agriculture, climate-smart agriculture, livelihoods, stakeholder engagement facilitation and business. The consultant will conduct needs assessment at household and community levels, and potentials at public, private and communities’ indigenous knowledge, settings and practices level and develop a road map and strategy for implementing gender responsive agricultural extension services on climate-smart agriculture and agribusiness technologies for women smallholder farmers in Jedane Kebele. The consultant will provide technical assistance and follow-up coaching and support for the design of capacity-building training materials and workshops for the RISE project. The consultant will generate details of needs and potential to provide technical, in kind and financial support of identified technologies piloting and/or roll -out from public (which would include federal and regional research intuitions, academic institutions such as Jigjiga University, Haromaya University and Dire Dawa University, and other private and development partner institutions including such ad Digital Green, International Bamboo and TRattan Organization (INBAR), Lersha, etc.   

Objectives of the Consultancy: 

The main objective of this consultancy is to develop needs and potentials mapping and develop an actionable strategy for Gender Responsive Agricultural Extension Service through development of a systematic process of engagement with stakeholders as well as regular flow of collaboration, with a focus on climate-smart agricultural technologies generation, dissemination and adoption. 

Scope of Work

The consultancy will focus on the following key areas: 

Needs and Priorities: Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the needs and priorities of community groups at Shinille Woreda Jedene Kebele, and public agricultural extension service providers in terms of agricultural skills, inputs and technologies at household and community level energy and water/irrigation.

• Technical Studies and Reviews of potential: Conduct analyses/studies, 

• Develop stakeholder analysis and conduct consultations. 

• Prepare the stakeholder mapping and stakeholder engagement plan for Gender Responsive Agricultural Extension Services and work closely with the Team Leader to ensure its findings are meaningfully integrated into the project’s strategy, theory of change and results framework. 

  • Technology & Climate Resilience: Develop a list of customized recommended skills, inputs and technologies that promote the adoption of climate-smart agricultural technologies and practices that support women’s agricultural activities and build resilience to climate change with detailed action plan to facilitate practical community level extension packages and digital resources like instructional videos including strategy to implement Farmer Field Schools (FFS) and village-level learning sessions, using approaches like Digital Green, and organize practical demonstrations of innovative agricultural techniques.

• Support the study review/ validation workshop. 

  • Formulation of mandatory Annexes, including: 

• List of defined needs and priorities in agricultural skills, inputs and technologies, household and community level energy and water/irrigation etc.

• List of consultation minutes on the potential and pledges as well as working modalities with government, academia, and private sector to realize delivery of skills, inputs, and technologies for Gender Responsive Agricultural Extension Service.

• Prepare the Stakeholder Engagement Plan.

  • Validation Workshop: 

• Contribute to the validation workshop. 

• Contribute to the timely completion of the validation workshop report; and

• Support all necessary revisions in relevant documents that arise during the workshop, as appropriate. Bottom of Form

Duration: The consultancy is expected to last for 65 days 

Payment Terms and Conditions: Payment will be made in installments upon completion of each milestone.

Required Qualifications and Experience

The individual consultant or consultancy firm should have the following qualifications:

• Valid Consultancy Business license in a related field with Taxpayer Registration Certificate

• The firm has at least 3 professionals with degrees and 5 years of experience in a related field; 1) Gender Specialist, 2) CSA & Agricultural Extension specialist, 3) Agricultural Extension services. 

• Advanced degree in Agriculture, rural development, DRR, business administration, digitalization or related fields.

• Proven experience in developing strategies, training and capacity-building programs.

• Strong communication skills and the ability to engage diverse stakeholders. 

• Experience working with rural communities in the Somali Region

• Fluency in English (both writing and speaking) is mandatory. Knowledge of Somali Language is desired

Required Skills

• Communication
• Critical thinking

Submission documents and Evaluation Criteria 

An interested consultancy firm should submit the following:

• Letter of Interest/Cover Letter (1 Page) on the official company letterhead, signed and stamped.

• Self-Declaration Letter, confirming the firm’s commitment to ethical conduct, including zero tolerance for fraud, corruption, SEA, that they are blacklisted by UN, CAAP, any government and accept the terms and conditions of the consultancy work.

• Valid Consultancy Business license in a related field with Taxpayer Registration Certificate

• A technical proposal detailing the approach and methodology for the consultancy, Work Plan relevant experience and qualifications including CVs of the lead consultant and team members

• A financial proposal with a breakdown of costs.

• Two references from similar assignments (Name, Email, and Telephone of referees)

• Technical Proposal should be submitted titled “Technical Proposal for the Consultancy on Facilitate Gender Responsive Agricultural Extension advisory service on CSA for the RISE Project”

• Financial Proposal should be submitted titled “Financial Proposal for the Consultancy on Facilitate Gender Responsive Agricultural Extension advisory service on CSA for the RISE Project” 

• No physical proposals will be accepted at the CAAP office.

• Interview of the 2-3 top candidates to assess fluency in English and Somali, knowledge and experience to the assignment & context

• Note: CAAP will only contact successful applicants.

Submission Deadline

All applications should be submitted by October 17, 2024, before 5pm, to [email protected]