Terms of Reference for agriculture Consultant
Terms of Reference for Consultant: Rapid Assessment and Technical Assistance in Agriculture, Dodoma and Singida Regions
Background
The project “Improving food and nutrition security in Dodoma and Singida Regions, Tanzania” is a five year program (March 2017-February 2021) funded by the European Commission and implemented by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and Save the Children. The project seeks to contribute to a reduction in prevalence of stunting in children under five in Dodoma and Singida Regions in 146 villages and 40 health facilities in Bahi and Chamwino districts of Dodoma Region and Ikungi and Singida Rural districts of Singida Region. The project targets families with pregnant and lactating women, caregivers, and children under two.
The project aims to reach its overarching goal through three key results:
Result 1: Behaviour change towards improved feeding practices and consumption of a diversified diet is promoted and increased at community level. (Save the Children and WFP shared result)
Result 2: Production of nutritious crops, small-scale livestock, and access to nutritious diversified foods is enhanced. (Save the Children result)
Result 3: Coordination, knowledge and information management is improved to guarantee efficient monitoring and planning of actions by local and central government authorities. (WFP result)
Under Results 1 and 2, Save the Children will deliver nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive activities, including support to VICOBAs, in selected villages in the four districts to complement a nutrition-specific component delivered by WFP at health facilities. Save the Children will implement extensive social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) activities at the household and community levels focusing on IYCF and household nutrition, sanitation and hygiene, and gender dynamics. Agriculture interventions will complement the nutrition activities through promotion of home gardens, small-scale livestock, and community-level asset transfers as well as support to VICOBAs. The household nutrition SBCC activities will be delivered through Community Health Workers (CHWs) and the Care Group Model and focus on improving care and feeding practices, two of the main underlying causes of malnutrition in children. These activities will link caregivers to the health facilities, thus providing them with access to various health services. Agriculture activities will be delivered in coordination with the government Agriculture Extension System. The agricultural and savings interventions will contribute to household food security by addressing some of the basic causes of malnutrition, principally food insecurity and poverty, through the production of diversified nutritious foods, asset transfers to support food production and storage, empowering women, promoting gender-equitable decision making, and increasing savings and lending practices.
-Under Result 1, WFP in partnership with the District Health Departments will provide specialised nutritious food to pregnant and lactating women and children under 2 years of age in 40 health facilities in the four districts. WFP will target the treatment of Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) and the prevention of chronic malnutrition (stunting) through its Mother and Child Health and Nutrition initiative (MCHN). The MCHN will be complemented by social behaviour change communication at the health facilities and at the community level.
-Under Result 3, WFP will aim to support government authorities, both at central and at local level, to strengthen nutrition knowledge and information management. This will be done through the provision of equipment and training, as well as the introduction of innovative monitoring systems for nutrition.
The project is in line with the Government of Tanzania’s National Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Action Plan (NMNAP) 2016-2021, and will contribute to the plan’s key results areas, including scaling-up maternal, infant, young child and adolescent nutrition and micronutrient deficiency prevention and control, integrated management of acute malnutrition, integration of multi-sectoral nutrition sensitive interventions, improving nutrition governance, and improving multi-sectoral nutrition information systems.
The project will work closely with the relevant Regional and District authorities (agriculture, water, health, and nutrition teams) and the Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre (TFNC), coordinating plans and combining resources to ensure maximum impact, potential learning, and effective and efficient use of existing resources. The project will also coordinate with other partners and stakeholders working in the same geographic area in the nutrition and agriculture sectors.
Objective
The objective of this consultancy is two-fold.
The first objective is to conduct a rapid assessment in the four districts of Dodoma and Singida where this project will be implemented to:
Identify primary crops and livestock cultivated by households in target areas.
Document attitudes and practices in areas of agriculture, livestock and water for irrigation and household consumption.
Identify critical constraints that impact households related to adopting good or improved practices
Map key stakeholders and community level groups that are relevant to agriculture, livestock and water related issues.
The second objective is to take findings from the rapid assessment and design, test and support initial roll-out of the agriculture interventions in the form of training materials, implementation and monitoring tools for Result 2 of the project.
The third objective, which underpins objectives one and two, is to conduct TOT’s for relevant Save the Children and CSO partner staff to prepare them for implementing the proposed activities
Deliverables
The following deliverables are anticipated:
Work plan for three month period capturing the phasing of the deliverables below. This is to be submitted 1-2 weeks after the commencement of the assignment
An inception report for the rapid assessment, to be submitted 3 weeks after the commencement of the assignment, including: preliminary summary observations/analysis; methodology and timeline; planned questions to be covered; and, planned stakeholders to engage
Draft and Final report for rapid assessment that will include recommendations for the following:
The priority crops and livestock to be promoted by the project based on potential for production in target areas as well as nutritional value.
The key negative agriculture and other related behaviors and constraints contributing to malnutrition that need to be addressed by the project
The relevant training and asset transfer packages that present solutions to the prioritized negative behaviors and constraints
The optimal implementation modality for rolling out the agriculture related activities.
Develop materials in support of the final agriculture activities, including training materials that may be required for Agriculture Extension Officers
Develop appropriate indicators and data collection tools for the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Framework
Conduct TOT for Save the Children and CSO partner on relevant materials and tools.
Support partner CSOs with the formation and start-up of agriculture groups and VICOBAs
Collect all agriculture information from all the project districts, i.e. collect data on crops grown (food and cash crops), agronomic practices carried out by farmers, livestock keeping (type of livestock), and food situation in the districts. Analyse the collected data and write report.
Research on water harvesting techniques used by communities.
Explore possibilities or sites where assets like small animals (goats, chicken, rabbits) and vegetable seeds could be available, i.e. breeding centres or seed multiplication centres.
In collaboration with the agriculture project officer for Dodoma, perform duties of the agriculture project officer for Singida during the time his or her assignment.
The consultant will be based in Save the Children’s office in Dodoma, with frequent travel to Singida, and work closely with Save the Children staff in both regions to produce the listed deliverables. The consultant will also have interactions with technical staff based in Save the Children’s office in Dar es Salaam and Washington, DC. The frequency of those interactions will be determined by the work plan.
Methodology
The methodology for all aspects of this consultancy should involve Save the Children staff and CSO partners, to the extent possible.
For the rapid assessment, the methodology should include:
Reference to a recent mapping of agriculture CSOs undertaken for Save the Children with additional consultations, as required.
Interviews with Department of Agriculture and other stakeholders.
Visit and interviews to a sample of villages in each of the four districts
The methodology for the producing the remaining deliverables is up to the consultant to propose and for the Area Manager for Dodoma and Singida regions to approve. Save the Children staff in the Dar es Salaam and Washington, DC offices will review deliverables to provide technical feedback but will not be involved on a routine basis.
Timeline. The duration of the assignment will be three months.
Start date. October 16th. It is expected that consultant start immediately after coming to an agreement with Save the Children.
Rapid assessment. November 1st – November 30th
Design, validation and start-up of agriculture activities December 1, 2017 – January 31, 2018
Required Skills and Experience
Experience conducting (rapid) assessments in the agricultural sector in Tanzania.
Experience working in the agriculture sector in Tanzania, ideally as part of nutrition or other programming.
Experience working in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture and other relevant agencies in Tanzania
Proven ability to work in a collaborative manner and to facilitate constructive dialogue, and willingness to support the capacity building objective of the assignment.
Knowledge of and experience working in Tanzania, and ideally in Dodoma and Singida Regions.
Strong writing and communication skills.
University degree (Masters preferred) in agriculture,
Application Specifications
CV of the consultant
Cover letter responding to the ToR with specific focus on the scope of work, methodology to be used and key selection criteria.
Timeline, with specific dates from commencement to final submission of all deliverables.
Names, organizations and contact details of two referees whom we may contact.
Sample of an agriculture assessment (or similar piece of writing) produced by Consultant.
Detailed budget breakdown based on expected daily rates and all likely expenses.
Annex One. Sample questions for rapid assessment
Agriculture
What crops do people grow in field and gardens in the rainy and dry seasons?
During the dry season, what is normally available for consumption?
Do you produce enough food for consumption for all year round?
Do people have home gardens? What is normally grown in these gardens?
What type of seeds do people normally use? Local or improved?
Do people use fertilizers? When and what type?
Do people use pesticides for their crops? For what purpose (insects, diseases)?
What types of pesticides are commonly used?
Do people use herbicides (weed killers)?
Where do you get the water for home gardening?
What crops do people commonly eat?
Do people sell the food crops after harvest? If yes, how much of the harvest is sold?
Do people practise traditional ceremonies? What types and when?
How much food is used during these ceremonies?
What foods do people purchase in markets?
What are the food prices and do they differ by season?
What are traditional food storage methods?
What are the food processing methods?
Are there problems in how people produce their cash crops that impact income and ultimately food security?
Livestock
What livestock do people keep?
Are there any taboos or myths on consumption of various foods/ livestock products by different groups in the household?
Do people use products from livestock they keep? If yes, how often?
Do people slaughter their animals for consumption?
Who decides when it comes to slaughtering the animal for home consumption?
How do people process and store the animal products?
Where do the animals sleep during the night (where are the animals kept)?
Do you treat your livestock when they become ill?
Water
Where do people collect for home use during rainy and dry seasons?
Do you treat drinking water? How?
Where do the livestock get water for drinking?
How do people store water for home and agriculture uses if they practice irrigation?
If they practise home gardening, where do they get water for watering the plants?
Do people practise other methods of rain water harvesting/catchment?
Do they treat harvested rain water? For long storage
Whose role in the household to fetch water for home use, animal use, and gardening if applicable?
Location: Singida/Dodoma, Tanzania
Contract - Full-Time
Closing date: Saturday 7 October 2017
All jobs close at midnight UK time on the date specified
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