Title: Recruitment of an individual consultant to support effective implementation of the contract farming model in Rwanda and development of the contract farming operating procedure manual booklet
Period of Performance: March - September 2023
Level of Effort: 42 days
Location: Kigali, Rwanda

Position Summary
RTI (Research Triangle Institute) International is recruiting a short-term technical consultant to collaborate with MINAGRI, NAEB, HEAR, RYAF, PSF Specialized Cluster, and other relevant stakeholders to support the contract farming piloting phase. Specifically, the assignment will capture lessons learned from the pilot to improve implementation of the existing contract farming model while simultaneously developing contract farming operating procedure manual that guides the effective and ethical implementation of the contract farming model in Rwanda.

Project Overview
Feed the Future Rwanda Kungahara Wagura Amasoko is a five-year USAID-funded initiative designed to boost Rwanda’s economic growth inclusively and sustainably through increasing the export of high-value agricultural products. Targeted high-value agricultural value chains include coffee, tea, horticulture and spices, livestock products (dairy and hides), and other emerging values chains (e.g., stevia, essential oils) within the districts of Bugesera, Kayonza, Ngoma, Gatsibo, Nyagatare, Burera, Gakenke, Nyamagabe, Nyamasheke, Karongi, Rutsiro, Ngororero, Rubavu, and Nyabihu.
Using a market systems approach, Kungahara Wagura Amasoko works with and through the Government of Rwanda (GOR), the private sector, and civil society organizations to achieve the above goal by implementing the following two strategic objectives: (i) facilitate inclusive and resilience-focused policy reforms that promote agricultural export growth using evidence-based analysis and strengthen advocacy capacity of the private sector organizations, and (ii) support local actors (government and private sector) to attract, mobilize and direct public and private financing resources and/or investment towards increased agriculture and food exports.

Background
Rwanda’s agricultural system is mainly composed of smallholder farmers who are struggling to transform their production from subsistence to market-led agriculture. Most agricultural exporters rely on out grower production. Products are generally sourced from rural and urban areas, and producers lack knowledge of the exporter’s production plans. The GOR, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), considers contract farming as an inclusive tool that integrates small-scale producers into markets with the underlying principle that there are mutual benefits for all involved parties. Contract farming is a business model with the potential to sustainably increase investments in agriculture while also safeguarding the livelihoods and incomes of small-scale producers. Contract farming is envisioned by MINAGRI as one of the key strategies to enhance aggregation of smallholder farmers produce, increase trade and processing of agricultural commodities, while including smallholder farmers in modern value chains as well as creating forward linkages to other sectors.
In the context of high-value agriculture export sector, the contract farming refers to a particular form of supply chain agreement between farmers and exporters to secure agricultural products with required quality, quantity as defined by national and international markets standards. It is considered an intermediate mode of coordination, whereby the conditions of exchange are specifically set among transaction partners by some form of legally enforceable and binding agreement.
Kungahara Wagura Amasoko’s Policy Landscape Analysis and contract farming workshop found that there are several gaps within the current contract farming model including: side selling due to lack of a legal instrument to regulate the model; lack of basis for price determination; lack of market knowledge, especially amongst producers; and inadequate access to information to support decision-making. For contract farming to be effective and be able to provide mutual benefits for all parties, the analysis suggests this model must be supported by relevant policies, tools, regulatory and legal frameworks. It is against this background that Kungahara Wagura Amasoko is seeking an individual consultant to review the existing contract farming model and develop an operating procedure manual (including a code of conduct) that guides the effective implementation of the contract farming model in Rwanda.


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Objective Of This Assignement
The purpose of this assignment is to collaborate with MINAGRI, NAEB, HEAR, RYAF, PSF Specialized and Agriculture Clusters, and other relevant stakeholders to support the contract farming piloting phase. Specifically, the assignment will capture lessons learned from the pilot to improve implementation of the existing contract farming model while simultaneously developing an operating procedure manual that guides the effective and ethical implementation of the contract farming model in Rwanda. This will be achieved through undertaking the following activities:
• Support the contract farming piloting phase to learn from contract farming users (e.g., producer cooperatives and exporters) to document all identified gaps and areas for improvement (e.g., required incentives, enforcement mechanisms, capacity building)
• Prepare a M&E tool that will be used to track and document the changes during the contract farming piloting process that will inform the review of the model and the contract farming operating procedure manual
• Tailor the existing standard contract farming model- template (CFM) contract to meet the specific considerations of each horticultural value chain (avocado, chili, French beans, passion fruit) and to capture lessons learned from piloted’ phase through interaction with users (SMEs, cooperatives, or individual farmers).
• Based on the data collected throughout the piloting process, develop a contract farming operating procedure manual booklet that will guide the contract farming arrangement implementation
• Support the training of keys players (producer cooperatives representatives and exporters) on the content of the contract farming model. This may include both general trainings and one on one technical assistance.
• Support the validation workshop for both contract farming model and contract farming operating manual with government agencies, targeted private sector stakeholders, civil society organizations, farmers producers/associations and cooperatives, financial institutions as well as development partners working in the agricultural export sector

Deliverables
No Deliverable Estimated LOE
1. Inception report including methodology and Gantt chart outlining key activities, milestones, and timelines to conduct this assignment as well as the template/outline for the contract farming model and operating procedure manual 3 days
2. Preparation of the M&E tool that will be used to track and document the changes during the contract farming piloting process that will inform the review of the model and the contract farming operating procedure manual 3 days
3. Monthly follow up progress reports documenting all adjustments made on the contract farming model, feedback received from the users, gaps/challenges, and recommendations 15 days
4. Draft reviewed contract farming model/template and draft contract farming operating procedure manual 10 days
5. Completed validation workshop of both contract farming model and contract farming operating procedure manual for all stakeholders, including attendance list and summary of takeaways 1 day
6. Final reviewed contract farming model/template and final contract farming operating procedure manual incorporating the feedback from the validation workshop in English 3 days
7. Compile a final report with documents steps and lessons learnt during the piloting process to inform future improvement and interventions 2 days
8. Report on training of producer cooperatives representatives and exporters and other stakeholders on the revised contract farming model and contract operating procedure manual, including any training materials 5 days
Total 42 days

Minimum Qualifications
• Master’s degree in agribusiness economics, business administration, economics, or similar fields, with 6 years of experience; or, Bachelor’s degree in the same fields with 10 years of experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge of agri-business setting, organization, agriculture system, in particular the horticulture market system and stakeholders in Rwanda
• Demonstrated ability to develop operating procedures manual with clear knowledge of the contract farming tools/instruments
• Proven track record in conducting similar assignments supported with references
• Previous experience supporting USAID-funded projects or other development organizations, or projects and programs preferred.
• Ability to work well in a team and with minimum supervision.
• Oral and written fluency in English knowing French is an asset

Application Instructions
Interested applicants are required to submit their application with the following content:
• Curriculum vitae in PDF format (3 pages maximum)
• One-page cover letter outlining similar/relevant work (PDF format)
• Total cost of conducting the assessment, including the consultant’s daily rate, and total number of days per deliverable for this assignment. This must be completed in the provided budget template and travel costs will be determined in line with the project’s operations policy (Excel format)
All questions in regards to this scope of work will be directed to info@ftfkwa.org, cut off dates for questions is February 10,2023.
Applications should be submitted to info@ftfkwa.org NOT LATER THAN February 15th, 2023, 17:00 HOURS. No portion of this assignment may be subcontracted.

Evaluation Criteria
• Technical Capacity and Expertise (70%): Clear and comprehensive description of the consultant’s experience , provided references for similar works (reference letters), and quality of proposed methodology for this assignment.
• Cost (30%): Reasonableness of the proposed cost.
We regret that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.
*No applicant will ever be asked for any payment either to secure a role with RTI International or as a follow-up to having been awarded a position with RTI International. If anyone ever approaches you asking for any such payment, please immediately email ethics@rti.org
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