Terms of Reference (ToR) for an Independent  Mid Term Review of the “Catalyzing Market Prospects for Horticulture Smallholder Farmers and  Small and Medium Enterprise in Rwanda” Project  2020-2025 Funded by the European Development

August 2022

Background

Tearfund is an Christian international relief and development agency working globally to end poverty and injustice, and to restore dignity and hope in the world’s poorest communities. Tearfund operates in more than fifty countries around the world, working with a network of local partners, churches and communities, speaking out on behalf of poor people, campaigning for justice and raising the profile of key poverty issues, as well as building the resilience and capacity of local communities to develop and respond to disasters.

Tearfund in Rwanda, in  partnership with the African Evangelistic Enterprise (AEE) have  successfully secured funding from the European Development Fund, to implement a 5-year (Feb 2020 - Feb 2025) project “Catalyzing Market Prospects for Horticulture Smallholder Farmers and Small and  Medium Enterprise in Rwanda”. The project aims to develop horticulture value chains that supply  safe, high-quality products to local, regional and international markets, and increase wealth creation  for 30,000 smallholder farmers, select traders, processors and exporters in four districts namely;  Bugesera, Rwamagana Kayonza and Gasabo. The project targets to improve production and market  accessibility across selected fruit and vegetable value chains namely chili, pineapple, gooseberry, onions,  garlic, red cabbage, french beans and cauliflower. However the Value chain analysis conducted in year 2 of the project, July 2021, has recommended the project to drop 4 value chains (Gooseberry, Garlic, red cabbage and Cauliflower) and focus on other 4 Chili, French beans, Onions and Pineapple)

Project Situation analysis 

The Government of Rwanda (GoR) aims to reduce food imports and increase agro-export by fostering  investments in horticulture. The National Agriculture Export Development Board (NAEB) considers  horticulture as a potential agricultural sector that can generate high revenues from fruits, vegetables,  flowers and nuts. Export value from the horticulture sector has increased by four times (from USD 6.4  million in 2015 to USD 24.7 million by 2018), however this tremendous growth accounts for only 5%  of the total agri-exports from the country in the fiscal year 2017-2018. To further increase growth in  the sector, GoR plans to support initiatives that increase investments in the sector with the aim of achieving increased export revenue of USD 130 million by 2024; by creating an enabling investment environment and mobilizing all partners interested in promoting horticulture value chain. A recent  study conducted by Wageningen University in 2016 notes that the horticulture sector in Rwanda  provides great opportunities for development due to increased consumption trends of fresh fruits and vegetables from urban cities of Rwanda and the regional population. The study further notes that  fruits and vegetables from Rwanda are in high demand and can be developed for the international  market. However, as noted in NES II, horticulture production in Rwanda remains low in quantities due  to limited land dedicated to horticulture production, lack of appropriate production skills and poor  post-harvest practices. According to MINICOM, 48% of Rwandan exporting firms export for two consecutive years, dropping to 27% after 5 years. Currently, farmers cultivate fruits and vegetables  on average on small farm plots of 0.5ha. The farmers are organized in co-operatives for the purpose  of distributing subsidized fertilizers, with less action to support access to markets, sorting, grading and  storage, hence limiting their bargaining power with buyers. Agronomic extension services have been  decentralized through the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC), in order to equip farmers, but  this strategy has been challenged by budgetary constraints leading to limited training by government  agronomists. Furthermore, financial institutions consider small-scale horticulture to be high risk,  impacting on accessibility to finance for investment. The project seeks to address the identified gaps  in the horticulture sector to develop it and thus contribute to increased revenues from horticulture  enterprises. The project aims to collaborate with government agencies and development actors for  greater impact and improved synergy. This will be done by tapping into various government efforts  aimed at improving the sector. 

Purpose

The purpose of this mid-term review is to assess project milestones against the project impact, outcomes and output indicators highlighted below;

The project implementation began in February 2020 and will be completed by Feb 2025. The overall objective of the midterm evaluation is to assess the extent to which the outputs and activities implemented so far have contributed to the achievement of the project objectives. This evaluation will also document any learnings which would be incorporated in the current implementation period and inform future project design. This evaluation will focus on the first 30 months (1st Feb 2020 - 31 July 2022) of implementation period and is therefore scheduled to begin in September 2022.

The Overall Objective: Well developed horticultural value chains that supply safe, high-quality products  to local, regional and international markets, and increase wealth creation in Rwanda.  

• Percentage increase in value of Rwandan horticultural exports 

Specific Objective: Increased productivity of horticultural value chains that generate employment  opportunities and increase household income for smallholder farmers.  

• Percentage increase in average household income from horticultural value chains for smallholder farmers, disaggregated by value chain.

Target group(s): 30,000 smallholder horticultural farmers, 16 buyers (8 local traders’ associations,3 processors and 5 exporters) 300 farmer promoters, 100 commercial trade facilitators and TVET institutions

Outcome 1:    Improved access to local, regional and international markets

• % increase in average annual sales volumes reported by farmers (disaggregated by value chain),
• % increase in average annual sales volumes reported by selected horticulture firms (disaggregated by value chain) 
• % increase in annual sales volume of horticulture value chains exported (disaggregated by value chains)                                                                                              

Outcome 2: Improved productivity of smallholder farmers and the horticultural sector.

• % increase in average yield per acreage reported by producers (disaggregated by value chain)
• Percentage increase in average acreage under horticulture production (disaggregated by value chain)

Outcome 3: Strengthened networks, partnerships and associations in the horticulture sector in Rwanda.

• % of horticultural value chain actors participating in the established networks and associations (disaggregated by thematic area, e.g. finance, input, markets, processors, etc.)

Output 1.1. Smallholder farmers trained on standard operating procedures, quality control and market information system and linkages developed

• # of smallholder farmers trained on horticulture quality control and market compliance
• % of horticulture value chain actors using the promoted market information system (disaggregated by type of actor)
• # of person trained on Global Good Agriculture Practices (GGAP) certification

Output 2.1. Strengthened crop production services (producer groups, input supply linkages, extension services), facilitate adoption of improved and climate change adapted crop production practices for selected horticultural crops.

• # of smallholder farmers benefiting from farmer promoters’ technical support (disaggregated by gender)
• # of producer groups strengthened
• % of farmers who adopt at least 4 of 8 improved climate resilient practices
• # of export farms coded to ensure the quality of produce (disaggregated by value chains)

Output 2.2. Improved post-harvest handling practices, processes and technologies adopted to reduce post-harvest losses and add value to selected horticultural crops.

• % of smallholder farmers adopting improved post-harvest handling practices, processes and/or technologies to reduce post-harvest losses and add value disaggregated by practices
• % decrease in post-harvest losses incurred by smallholder farmers by value chains

Output 2.3 Practical solutions developed to integrate women and youth into horticulture value chains for employment and incomes

• % of women and youth participating in selected horticulture value chain (disaggregated by women and youth)
• # of women and youth with income generating activities as results of practical actions developed by the project

Output 3.1 Agri-financing solutions, Public-Private-Producer Partnerships and a national horticulture network strengthened to support smallholders and horticulture sector actors.

• % of smallholder farmers participating in agri-financing schemes (disaggregated by gender and age youth)
• % of producer groups linked to public/private partners and national horticultural network (disaggregated per thematic area)
• # of horticulture value chain actors participated in National, regional and international events (Exhibitions, conference, )

Scope of evaluation

The Mid-Term Review will seek to assess the following issues;

• Set the baseline for the new indicators added during the project midline (please refer to indicators above in italic and underlined above)
• Achievement of the project against the impact, outcome and output indicators as listed in the logframe and the M&E framework
• Planned and non-planned outcomes and impact of the project,
• Implementation strategies to evaluate what is working and what is not working,
• Quality and quantity of project activity deliverables achieved, 
• Validity of project objectives and assumption made during the project design,
• Stakeholders’ cooperation and involvement for sustainability of project interventions,
• Lessons learnt, best practices and challenges that could affect the project delivery and achievement making conclusions and recommendations project adjustment and future programming

In addition to the above, the  Mid-term Review shall also assess the project status against the OECD-DAC criteria as follows;

1. Relevance of the project - establishing the extent to which the project is suited to the priorities and policies of the target group, the partners, and the donor. 
2. Effectiveness of the project delivery - establishing the degree to which the project has been able to achieve the objectives as outlined in the project document and the factors affecting effectiveness in delivery.
3. Efficiency of the project delivery - establishing how available inputs have been utilized with the highest possible effect, - the quality of programme management and the factors affecting efficiency
4. Impact  of the project, examining what impact the project is having on both direct and indirect beneficiaries.
5. Sustainability of the project - measuring whether the benefits of the project are likely to continue after the project and the factors likely to affect the project’s sustainability.
6. Coordination and coherence of project implementation, examining how the project is been integrated with the activities and priorities of other agencies and organisations (including local and national government)

Approach and Methodology

The Mid Term Review (MTR) will adopt a consultative and participatory approach using both quantitative and qualitative methods of enquiry to facilitate analysis and triangulation of data. 

This will include;

• A project briefing meeting with Tearfund Rwanda to kick-start the mid-term review and an inception report detailing the MTR methodology, the sampling techniques and schedule of activities
• Desk review of relevant project documents  - project proposal, baseline survey report, Value chain analysis reports and progress reports for secondary data analysis
• Primary data collection and analysis - this will include individual interviews/ questionnaires, Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Interviews with target beneficiaries, AEE Field Officers, Farmer Groups (FGs) Representatives, Farmer Promoters, Commercial Village & Trade Facilitators (CVTFs), project staff, government authorities.
• Submission of draft MTR report to Tearfund (and partners) for comments and feedback
• Debriefing meeting with Tearfund and Partners to present the findings of the MTR, and discuss emerging issues  and recommendations from the findings 
• Submission of the final report incorporating feedback from all the stakeholders

Reference will be made to the Baseline survey for consistency and coherence in indicator definition.

Assignment timeline

The Mid-term Review duration will be 30 working days commencing from 19th September 2022. The detailed calendar for the 3 weeks’ assignment will be agreed upon with the consultant with a final report submission date of 28th October 2022.

Stakeholders

The Mid-term Review will involve Tearfund, AEE project staff members, government ministries and agencies involved in horticulture production and marketing including Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB), National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), Rwanda Inspectorate, Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (RICA), Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI), the Ministry of Finance (MINECOFIN) and the Ministry of Commerce (MINICOM). BK Tech House, Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) institutions, the Youth Engagement in Agriculture Network (YEAN), Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF), University of Rwanda – College of Agriculture, Animal sciences and veterinary Medicine (UR-CAVM) and Horticulture in Reality Corporation (HoReCo), Smallholder farmers (producer/farmer groups), buyers, farmer promoters, produce traders, processors,  exporters, District and Sectors officials including agronomists, and other NGOs working in the field of  empowerment as relevant to the project. 

The report will be shared with the European Union Delegation in Rwanda and disseminated to various  project stakeholders. Hence, it should be of high quality and in excellent written English.

Deliverables

These include

1. An inception report detailing the approach, methodology and workplan to be used to meet the consultancy objectives. The report (maximum 15 pages excluding annexes) shall include among others, sampling technique, sample size and data collection procedure.  The report shall be submitted for review and approval by Tearfund within (two weeks) after the signing the contract before commencement of the work. The detailed inception report should comprehensively demonstrate the technical approach (and data collection tools in the annex) that will effectively and efficiently address the evaluation questions within the consultancy timeframe. 
2. Draft Mid-term Review report - including the following sections

• Executive Summary 
• Introduction/ Background
• Purpose and objectives of the Mid-term Review
• Methodology - reflecting the link to the ToR and justification for any deviation from the ToR
• Analysis of the findings
• Achievements of the project against the Log frame milestones, and OECD DAC criteria
• Conclusion
• Recommendations (Specific, actionable and prioritized)
• Lessons learnt
• Annexes - including ToRs, data collection tools, photos, list of interviewees, list of sample FGs and villages 

1. Final Mid-term Review report  incorporating feedback from all stakeholders 
2. Summary of the Evaluation report  (maximum 5 pages)
3. Full set of data collected (both raw and cleaned).
4. Any field photographs of the project sites and primary beneficiaries (including selected stakeholder meetings) and audio recordings of the interviews will be collected.

Qualification and required experience for the assignment

• Minimum of 6 years of working experience in development projects.
• Strong experience in evaluating development projects and in particular livelihoods and food security programmes.
• Strong experience in action research, and conducting surveys.
• Strong skills in quantitative and qualitative data collection, data analysis and report writing,
• Knowledge and skills in SPSS and STATA use and practical application in social research is needed. 
• Prior work experience in Livelihoods or Food security in Rwanda is strongly recommended.

Applications process

• Cover Letter expressing interest and suitability for the assignment.
• Technical and financial proposal indicating review approach, methodology, sampling techniques, workplan and budget in Rwandan francs.
• Updated CV with relevant experiences, formal education and 3 referees.
• Sample report for  recent similar assignments conducted.
• Valid Tax clearance Certificate provided by RRA and RSSB certificate  in case you are applying as a consulting firm.

Application deadline

Applications should be submitted by 17:00 GMT on 26th August 2022 to the Tearfund Rwanda office located Golden Plaza 2nd floor behind Marasa Hotel in a sealed envelope labeled “EU Project MTR 2022’’ or by email innocent.sano@tearfund.org with Cc to jolie.murekatete@tearfund.org  

Applications will be assessed based on the technical quality (70%) and the proposed budget / value for money (30%). For technical quality, the following will be considered: Experience and qualifications of bidder/team, strength of proposed methodology, work plan and schedule of activities.

Tearfund reserves the right to negotiate the timeline and budget with the bidder before offering a contract.  

Note: Late and incomplete applications will not be considered.