Consultant: Identification and Profiling Entrepreneural Farmer Groups in Fruits and Vegetables in Kenya

Job Description

Terms of Reference for consultancy services: Identification and profiling of entrepreneurial farmer groups in fruits and vegetables production in Kenya

Task: To identify and profile entrepreneurial farmer groups in fruits and vegetables production in Kenya

Position/Level: Short consultancy assignment

Location: High potential production areas for fruits and vegetables in Kenya

Duration: 30 working days (starting as soon as possible)

About SNV

SNV, the Netherlands development organisation, is an international development organisation supporting pro-poor economic development through the sectors of agriculture, renewable energy and sanitation and health. In Kenya, SNV’s agriculture programme is focused on enhanced market systems of agricultural products through stimulating commercialisation and market access of small and medium sized farmers. In addition SNV supports the adaptation of good and climate smart agricultural practices. Programs aim to improve access to markets through improved quality and yield of agricultural products with enhanced food security. SNV has developed food, income and climate solutions that maximise the benefits of agriculture while minimising its negative impacts.

Program background

The Kenya Market-led Horticulture Programme (KMHP), also known as HortIMPACT, is a 5-year program, funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Kenya. HortIMPACT is being implemented across Kenya by a SNV-led consortium[1] and aims to stimulate increased food security and the development of a dynamic and sustainable horticulture sector, focussing on vegetables, fruits and potato supply chains. The program supports business cases and innovations that can have a ‘game changing’ and lasting effect and benefit 75,000 small and medium sized commercial farmers.

The programme will focus on three thematic areas:

1. Inclusion of small & medium sized, entrepreneurial farmers in market oriented supply chains
2. Improving food safety and integrated crop protection.
3. Reduction of Food losses along the supply chains.

The Netherlands has an innovative horticulture sector, with experience in operating internationally. HortIMPACT supports the transfer of knowledge and (innovative) practices from the Dutch to the Kenyan horticulture sector, through business cases and the application of innovative technologies.

Objectives of the Assignment

Identification and profiling of entrepreneurial farmer groups that are motivated to be involved in projects that stimulate the uptake of improved farming and marketing technologies and methods in fruit and vegetable value chains.[2]

Scope of Work

HortIMPACT is developing business cases together with mostly Kenyan and Dutch companies that benefit horticulture sector development in Kenya in general and small and medium size commercial farmers in particular. Benefits for these farmers can be both directly and indirectly. For several of these business cases individual farmers will have the best chance of accessing the promoted technologies and methods if they operate in farmer groups.

In 2015, a survey of 526 farmer groups in nine counties in Kenya was conducted as an assignment for HortIMPACT. From these farmer groups, HortIMPACT would now like to identify those that are best suited to be involved in the uptake of farming technologies that are promoted through HortIMPACT business cases. That is why this study seeks to identify farmer groups that:

• Consist of small and/or medium sized commercial farmers that produce fruits and/or vegetables on their farm (ie farmers that produce fruits and/or vegetables mostly for commercial purposes, but not large scale farmers)
• Have a sound management structure and qualified persons that are responsible for management
• Are able to provide benefits to farmers in such a way that they can develop their farm and business
• Are aspiring to improve their farming and marketing practices both for individual members and as a group
• Are able to invest together as a group in farming and marketing technologies and methods that will help them to develop their business.
• Preferably keep records of their activities and investments as a group
• Are located in high potential fruit and/or vegetable farming areas, both in terms of production and marketing
• Have a track record that confirms that the farmer groups meet the criteria that are listed in the above bullet points

Part of the assignment is also to describe why farmer groups are identified as meeting the above criteria to a large extent. In addition there should also be a description of the following:

• What are the main commodities produced by the members of the farmer group?
• What farming and marketing technologies and methods are applied by farmers that are a member of the farmer group individually?
• Which technologies and approaches are farmers able to apply because they are a member of the farmer group? (Or in other words: which technologies and methods could they not have applied if they were not a member of the farmer group?)
• If the farmer group keeps records, of what do they keep records and how do they do so?
• Do the individual farmers keep records of their harvests, sales and farm investments? Does the farmer group support and/or encourage them to do this?
• To who do the farmers sell their fruits and/or vegetables? (E.g. local market, regional market, export, traders, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, other retailers?) Do they have any contracts with buyers? This should be specified per commodity where applicable.
• Has the farmer group ever made any investments to improve production and/or marketing of fruits and/or vegetables? If so, what did they invest in? And what are important criteria for the farmer group to make an investment?
• Has the farmer group and/or the farmers in the farmer group ever taken a loan to invest in farming activities? If so, what was the loan for and from who did they get the loan?
• Which financial mechanisms does the farmer group at its disposal? (e.g. is it a member of a SACCO? Does it have a relationship with a bank or another financial institutions? Does it have some savings and schemes of its own?)
• Has the farmer group and/or the farmers in the farmer group ever received training or any other kind of support from an international organization or an (international) NGO? If so, what kind of training/support?
• What are the problems that the farmer group and its members see to develop the group and its business?
• What are the opportunities that the farmer group and its members see to develop the group and its business?

The 2015 study of HortIMPACT already provides data that can answer some of these questions. The study should therefor build and make use of that 2015 study.

Geographical focus

HortIMPACT works in nine focus counties:

• Kiambu
• Laikipia
• Makueni
• Meru
• Nakuru
• Narok
• Nyandarua
• Nyeri
• Uasin Gishu

Most or all of the farmer groups that are to be identified should be from these counties. However, should there be farmer groups from other neighbouring counties that are considered to have a high potential and that meet the criteria described in this document, than they can also be included.

Approach

• HortIMPACT will provide a longlist of 70 to 80 candidate farmer groups. This long list is based on data that was collected as port of a profiling study of farmer groups that was conducted for HortIMPACT in 2015. The data that has been collected will also be shared with the person/organisation conducting this assignment. If the person/organisation conducting the assignment has additional farmer groups that they think meet the criteria indicated in this ToR and that should go on the list, they are welcome to contribute in this way.
• From the long list the person/organisation conducting the assignment will engage with the longlisted farmer groups. This will include interviews with management of the farmer groups, members of the farmer groups, and buyers of the produce of the fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, there will be field visits to the farms to assess the situation of the farmers that are members of the groups. This will result in a shortlist of at least 40 candidate farmer groups.
• The final stage of the assignment is the formulation of a report to SNV, for which the main body will be a profile for each of the farmer groups that are identified to meet the criteria described in this document.

Deliverables

The following will be outputs expected in the course of the assignment;

• A shortlist and profile of at least 40 farmer groups that (to a high extent) meet the criteria as described under ‘Scope of work’.
• A summary of the findings of this assignment of five to ten pages about the common denominators between the farmer groups, geographical differences between farmer groups where relevant, issues that they struggle with, opportunities, and other relevant findings from the assignment.
• Should it not be possible to complete the two deliverables above, a brief intermediary status report is required by the end of April. This brief intermediary report should include an indication of what kind of promising farmer groups have been identified and where they are located.

Available working days

To be able to perform the assignment, the following allocation of working days is projected:

a) Meeting with HortIMPACT to kick-off assignment and work session with handover long list of farmer groups: 1 day

b) Developing shortlist and profiling farmer groups: 24 days

c) Brief intermediary status report (This task is optional: If assignment cannot be finished before May 8 2017): 1 day

d) Report writing and debriefing with SNV: 4 days

TOTAL Deployment days are 30

The allocation of the days in the table above is indicatory and can be adjusted in accordance with the preference of the consultant/organisation that will conduct the assignment.

Qualified candidates:

• Are available to begin this assignment as soon as possible
• Already have a network among farmers in high potential areas for fruits and vegetables production and marketing
• Have a proven track record in working with fruit and vegetable farmers in Kenya for more than ten years, which is needed to be able to assess the capacities of farmer groups.
• Have a proven track record in working on similar assignments and in writing reports

Requirements of the Proposal:

The proposal, to be submitted in English, shall include:

1. An explanation on why the consultant and organisation have the required skills, experience and network to perform this assignment
2. A work plan with:
   1. Detailed approach on how to identify and engage with farmer groups
   2. An allocation of work days as well as clear timelines and outputs
   3. A financial proposal indicating fees for the consultancy, including all costs to conduct this assignment (this should indicate man-days and fees including VAT).
   4. Up to date resume(s) of the person(s) that would conduct the assignment

Application

Interested candidates should send proposals no later than 27 March 2017 (16:00), via email to mgikonyo@snvworld.org cc hmugane@snvworld.org

Proposals will be rated according to the technical quality (maximum 35 points), the budget (maximum 25 points), the expertise and experience of the consultant(s) that will conduct the assignment (maximum 20 points), and the expertise and experience of the organisation that will conduct the assignment (maximum 20 points).

Next steps

The HortIMPACT team intends to review all proposals by March 30. SNV may award the assignment directly to the candidate that provided the best proposal. However, SNV may also chose to draft a shortlist of a few candidates that delivered good proposals. In the latter case, shortlisted candidates will be provided with an opportunity to explain their proposal in a meeting or call with one or more members of the HortIMPACT team. Proposals that are unsuccessful or that will not be shortlisted will be notified via email.

Questions

Questions about this ToR can be directed to Klaas de Vries (kdevries@snvworld.org; +254 703673196)

[1] Other core partners in the consortium are HIVOS, Solidaridad & Delphy, while Wageningen University, and AgriProFocus are associate partners.

[2] For this study, vegetable value chains also include potato