Individual Consultant: Support the Design of the Agricultural Land Rental Market Policy in Rwanda

Job Description

Background

Over the years, AGRA has been supporting governments to champion policy and regulatory reforms that drive inclusive transformation of agriculture and create incentives for increased private sector participation in markets, which increases competition and enhances efficiency. AGRA believes that agricultural sector development in Africa requires appropriate policy and regulatory reforms to create the necessary landscape to achieve sustainable growth. Over the years, governments, development partners and other actors have worked on numerous initiatives to try to address this. Although some good policies have been passed, the challenge remains, are these policies being effectively implemented? One of the principal challenges is that use of evidence and data to guide policy decisions and implementation remains a challenge. This is further compounded by the fact that there is insufficient (and often inadequate) local institutional and individual capacity to consolidate and translate this information to inform policy implementation. to address these challenges, AGRA has partnered with Ganz Africa to help create the next generation of evidence-based policy implementation experts who can support African governments to generate data as well as provide analytics to translate the evidence into implementable policy actions. Ganz Africa and AGRA will implement this initiative by placing policy fellows within Ministries of Agriculture in Rwanda and Kenya, where they will work on existing policies AGRA is supporting as well as new ones, with technical and leadership guidance and support from Ganz Africa and AGRA experienced policy teams. The fellows will also support the ministries to monitor policy implementation progress. In Rwanda, the priority will be to support the design Agricultural Land Rental Market Policy. In pursuit of this objective, AGRA and Ganz Africa are therefore seeking technical services to undertake an initial analysis of land use optimization for agriculture in Rwanda, review the existing land policies and therefore develop a land an agricultural land rental market policy. This will be crucial to policy work in the country and will guide investments and support packages for enhancing efficiencies in the land markets.

Objective of the Consultancy

The overall objective of the assignment is to support the design of Agricultural Land Rental Market Policy in Rwanda. The agricultural land rental market plays a vital role in facilitating agricultural production and supporting the overall efficiency and productivity of the agricultural sector. It allows for the optimal use of land resources by matching available land with farmers who can utilize it effectively. Therefore, the assignment will involve studies to ascertain the status of land markets in Rwanda and designing a model that is aligned with international best practices.

Scope of Work

Undertake an initial analysis of land use optimization for agriculture in Rwanda. Mixed methods approaches can be deployed to unpack a number of questions, including:

• Assess agricultural land acquisition processes and bottlenecks for agricultural investments
• Assess available land for potential large and medium scale agriculture investments
• Assess existing land leasing models
• Assess land suitability analysis for large and medium scale agriculture investments

Assess the best practice for agricultural land rental market around the world.

Review the current land categorization for agricultural use in Rwanda. For example, this categorization could follow the following:

• Government owned land and not commercially developed.
• Government owned land that is developed or used for agriculture.
• Private owned land with a clear title [or Unique Parcel Identifier (UPI)]
• Purely private land that is either being used, not being used, partially used, or poorly exploited.

Review the land policy and identify or define rules that govern land acquisition, leasing models, and where required.

Design a comprehensive land and agricultural land rental market policy.

Develop a land acquisition process for agricultural investments based on current regulations

Propose an investor friendly land acquisition processes for agricultural investments

Duration of the Assignment

The assignment is expected to be done over a period of 4 months. The consultant is expected to indicate the level of effort needed to achieve the deliverables.

Location of assignment

The consultant is expected to work from the Ministry of Agriculture in Rwanda.

Key Qualifications and Experience Required

The consultant should possess the following qualifications and expertise:

1. Minimum 8 years of experience in land policy related work and assessments on the African continent including strategy and investment plan design.
2. Evidence of knowledge and demonstration of supporting development of policy and regulatory reforms, guidelines, and procedures in agriculture.
3. Deep knowledge and experience in agricultural and land markets, including experiences in analytics and models for land rental markets.
4. Past related experience in land issues, governance, and markets in sub-Saharan Africa.
5. Previous experience of conducting similar analyses of African agriculture
6. In-country presence and in-depth knowledge of the policy landscape in Rwanda.
7. Experience in working with government agencies, private sector and development partners is an added advantage.
8. Good references for reliability, dedication, and an ability to work unsupervised.
9. Previous experience in providing technical support/conducting assessments to the AGRA target countries is an advantage.

DEADLINE: 31 October 2023

About the Organization

AGRA works to achieve a food secure and prosperous Africa through the promotion of rapid, sustainable agricultural growth based on smallholder farmers. Smallholders--the majority women--produce most of Africa's food, and do so with minimal resources and little government support. AGRA aims to ensure that smallholders have what they need to succeed: good seeds and healthy soils; access to markets, information, financing, storage and transport; and policies that provide them with comprehensive support. Through developing Africa's high-potential breadbasket areas, while also boosting farm productivity across more challenging environments, AGRA works to transform smallholder agriculture into a highly productive, efficient, sustainable and competitive system, and do so while protecting the environment.