Consultancy Service for "Technical provision for Organic Production on Cinnamon Value Chain"

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Consultancy services
TECHNICAL PROVISION FOR ORGANIC PRODUCTION ON CINNAMON VALUE CHAIN IN LAO CAI
The project: “Women’s Economic Empowerment through Agriculture Value Chain Enhancement” (WEAVE)

1.  Background

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation has been working in Vietnam since 1995. Using market-based approaches, SNV is committed to reducing poverty by catalysing inclusive, gender sensitive and environmentally sustainable solutions for the poor in agriculture, energy, water & sanitation, and REDD+ with essential cross-cutting themes of climate change, women’s economic empowerment and inclusive business.

Currently, SNV, together with our consortium partners, CARE and Oxfam is implementing the Women’s Economic Empowerment through Agriculture Value Chain Enhancement project (WEAVE) funded by the Australian Government. WEAVE aims to address barriers to women’s full participation in the banana, cinnamon and pork value chains, and better support women’s genuine economic empowerment. We will link women producers and entrepreneurs with each other to increase opportunities for women’s collective action, and will strengthen links between women and other value chain actors to create opportunities for women’s economic participation. By working to overcome these gender-based barriers to social and economic development, WEAVE will contribute to overall poverty reduction and the promotion of gender equality in Lao Cai and Bac Kan provinces.

SNV’s role focuses on the development of a higher profit cinnamon value chain for Lao Cai province as a vehicle of women economic empowerment. SNV aims to introduce sustainable production practices with added value by supporting cinnamon organic certification in project’s site and presenting sustainable standards and practices to cinnamon women farmers, Cinnamon Farmer Interest Groups (FIGs) with focus on women’s economic empowerment theme. The pilot project area covering about 200 cinnamon farmers at Nam Det commune, Bac Ha district, Lao Cai province are expected to be equipped necessary capacity to move forward to cinnamon organic practices and being granted cinnamon organic certification as a way for achieving higher profit cinnamon value chain.

In order to improve the value of cinnamon production towards women empowerment, SNV is working on updating the intervention strategy for increasing capacity of cinnamon farmers to apply sustainable standards in their cinnamon production. SNV is looking for consultant(s) to deliver a service package for period from June to December 2018.

2.  Consultancy services

2.1. Objectives:

• to assess the current capacity of cinnamon farmers, especially women farmers and cinnamon farming/production in line with requirements to organic certification and women’s role in organic cinnamon production.
• to propose interventions for improving the quality of cinnamon production and obtaining cinnamon organic certification, including a check list and guide on applying the sustainable standards and procedures to obtain cinnamon organic certification meanwhile promoting women’s role.

2.2. Scope of work

The activities to be carried by the consultants will be essentially composed of the followings:

• Assess the current status of cinnamon production in project area including the aspects of practices of production techniques, the applying of agriculture inputs, harvesting and marketing of cinnamon products, farmers group organization (particularly of women involvement), and also the financial feasibility of organic cinnamon production.
• Set up database (e.g. data collection on farmers with gender disaggregated; mapping and develop production profiles) and propose project’s interventions to help cinnamon farmers obtaining cinnamon organic certification.
• Develop and conduct trainings on cinnamon organic production & Internal Control System (ISC), and develop profiles FIGs for obtaining organic certification.
• Carry out the internal assessments on organic cinnamon application in project area. 
• Support farmers/FIGs with special attention to women farmers to undertake any corrective actions identified by certification body.

2.3. Deliverables

• An assessment report which cover the feasibility of cinnamon organic production, cost-benefit analysis of obtaining organic certification, women’s role in cinnamon organic production and propose practical solutions for farmers.
• Recommended Intervention (Guide) including a check list of organic procedures, a set of document on organic cinnamon production (i.e. Training curriculum for cinnamon farmers covering topics of Internal Control System, record book for farmers; Training report, a computer-based gender disaggregated database of cinnamon producers in project area)
• A final consultancy report

2.4. Timeframe:

The assignment will be undertaken in the period from middle of June to December 2018. The number of exact days will be discussed and agreed with the selected consultants later

3.  Requirements:

The individual or group of consultant should meet the following requirements:

• Vietnamese citizen
• Having good understanding on organic standard, good agriculture practices  
• Proven experience in developing training program and training materials to local stakeholders and local people in good agriculture production
• Having experienced in supply chain management in private sector/enterprises
• Working experience with ethnic minority women will be an advantage.
• Any experience with organic agriculture will be an advantage
• Being able to deliver the committed outputs on time;
• University background on agriculture or biology;
• Strong capacity and experience in delivering trainings on agricultural sustainable production
• Demonstrate strong knowledge on spice sector especially in cinnamon

4.  Submission of the Proposal

Interested consultant(s) are invited to send their technical proposal and financial proposal with the title “Technical provision for organic production on cinnamon value chain in Lao Cai province” by 17 June 2018 to: [email protected]

Only short-listed applications will be contacted for interviews.

The technical and financial proposals should cover the following components:

Technical proposal template

Table of contents

I. Understanding of the ToR……………………………………………………………

II. Methodology/ Approach……………………………………………………………

2.1     Activity………………………………………………………………………………………
2.2     Task…………………………………………………………………………………………

III. Deliverables …………………………………………………………………………

IV. Work-plan ……………………………………………………………………………

V. Staffing plan…………………………………………………………………………

Financial proposal template

Table of contents

I. Staff cost ………………………………………………………………………………………

1.1     Name of the consultants/ position……………………………………………
1.2     Input …………………………………………………………………………………………
1.3     Daily rate………………………………………………………………………………
1.4     Total cost ………………………………………………………………………………

II. Operational costs/ other costs ………………………………………………