Farmer mobilisation, identification, and group formation expert – NS4Y

Consultancy Opportunity

1. CASA PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

CASA is an FCDO-International Climate Finance (ICF) funded programme driving global investment for inclusive climate-resilient agri-food systems that increase smallholder incomes. CASA makes the case to impact and return-oriented investors for increased investment in agribusinesses that work with smallholder supply chains. The programme achieves this goal by:

• Demonstrating the commercial viability and investment-readiness of small and medium-sized (SME) agribusinesses with significant smallholder supply chains
• Helping investors to increase the impact of their investments through the provision of inclusive technical assistance
• Strengthening the socio-legal empowerment of smallholders within value chains
• Tackling the information and evidence gaps holding back investment

For demonstrating the commercial and development potential of smallholder sourcing models, CASA focuses on catalytic interventions in the agriculture sectors of Ethiopia, Malawi, Nepal, and Rwanda that support agri-SMEs prepare for and secure investment while connecting smallholders to commercial markets.

CASA’s work on research and communications is structured around identifying constraints, opportunities and addressing evidence gaps through research; shaping the debate on smallholder agriculture to influence actions of investors, governments, and donors; and creating networking opportunities through events and stakeholder engagement.

2. ASSIGNMENT BACKGROUND

CASA has partnered with Nkhotakota Steadfast Cooperations for Youth (NS4Y) to implement a project titled ‘Commercialising Aquaculture for Better Market Access by Smallholder Farmers’. The partnership aims to leverage NS4Y’s existing fish processing capacity and market for fish products by ensuring a reliable and volume supply of fish produced by smallholder farmers through the expansion of their fish purchase scheme to include contract farming and input credit financing for smallholder farmers. At the same time, the partnership aims to empower smallholder farmers to increase their production and income by linking them to NS4Y’s purchase scheme, which will facilitate smallholder farmers’ access to technical aquaculture production expertise, quality inputs, input credit financing and more profitable and reliable markets for their production.

Through the project, CASA will provide technical assistance to NS4Y to expand the procurement and marketing of tilapia and catfish to supply the targeted urban market in Lilongwe City and the towns of Nkhotakota and Salima. Through the establishment of a contract farming model, NS4Y will source fresh table size tilapia and catfish from smallholder farmers organised into Commercial Producer Groups (CPGs) of 25 farmers each. To successfully support the partner in this regard, CASA Malawi is now seeking the services of a Short-Term Technical Assistant (STTA) as a Farmer Mobilisation Expert to assist NS4Y in identifying, assessing, mobilising and organising smallholder fish farmers.

About Nkhotakota Steadfast Cooperations for Youth

Nkhotakota Steadfast Cooperations for Youth is a local agricultural enterprise based in Nkhotakota district in the Central region of Malawi. The company was established in 2019 but was formally registered as an unlimited liability partnership on 29 May 2021. NS4Y is owned by four partners, namely James Chimbiya, Edith Mpoto, Thokozani Fickson and Naomie Phiri.

NS4Y’s main activities revolve around the processing of various agricultural products sourced from smallholder farmers in Nkhotakota and surrounding districts. Their product range, which is distributed in Lilongwe city, Nkhotakota and Salima towns, includes milled and packaged rice, smoked fish, dried fish, and fresh packaged fish.

3. OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF ASSIGNMENT

The main objective of this assignment is to provide technical support to NS4Y by identifying fish farmers in Salima and Nkhotakota districts with the potential to work in a contract farming and PAYG inputs financing business model with NS4Y and providing organisational capacity development for farmers in a pilot for NS4Y’s business model. The STTA is expected to work with NS4Y in identifying and organising the identified farmers into commercial producer groups.  The expert will work closely with the NS4Y and CASA programme team to ensure that the groups have well-defined group governance, leadership, and management structures. Specifically, this will include:

• Identifying 1,000 fish farmers in Nkhotakota and Salima districts to work in a contract farming arrangement with NS4Y.
• Out of the 1,000 identified farmers, select, mobilise, and organise 100 commercially oriented smallholder farmers (50 women and 40 youth) with at least 200 square metres of pond sizes, and willing to engage in tilapia-catfish polyculture and other climate smart aquaculture best management practices (BMPs).
• Facilitating the strengthening of producer group organisation and governance structures by providing training of trainers (ToTs) in group dynamics and basic financial literacy.
• Building the capacity of NS4Y staff in farmer mobilisation and organisation.
• Fully integrate Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) in the identification process and in facilitating the strengthening of governance structures by incorporating women and youth that have requisite skills and competencies.
• Complying with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual and other relevant requirements of NIRAS Malawi.

4. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the overall management of the CASA Market Manager for aquaculture, the Farmer Organisation Capacity Building Expert will support NS4Y by providing capacity development to the smallholder farmers.

The specific duties of the Expert will include the preparation of the following:

• Inception report, outlining a detailed methodology for the assignment. The inception process will include conducting of a rapid capacity needs assessment for the farmers in managing an aquaculture business organisation. Thus, the inception report is also expected to contain a capacity needs assessment report.
• List of 1,000 smallholder fish farmers in Nkhotakota and Salima districts who can potentially work with NS4Y in the contracting and PAYG business model, including their names, location, pond sizes and current production capacities.
• List of 100 smallholder fish farmers selected from the 1,000 fish farmers based on specific criteria suitable for NS4Y’s business model to be provided to the STTA.
• Training Materials adapted to address the capacity needs identified at inception. This is expected to include but not limited to group dynamics, and basic financial literacy.
• Training delivery to the 100 targeted smallholder farmers in their places of business and NS4Y staff.
• Functional governance structures for the 100 targeted smallholder farmers.
• Transfer of skills to NS4Y staff as the consultant will be delivering the assignment. The consultant will expect to achieve this by working hand-in-had with NS4Y staff in the assignment.
• An assignment completion report outlining the activities carried out as part of the assignment with recommendations for improvement.

 Deliverable Timelines

5. ASSIGNMENT MANAGEMENT and DURATION

a. Duration

Expected Start Date: 10^th June 2024

Expected End Date: 30^th September 2024

 b. Assignment Days

Up to 32 Workdays.

c. Reporting Lines

The consultant will primarily report to the NS4Y’s management team, with oversight from CASA Malawi’s Aquaculture Market Manager.

6. REQUIREMENTS and EXPERTISE

Key qualification and field of expertise for the ideal expert are:

• Possession of a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Extension, Aquaculture, Fisheries, or relevant fields. Those with a similar master’s degree will have an added advantage;
• Demonstrable experience in mobilising farmers particularly experience working with stepping-up smallholder farmers. Those with practical experience in group formation and cooperative development involving aquaculture farmers will have an added advantage.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Practical knowledge of CASA’s crosscutting themes of gender equality and social inclusion; climate change and environment; food and nutrition security, and animal welfare coupled with practical knowledge of strategies of integrating these in commercially oriented inclusive business models designed around anchor SME firms.
• Excellent writing and oral communication, listening and interpersonal skills with the ability to deal tactfully and diplomatically with a wide range of people combined with an appreciation of the importance of confidentiality.
• Willingness to take on new tasks at short notice and travel frequently to remote places.
• Ability to make decisions regarding own work, often in ambiguous situations and suggest recommendations regarding own function/discipline.
• Ability to function with minimum guidance and under pre-set procedures with attention to detail; and
• Able to exercise independent judgment within defined policies and practices.

7. MODE OF APPLICATION

Interested candidates should send an Expression of Interest no more than 6 pages long (in one document) broken down as follows;

1. A maximum of 1 page EOI submission letter providing an overview of the candidate’s suitability for the role and their preferred daily rate expressed in
2. A maximum of 2 pages outlining a proposed methodology according to their understanding of the assignment and its requirements.
3. A maximum of 3 pages Curriculum Vitae/Resume outlining only the relevant qualifications, experience and attributes for the role. Emphasis should be placed on similar consultancy assignments carried out by the candidate in the past 7 years.

Applications to be sent to rhch@niras.com with title of the position being applied for in the subject line. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and will accept the first viable ones received.