Ongoing Recruitment at the Ogun State Government

Reference No: OG/CS/PPA/24/2020
Location: Abeokuta, Ogun State
Project Title: Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP) - Agric Sector
Reports to: Project Manager OGSTEP - Agric & Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture
Duration of employment: Twelve (12) Weeks

Project Development Objective

• The Project Development Objective is to increase agricultural production and stimulate private sector participation in the agricultural, industrial and skills sectors of the Ogun State economy.

The project consists of two main components. The project components include:
Component 1: Increasing Agricultural Production and Industrialization:

• Sub-Component 1.1: increasing Agricultural Production
• Sub-Component 1.2: Improving Business Environment.
• Sub-Component 1.3 Developing Skills.

Component 2: Technical Assistance to Strengthen Capacity to Implement the Program:

• Component 2.1 Agriculture
• Component 2.2 Business Environment
• Component 2.3 Skills
• Component 2.4 Public Sector Reform and PFM
• Component 2.5 Project Implementation support

Background Information

• The Ogun State Government through the Federal Government of Nigeria is applying for a USD 250 million credit from the International Development Association (hereinafter referred to as IDA)/ World Bank towards the financing of the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP). The Project Coordinating Office of OGSTEP intends to apply part of the proceeds of this credit to payments under contracts for the Consultancy Services.
• The OGSTEP is in line with the Ogun State Development Plan 2017-2030 (SDP) reform agenda to accelerate strategic reforms and foster public investment to enable greater private sector participation in the State’s economy which is organised around five cardinal programs covering agriculture production and industrialization, infrastructure and rural development, education, health, and affordable housing and urban renewal.
• Agriculture plays a major economic role in Ogun state, providing income and employment for about 70 percent of the labour force, while contributing 30 percent of the State GDP over the 2013-2017 period. Significant potential exists in the State to increase productivity and improve competitiveness to meet the growing demand of the agri-food industry. In order to grow the sector, multiple consultations with the private sector have confirmed the private sector’s high interest in investing in the agri-food sector.
• In conjunction with World Bank financed projects in Nigeria, OGSTEP Agriculture component seeks to help address the key constraints to increased private sector participation in Agriculture working closely with Ogun farmers. The Agriculture component will support three types of activities: First, support the development and implementation of the international best practice Framework for Responsible and Inclusive Land-Intensive Agricultural Investments (FRILIA) in Ogun State ; Second, foster the engagement of Value Chain Development Firms (VCDF), and finally, develop critical infrastructure to strengthen market linkages to production areas where value chain development alliances are being promoted.
• The idea is to support smallholder farmers at farming communities in Ogun State to participate in production effort in the following priority value chains: 1. Food crops ; 2. Horticulture and; 3. Livestock ; 4. Fiber
• Based on the afore-mentioned, it is therefore important that there be clear definition and distinction of the various value chains (VC) in the State, as well as the range of activities which are required to bring product in the value chain from conception, through the different phases of production (involving a combination of physical transformation and the input of various producer services), delivery to final customers or the market.
• In line with the OGSTEP project development objective in the first instance and in line with best practices, OGSTEP working with the Ministry of Agriculture , therefore seeks to engage a Consultancy Firm to assist in the “In Depth Analysis of Priority Value Chains” and Data Update for better Decision Making in Ogun State,
• This Terms of Reference (TOR) therefore intends to set the minimum requirements and the scope of the study.

Objective
The objective of the value chain analysis is to develop value chain profile for each individual commodity value chain to be promoted in the State; revalidate selected value chains and update data. The assignment seeks to achieve the following:

• Value Chain Analysis of identified agricultural value chains in Ogun State
• Identify those activities unique to Agricultural value chain in Ogun State where there can be optimisation of effort, profits and reduction of waste.
• Identify the potential producers’ groups, and private sector players, the promising value addition opportunities and markets in the State.
• Improve Agricultural productivity and profitability of small farm/holder production systems for targeted value chains.
• Strengthen linkages and competiveness of market systems for target value chain products.
• Enhance private sector engagement and support to marketing and processing of target value chain products as well as other key opportunities.
• Promote inclusiveness in Agricultural opportunities linked to value chain promotion activities
• Develop coping and mitigating strategies for emerging issues and environmental concerns related to value chain activities 9) Provide evidence-based information and decision support for interventions and intervention programmes design.

Scope of Work:

• The consulting firm will provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture, Ogun State through OGSTEP Sector Technical Team in designing, implementing, strengthening and monitoring target agricultural value chains in Ogun State.

The specific tasks will include but not limited to the following:

• Identify the main actors and other stakeholders (supporters and influencer) and how they are linked/interact; assessing the flow of products, information and financial resources along the value chains.
• Identify lead firms that are likely to invest in activities along the value chain;
• Work with the key actors involved to analyse their roles, contribution to value creation and/or addition and the inherent risk along the chain relative value to the chain.
• Work with the actors to describe and quantify the sequence of operations regarding its production, processing and marketing.
• Identify and describe the factors of institutional context (policy, regulation, fiscal aspects…) affecting the value chain actors, facilitating or hindering their performance.
• Analyse the input and output market structure, accessibility and availability including related standards and information.
• Analyse degree of competitiveness, market share and market segmentation for both input and output markets; and identify potential player that could facilitate the commodity value chain.
• Together with the actors, identify the elements of the value chain that needs strengthening for developing strong linkages between production, aggregation, processing and market actors.
• Propose the suitable business models of the commodity value chain the project would promote, comprising the economic assessment/profitability of commodity.
• Propose the measures to be implemented by the project to support the development of those value chains.
• Contribute to analysing the input and output market structure, accessibility and availability including related standards and information.
• Identify the factors of the institutional context (policy, regulation, fiscal aspects…) affecting the value chain actors, facilitating or hindering their performance.
• Identify the elements of the value chain that needs strengthening for developing strong linkages between production, aggregation, processing and market actors.
• Draft the value chain profiling report following the matrix presented in Appendix 1.
• Facilitate training on value chain profiling using institutional analysis combined with other approaches.
• Provide framework for the design, implementation, monitoring, risk management and evaluation of value chains development strategies : to provide tools to ensure that information is incorporated in production stages and how it should be interpreted and used for decision-making
• Facilitate training session on business models.
• Facilitate training session on measures to promote value chains.
• Provide report that incorporates sustainable value chain coordination

Profile of the Consultancy Firm
Experience:

• The Consulting firm will be required to have at least ten (10) years of relevant, demonstrable and verifiable experience in management of complex projects on value chain, rural business development and agricultural marketing in Nigeria

Others:

• Experience researching trends in end markets, and supporting firms to meet the requirements of end markets, competitors and buyers regionally or internationally;
• Experience in conducting value chain assessments and determining appropriate interventions to enhance agricultural productivity and market access for farmers, agro-pastoralist and pastoralist.
• Experience in developing and managing capacity building activities for enterprise groups and local institutions.
• Demonstrated experience in sustainable agriculture and livelihoods resilience programming
• Relevant work experience in complex environment and protracted crises.
• Demonstrated ability to liaise and build partnerships with NGO, and government institutions;
• Strong working experience with key value chain stakeholders (producers, traders, enterprise groups, rural financing institutions/banks, and research/policy associations);
• High level of demonstrated competency in developing and implementing effective strategies, business plans and budget management/
• Proven ability to work in a cross-cultural and multidisciplinary environment;
• Ability to organise farmers into business organisations, including linking them to markets;
• Mandatory evidence of successful completion of similar exercise(s) in the past.

Key Consultants / Technical Resource(s) Experience
Lead Consultant:

• Minimum MSc degree in Economics, Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness Management, Rural Development, Development Studies or related fields and minimum 15 years’ (post-grad) experience working in related field.

The lead consultant is expected to have:

• Excellent knowledge of value chains, marketing systems and private sector development and minimum ten years of proven ability to design and implement programmes that create market opportunities for smallholder farmers, small scale processors, and other value chain actors;
• Demonstrated experience achieving increased competitiveness in the developing country context
• Compelling (verbal and written) communication skills including ability to prepare reports, formulate and defend sound recommendations and articulate opinions concisely conveying maximum necessary information;
• Outstanding oral and written communication and presentation skills in English.

The lead consultant is expected to show evidence of providing similar services for other national and international value chain development exercise. He / she will be expected to perform the following core responsibilities among others:

• Lead and supervise activities of other consultants / technical resources involved in the specific value chains.
• Review all relevant primary and secondary sources of data and any relevant information to the study.
• Develop all necessary data collection, plans tools and present them for review before use.
• Participate in training of research assistants/data collectors, where necessary;
• Conduct both quantitative and qualitative data collection using acceptable methodologies.

Other Consultants / Technical Resources:

• Minimum MSc degree in Economics, Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness Management, Rural Development, Development Studies or related fields and minimum of 7 years’ (post grad) experience working in related field.

The consultant / technical resources to be engaged are expected to have;

• Demonstrable knowledge of Agricultural value chains and commodities;
• Experience in conducting thorough and clearly referenced literature review on the value chain approach for priority value chains;
• Experience providing hand-on support to small holder farmers and other downstream value chain actors;
• Experience in the design and implementation programmes that create market opportunities for small holder farmers, small scale processors, and other value chain actors;
• Experience with value chain analysis and development for priority value chain area;
• Experience in poverty reduction initiatives through livelihood development for rural communities;
• Sound communication skills including ability to prepare reports,

Language requirements:

• Fluency in English language and ability by critical staff to communicate in Yoruba

Institutional and Organization Arrangements

• The consulting firm will laisse with the Project Manager OGSTEP Agric, work closely with the relevant stakeholders, in particular the technical team composed by the Sector lead, and report to the Honorable Commissioner who is the sector lead.

Report and Schedule of Deliveries:
The consulting firm will work directly with the Technical Team in the Ministry of Agriculture constituted by the sector lead to deliver on the following:

• Inception report that should cover overall methodology and tasks;
• Desk Review;
• Proposed Stakeholder Engagement & Workshops and training for relevant Strategy;
• Data collection, Synthesis & Analysis;
• Value chain profiles prepared using the outline provided in Annex 1. Each Value Chain profile will describe business models to be promoted, and the specific measures that the project will consequently implement;
• A report summarizing the process of Value Chain profiling exercise, the business models to be promoted, value chain mapping and analysis, institutional and policy analysis, relationships of stakeholders (numbers, roles & responsibility ,volumes and value of transaction, demand (Markets) and supply (Production) factors) and recommendations as well as presenting a table describing the measures the project will implement to support the various value chains. - 3 hard and soft copies. Soft copies of analysed data and filled data sheets/tools shall also be handed in.

Services to be provided by the Client:

• The Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture shall provide all relevant documents available to the consultant. It will also provide necessary institutional support for operations of the consulting firm. It is the sole responsibility of the consultant to search for and collect all the required information.
• The consulting firm will organize all necessary travel and other resources, subject to reimbursement as stipulated in the contract. Reimbursable expenses must be included in the consulting firms submission.

Payment Schedule
The payment of the consultant will be based on sign off, of deliverables by the Technical Team within the Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture as appointed by the Honorable Commissioner / Sector lead, with the final sign off by the Sector lead and following the payment schedule below:

Progress Target - Payment Percentage:

• Contract Signature (Mobilisation) -10
• Inception Report - 10
• Desk Review Data Collection, Synthesis & Analysis Report - 20
• Workshops and training for relevant actors - 10
• Draft of Final Documents Including Report(s) - 40
• Approval of Report(s) - 10
• Total - 100

The potential firm is expected to submit a financial proposal clearly indicating the time, daily rates and detailed schedule for the study.