Avis à manifestation d’intérêt pour le Recrutement d’un Consultant individuel à la Commission de l’Union Africaine (CUA) sur le suivi des résultats de l’African Emergency Food Production Facility (AEFPF), Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

Avis à manifestation d’intérêt pour le Recrutement d’un Consultant individuel à la Commission de l’Union Africaine (CUA) sur le suivi des résultats de l’African Emergency Food Production Facility (AEFPF), Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

 

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Agriculture and Agro-Industry Department (AHAI) Rue Joseph Anoma, 01 BP 1387 Abidjan 01, Cote d’Ivoire

E-mail: M.FREGENE@AFDB.ORG ; D.BENNIRAN@AFDB.ORG

INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT AT THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION (AUC) ON RESULTS TRACKING OF AFRICAN EMERGENCY FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITY (AEFPF)

Brief description of the Assignment: Responding to these developments, in May 2022, the AfDB Board of Directors approved the $1.5 billion African Emergency Food Production Facility (AEFPF) to help African countries avert a looming food crisis. Following the disruption of food supplies arising from the war in Ukraine, Africa faces a shortage of at least 30 million metric tons of food, especially wheat, maize, and soybeans imported from both countries. The new Facility aims to provide 20 million African smallholder farmers with certified seeds, increased access to agricultural fertilizers and to facilitate rapid production of 38 million tons of food. This represents a $12 billion increase in food production in just two years. The AfDB will provide $1.3 billion while $200 million would be sourced from bilateral donors.

The African Emergency Food Production Plan has three pillars: (1) delivering certified seeds, fertilizer, and extension services to 20 million farmers, using innovation as well as internet and communications technology platforms, and supporting post-harvest management and market development; (2) providing financing and credit guarantees for large-scale supply of fertilizer to wholesalers and aggregators; and (3) supporting policy reforms facilitating modern inputs getting to farmers, including strengthening national institutions overseeing input markets.

Building its short-term response around Africa’s next four crop production seasons, the AfDB will work with manufacturers of fertilizer, seed companies, commodity exchanges, large aggregators, RMCs to deliver 3.54 million metric tons of fertilizers and 383,875 metric tons of certified seeds to smallholder farmers during the same period. Where possible, investments will promote the use of innovation and ICT platforms for delivery of these inputs and technology to farmers.

Objectives:

AfDB is seeking to engage the services of an experienced agriculture and rural development experts to serve as consultant at the AUC on tracking the implementation of AEFPF projects aiming to ensure key deliverables of AEFPF are met. The Consultants will report to the Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, African Union Commission

Department issuing the request: Agriculture and Agro-Industry Department

Place of assignment: African Union Commission (Addis Ababa – Ethiopia)

Duration of the assignment: Six (6) months

Tentative Date of commencement: 15 December 2022 (tentively)

Detailed Terms of reference for the assignment: [TORs below]

Deadline for applications: 11 December 2022

Applications to be submitted to: Mr. Martin Fregene (m.fregene@afdb.org) and Dorra Ben

Niran (d.benniran@afdb.org)

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF A CONSULTANT AT THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION (AUC) ON RESULTS TRACKING OF AFRICAN EMERGENCY FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITY (AEFPF)

African Development Bank

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group is a regional multilateral development finance institution established to spur sustainable economic development and social progress in its Regional Member Countries (RMCs). The Bank Group achieves this objective by mobilizing and allocating resources for investment in RMCs and providing policy advice and technical assistance to support development efforts.

The overall Bank Group’s vision for the agriculture and rural development sector is to assume a leading catalytic role within the next decade in supporting the technological, institutional and policy changes that would trigger a lasting transformation of the rural economies of RMCs by empowering their rural populations to improve their productivity and real incomes in an equitable and environmentally sustainable manner. To this end, the Bank’s Feed Africa Strategy seeks to help RMCs increase productivity, realize the value of increased production, increase investment into enabling infrastructure, create an enabling agribusiness environment, catalyze flows of capital, ensure that transformation delivers on broad-based needs of Africans, and coordinate activities.

Emerging Food Crisis in Africa

Africa’s agriculture and rural development sector is currently under enormous pressure. Countries across the continent are facing a food security crisis grounded in a sharp deterioration in economic conditions, lingering supply chain problems created by the COVID-19 pandemic and new disruptions linked to the war in Ukraine, which are causing sharp increases in food, feed, fuel, and fertilizer prices. These impacts are combining with long-term macroeconomic difficulties (especially depreciation of currencies, high inflation, and high public debt), chronic poverty and malnutrition, low agricultural productivity, and widespread vulnerability to climate shocks to deepen risks and exposure. High inflation is anticipated to depress real incomes and domestic demand, potentially increasing poverty among large numbers of chronically food insecure Africans.

Global commodity price inflation (especially fuel and food), high freight charges, the overall global negative supply shock created by the war in Ukraine, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic suggest that inflationary pressures are expected to persist through 2022 and extend into 2023. Many African currencies have depreciated significantly over the last 12 months and are expected to continue to depreciate against major international currencies due to reduced supply of foreign exchange alongside increased demand. Exchange rate depreciation has high pass-through effects on domestic prices. This is expected to lead to higher prices, negatively impacting purchasing power, living standards, and food security of millions of vulnerable Africans already struggling to cope.

African Development Bank Response

Responding to these developments, in May 2022, the AfDB Board of Directors approved the $1.5 billion African Emergency Food Production Facility (AEFPF) to help African countries avert a looming food crisis. Following the disruption of food supplies arising from the war in Ukraine, Africa faces a shortage of at least 30 million metric tons of food, especially wheat, maize, and soybeans imported from both countries. The new Facility aims to provide 20 million African smallholder farmers with certified

seeds, increased access to agricultural fertilizers and to facilitate rapid production of 38 million tons of food. This represents a $12 billion increase in food production in just two years. The AfDB will provide $1.3 billion while $200 million would be sourced from bilateral donors.

The African Emergency Food Production Plan has three pillars: (1) delivering certified seeds, fertilizer, and extension services to 20 million farmers, using innovation as well as internet and communications technology platforms, and supporting post-harvest management and market development; (2) providing financing and credit guarantees for large-scale supply of fertilizer to wholesalers and aggregators; and (3) supporting policy reforms facilitating modern inputs getting to farmers, including strengthening national institutions overseeing input markets.

Building its short-term response around Africa’s next four crop production seasons, the AfDB will work with manufacturers of fertilizer, seed companies, commodity exchanges, large aggregators, RMCs to deliver 3.54 million metric tons of fertilizers and 383,875 metric tons of certified seeds to smallholder farmers during the same period. Where possible, investments will promote the use of innovation and ICT platforms for delivery of these inputs and technology to farmers.

Objectives

AfDB is seeking to engage the services of an experienced agriculture and rural development experts to serve as consultant at the AUC on tracking the implementation of AEFPF projects aiming to ensure key deliverables of AEFPF are met. The Consultants will report to the Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, African Union Commission

Scope of Work

Under the supervision of the Commissioner, the consultant will work with the AUC ecosystem in the regions and in target countries to:

1. Evaluate RMCs procurement of certified seeds, fertilizers, extension services, post-harvest management and market development resulting in an increase in production.
2. Assess the availability and functionality of a farmer databases and document how farmers were selected and targeted.
3. Evaluate existing ICT platforms for input distribution in RMCs and provide technical advice for their upgrading.
4. Assess the extent of last-mile delivery agro-dealer network and provide advice on strengthening the network.
5. Examine the extension services coverage and lead AfDB technical assistance to RMCs to strengthen the services.
6. Document evidence of policy reforms for market-based input distribution.
7. Determine markets in-country and in regional markets to absorb the harvest.
8. Contribute to and support local capacity in the monitoring and reporting of AEFPF projects by RMCs.
9. Provide technical assistance to RMCs to develop implementation plans to include timely procurement and delivery of inputs, extension services and post-harvest management considering the cropping calendars for different crops;
10. Provide technical assistance to RMCs in developing and implementing detailed Monitoring and Evaluation systems, scaling up plans, exit strategies and stakeholder engagement strategies.
11. Coordinate AEFPF monitoring and evaluation systems and ensure their alignment to the AEFPF Results Management Framework
12. Manage the AEFPF dashboards and provide biweekly one page report of implementation of AEFPF activities and compile AEFPF quarterly reports to the Commissioner.

Outputs and Deliverables

1. Technical Analytical Report on the baseline conditions in AEFPF countries, including (i) Diagnostic of farmer databases and ICT platforms for inputs distribution in RMCs; (ii) availability of seeds, fertilizers and extension systems; (iii) mapping of agro-dealer networks and last-mile delivery systems; (iv) capacity assessment for project implementation, monitoring and evaluation; (v) policy analytical and implementation capacity; and (iv) market access.
2. Guidelines for developing scaling up plans, sustainability plans, exit strategies and stakeholder engagement strategies.
3. Detailed and consolidated monitoring and evaluation plans for AEFPF
4. Biweekly one page summary report on AEFPF Dashboard status to the Director.
5. Quarterly Monitoring Reports on AEFPF Projects to the Commissioner.

Qualifications, Skills, and Experience

The Consultant will have:

1. An advanced degree (preferably PhD) in an agriculture and rural development related discipline, with at least 15 years of experience in African agriculture;
2. Demonstrated familiarity with drivers of food insecurity in different African contexts.
3. Senior-level experience in designing and implementing multi-faceted food security initiatives;
4. Excellent analytical capabilities and strong written and verbal communications skills.
5. Good command of English. Knowledge of French would be an added value.

Duration

The Terms of Reference for the Consultant will be effective for six months beginning no later than 15 December 2022.

SCHEDULE OF PAYMENT

The recruited Consultant shall be remunerated based on AfDB’s remuneration guideline for consultants that depends on number of years of experience and availability of resources.

EVALUATION CRITERIA OF OFFERS

The evaluation criteria for the offers are as follows:

• General qualification for tasks to be performed 25%
• Specific experience on the tasks to be performed 50%
• Experience with international organizations 10%
• Proficiency in French and English 10%
• Knowledge of the African region 5%

			ANNEX II
Please attach an updated Curriculum Vitae using the template below:
MODEL CURRICULUM VITAE (CV)
Title of the Assignment:
Department:
Surname:				First Name:
Birth Date:				Nationality:
Address:				Country:
Telephone:				E-mail:
	Are  any  of  your  family  members		(spouse/partner,  father/mother,		YesNo
	Brother/sister, Son/daughter, etc. employed in the African Development				If « Yes », the following
	Bank?				data must be provided
	Name	Relationship		Organization Unit	Place of Assignment

Language	Read	Written	Spoken
Level
English	Fair	Fair	Fair
	Good	Good	Good
	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
French	Fair	Fair	Fair
	Good	Good	Good
	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
Other (specify)	Fair	Fair	Fair
	Good	Good	Good
	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent

Key Qualifications:

Please provide (i) a summary of your experience and training highlighting the most relevant for the proposed assignment, and (ii) the responsibilities which you exercised. Utilize one half-page maximum.

Education (University Level and above only):

Professional Training:

Employment Record:

Begin with your most recent employment. For each job/professional internship, please indicate:

• Name of the Employer
• Type of Activity/Business of the Employer
• Title / Function
• Place of Employment
• Brief Description (three lines maximum) of main accomplishments and responsibilities

Reference:

Please indicate the name and address (incl. e-mail address if available) of three persons with no family relationship with yourself, familiar with your character and titles.

I hereby certify that the responses which I provided above are all, to the best of my knowledge, true, complete and accurate. I acknowledge that an inaccurate statement or essential omission in a personal declaration or another document required by the African Development Bank might result in the rejection of my application, termination of my Contract or any other administrative sanction by the Bank. The African Development Bank may verify any statements which I made in this application.

Date: ____________

Signature: