Request for Proposal (RFP) - Engagement of an Implementing Partner to Drive Increased Production and Consumption of Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the UN in 2002 to tackle the human suffering caused by malnutrition. Working with both governments and businesses, we aim to transform food systems so that they deliver more nutritious food for all people.

At GAIN, we believe that everyone in the world should have access to nutritious and safe food. We work to understand and deliver specific solutions to the daily challenge of food insecurity faced by poor people. By understanding that there is no “one-size-fits-all” model, we develop alliances and build tailored programmes, using a variety of flexible models and approaches.

Applications are invited for:

Title: Request for Proposal (RFP) - Engagement of an Implementing Partner to Drive Increased Production and Consumption of Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (Rich in Beta Carotene) Among Smallholder Farmers in 8 LGAs of Benue and Oyo State

Preamble
GAIN is implementing the Strengthening Nutrition in Priority Staples (SNIPS) Project which will add a nutrition lens to and deliver an integrated suite of activities to support GIZ’s Green Innovation Centre (GIC) in Nigeria. This nutrition project will strengthen the GIC priority value chains and improve food security and safety through improved diets for farmers, farmworkers, other workers in businesses in these value chains, and among the wider population in Nigeria. The following broad objectives for this programme are:

• To increase consumption of safe, nutritious foods by smallholder farmers, their families, and the wider population
• To strengthen cassava, maize, sweet potato, and rice value chains in Nigeria which provide more, safe nutritious foods to consumers
• To increase use of nutritious varieties of the target staples in processed foods
• To improve productivity & efficiency of farmers and other businesses to improve the production of safe, nutritious foods in the cassava, maize, sweet potato, and rice value chains

To reach our overarching goal of - improving nutrition through improved diets, - the project will build on the increased consumption of the staple crops, which is the primary focus of the GIC, through the following related interventions:

• A workforce nutrition program to support farmers and workers in these value chains to improve and diversify their diets.
• Business support services to make a wide variety of nutritious and safe foods more accessible, affordable, and desirable; and
• Increased production and consumption of biofortified varieties of maize, cassava, and sweet potato.

One in three people globally experiences vitamin and mineral deficiencies leading to severe health outcomes including premature and preventable death in infants and young children. Micronutrient deficiencies can also constrain work performance resulting in slower economic growth and widespread, intergenerational poverty. Nearly two-thirds of Nigerian children are at risk of vitamin A deficiency due to inadequate amounts of vitamin A in their diets (NDHS 2018) and generally inadequate access to a diversity of food at the household level due to rising levels of poverty. This "hidden hunger" is particularly acute in countries like Nigeria and among farming families who grow and eat their food and diets are overly reliant on staple foods, lacking in the diversity of foods needed to meet multiple nutrient requirements.

The Biofortification component aims to work with farmers and farming households to promote the adoption, cultivation, and utilization of these staples by the farming households and other food processors. The workstream will promote Vitamin A Cassava, Vitamin A Maize and Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) in Oyo, Kaduna, and Benue/Oyo states, respectively.

Objectives
GAIN Nigeria seeks an implementing partner who will work closely with GAIN and its partners on an annually renewable contract (from 2022 to 2025) to develop (and implement) a technical support program to drive increased production and consumption of orange-fleshed sweet potato among smallholder farmers for the Strengthening Nutrition in Priority Staples (SNIPS) project.

The Project is designed to; (1) Increase farmers transition to production of Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP); (2) improve access to quality planting materials (Vines); (3) improve knowledge and technologies on Good Agronomic Practices (GAP); (4) develop sustainable linkages among key actors in the value chain.

The implementing partner selected will support planning and implementation of the biofortification component of the SNIPS project to strengthen the OFSP value chain in project locations, to provide safe nutritious foods to farmers and consumers, encourage adoption, cultivation, and improved production of OFSP. The implementing partner will conduct farmers training, and capacity building around GAP for improved production, harvest, and post-harvest handling, develop and execute efficient and economically viable models for aggregation and offtake of OFSP to food processors, ensure adequate follow-ups to measure adoption and output progress and to support community resilience and participation. The implementing partner would also be expected to engage with relevant project stakeholders and undertake advocacy activities for biofortification and relevant project objectives.

The implementing partner will develop a work plan for the training and, improved yield, and quality assurance plan for the production of OFSP by smallholder farmers. The implementing partner is expected to:

• Work under the overall supervision of the GAIN representatives and direct supervision of the SNIPS Project Manager biofortification.
• Build capacity of farmers and vines producers to increase OFSP production and vine Production. Work with the Project Manager Biofortification to produce a training curriculum for OFSP, the design should include;
  • A structured classroom training using adult learning methods.
  • On site practical sessions using Field Training Workshop (FTW) approach i.e demonstration plots structured to cover pre-season, in-season (Greenfield days), harvest and post-harvest activities (Brownfield days).
  • The new curriculum will include the content of climate-smart agriculture.
• With the support of the SNIPS Project Manager Biofortification, work with extension agents and lead farmers to train stem producers and farmers on improved GAP and vine multiplication using set up demonstration plots in targets LGAs to attract farmers producing analog sweet potato.
• Provide linkages to off takers. Link farmers to major off takers that will off-take their produce. Organise farmers and set up marketing committees that will facilitate aggregation and marketing/sales of their produce.
• Monitor and Evaluate farmers’ adoption of knowledge and technologies on GAP.
• Provide project updates on a consistent basis to various stakeholders about strategy, adjustments, and progress. Submit monthly, quarterly reports to GAIN and any other report on demand.

Eligibility Requirements

• The consulting firm/organization should possess good knowledge and experience in undertaking similar tasks and assignment in states in Nigeria with over four (4 years) experience.
• They should have experience in biofortification particularly OFSP vine multiplication and production and knowledge in enterprise development of the OFSP value chain will be an added advantage.
• The will need to show evidence of delivering similar work and evidence of accomplishments with certification will be an added advantage.

Application Closing Date
5:00pm (Central European Time), 8th April, 2022.

Submission of Documents
Proposals should be in English and submitted in electronic copy to the following e-mail address: rfp@gainhealth.org. Please include Strengthening Nutrition in Priority Staples Nigeria in the subject line.

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