Request for Proposal (RFP) Consultancy to Develop Approaches for Tracking and Reporting Investment in Agriculture Flagship Programmes at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is an African-led, African-based, not-for-profit organization. It works with African governments, development partners, civil society, private sector, and African farmers for an inclusive agricultural transformation (IAT) to increase incomes and improve food and nutrition security of at least 30 million smallholder farming households.

Applications are invited for:

Title: Request for Proposal (RFP) Consultancy to Develop Approaches for Tracking and Reporting Investment in Agriculture Flagship Programmes

Reference No: RFP/067/SC/2022

Preamble
Governments across Africa have collaborated with partners to develop national flagship programmes that aim at achieving strategic national goals. Flagship programmes derive their origin from the term “flagship” which is the main or most important ship in a country’s navy in which the commander of the fleet sails. By extension, a country’s flagship policy or programme symbolizes the main thrust of the country’s development agenda. Within the context of implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), a flagship translates some of the Agricultural Sector Strategy (AgSS) /National Agriculture Investment Plan (NAIP) priorities into bankable projects /programmes to spearhead implementation of the NAIP. They represent big investment opportunities to translate the NAIP into tangible actions and impacts. The flagships serve as tools to secure buy-in and to mobilize focused technical and financial support from different stakeholders (government, development partners, private sector, and civil society) to implement priority intervention areas. Governments, through the Ministries of Agriculture and other sector lead Ministries, use flagship programmes to leverage partner funds and its own investments in the sector to achieve higher impacts in line with the NAIP.

Investment to agriculture flagship programmes needs to come from both the public and the private sector actors. Each of these two categories of actors has a critical role to play. On one hand, public sector stakeholder invests in areas that are necessary to attract private investment in flagship programmes. Examples could be investments on policy and regulatory interventions to create conducive enabling environment for private sector investments in agriculture flagships, catalytic infrastructure (such as, transport, storage, irrigation, and marketing), services and the administrative, agricultural research and development, irrigation, and extension. One the other hand, private sector investments are expected in response to the incentives provided by  Governments and other public sector stakeholders.

A broad array of private sector actors, from farmers, including small holders and family farmers, foresters, and fishers to micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and large companies, are investing in agriculture. They invest at various nodes of the agriculture value chain. It is important to track public and private sector investments to have good idea on whether the flagship programmes are attracting funding. This consultancy aims at contributing to this task. AGRA is recruiting a qualified consultancy firm to develop approaches for tracking and reporting public and private sector investment in agriculture flagship programmes. The consultancy firm will work in close collaboration with AGRA technical staff at the HQ and at the AGRA country offices.

Justification / Problem Statement
The problems that this consultancy is aiming at addressing are:

• The lack of a systematic approach to collect, document, and disseminate information on agriculture investment and more specially to flagship programmes. Due to this challenge, it has not been possible to comprehensively track the level of investment in agriculture in general and specifically in flagship programmes.
• The absence of an up-to-date database of accessible and usable information on Government, donors, and private sector investments on agriculture flagships which in turns become a major obstacle to improvement in the alignment and harmonization of flagship support resources
• Many African countries, including AGRA priority countries have poorly structured, and weakly coordinated data collection systems that are inadequately staffed and equipped to capture data relevant to investments. Due to these challenges, it has not been possible to comprehensively track the level of investment in agriculture in general and specifically in flagship programmes.
• Inadequate documentation of investments by the private sector which has led to data gaps in the Malabo Biennial reporting system.

Objective of the Assignment
The overall objective of this consultancy is to develop approaches for tracking private sector investment in agriculture, focusing on investments in government led flagships in agriculture to address the gap of lack of a systematic approach to collect, document, and disseminate data on private sector investments.  Specifically, the consultancy aims at achieving the following specific objectives:

• Identify and document existing public and private sector investments in flagship areas made in the last two years.
• Inform and advise stakeholders of the level of participation and uptake by the private sector in a country’s flagship programs.
• Address the challenge of lack of tools and approaches for tracking private sector investments in flagship programs.
• Add value to the existing efforts on tracking investments in agriculture through Malabo BR.
• Generate data to inform pipeline interventions by AGRA and its partners.

Scope of Work
The consultant will undertake the following tasks:

• Carry out a desk review of documents/literature that inform on the type of public and private sector actors that are/may be involved in funding flagships.
• Engage with the public and private sector players in Nigeria and Tanzania (large and small) to capture data on their investments and on more sustainable basis and establish a mechanism and parameters for data and information sharing for investments in flagship related areas.
• Engage with technical partners such as AGRA, IFPRI, Akademiya 2063, FAO/MAFAP, the World Bank, the IFC, TBI and others to get their inputs into the design of the approach and tools for gathering data on public and private sector investments in agriculture
• Provide technical inputs and content to the work of an ICT expert hired by AGRA to design a suitable and customizable tracking tool that captures the value of investments that the public and the private sector have put into agriculture flagships. The consultant will be expected to work very closely with the software developer, the firm will be responsible for conceptualizing the content of the portal.
• In collaboration with the ICT consultant to be hired by AGRA, Pilot the tool in selected AGRA countries (Tanzania and Nigeria). The two countries have been chosen to enable AGRA get one experience from East Africa and another one from West Africa.
• Produce a high-quality technical report on the approach for tracking public and private sector investments to agriculture flagships.
• Build capacity of at least one government institution in the pilot countries to use the approaches developed.
• Undertake training for the State Capability staff on the tracking approaches.
• Present the final tracking approach to AGRA and selected government representatives for validation.

Deliverables of the Assignment
The activity will generate the following deliverables:

• An Inception report, clearly defining the approach, methodology and workplan for the assignment.
• Minutes of technical consultative meetings with various technical partners.
• A high-quality technical report with information on the proposed approach to track private sector investment in agriculture and practical recommendations on how to operationalize the proposed approach (the consultant will be expected to produce three drafts, each draft will be reviewed by AGRA).
• Technical inputs to the ICT expert hired by AGRA to design a suitable and customizable investment tracking tool that can capture the investments done by public and private sector partner, and the period these investments were done across the several flagships.
• Mapping of Public and Private investors in flagship programme.
• Data of existing investments by public and private sector in flagship programs.
• Training materials, facilitation of the training and a training report for AGRA staff and selected government staff on operations and functioning of the tool.
• Contribute to piloting of the tool in selected AGRA countries and a report on the pilot for Nigeria and Tanzania.
• Baseline data to inform interventions by AGRA and its partners and BR processes.

Qualification and Experience of the Consultant
The ideal candidate is a consultancy firm that is appreciative of and insightful about the role of the private sector in agricultural development. Team members for the assignment should be familiar with private entities’ contributions to achieving development goals, such as the SDGs, CAADP and the Malabo declaration whether through directly engaging in collaborative processes or by providing innovative technology or solutions.

The firm shall:

• Have experience in the Field of Agriculture as well as private sector engagement in agriculture demonstrated by experience working with government ministries (particularly, ministries of agriculture, livestock, industries, fisheries, and other related ministries) in Sub-Sahara Africa.
• Have experience with private sector development and facilitation of public-private partnerships, preferably in the international development context.
• Have experience in developing tools for Monitoring and Evaluation in the agriculture sector.
• Propose key personnel with the following qualifications, experience and competencies. The key positions should include but not limited to the following: Lead Consultant/Project team leader, Associate Consultant, etc.

Lead Consultant (Team Leader):

• At least a Master degree in field related to agriculture and rural development. Specific areas of study could be business administration, international development, development economics, economics, agriculture economics, marketing, finance, or another relevant discipline from an accredited university
• Experience in the Field of Agriculture as well as private sector engagement in agriculture demonstrated by previous active role in working with government ministries (particularly, ministries of agriculture, livestock, industries, fisheries, and other related ministries) in Sub-Sahara Africa.
• At least eight years of experience with private sector development and facilitation of public-private partnerships, preferably in the international development context.
• In-depth knowledge or experience in investment climate and business regulation reform, strong theoretical base in the investment climate/private sector development area, combining a broad grasp of relevant theory and principles.
• Understanding of public sector and government institutions’ role in private sector development and partnerships.
• Experience in developing tools for Monitoring and Evaluation in the agriculture sector.
• Professional connections and extensive private sector network in various industries;
• Strong relationship building skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work across teams and effectively promote information-sharing, collaboration, and cooperation.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Professionalism: Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity. Demonstrates corporate knowledge, self-development, and initiative-taking. Ability to work in a multi-cultural and international environment based on mutual respect and tolerance. Ability to exercise good judgement, discretion, and tact in handling sensitive issues.
• Planning and Organizing: Excellent organizational and task management skills, with appropriate attention to details and ability to prioritize work among multiple competing demands, and under tight deadlines. Ability to manage multiple workflows at the same time. Ability to thrive in a fast-paced work environment where adaptability is essential.
• E-literacy: Excellent e-skills, including the ability to use modern office technology and related software. Practical knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software is required. Ability to do internet research, compile information and find solutions online to information gaps is essential.
• Teamwork: Support colleagues, contribute to team culture, and share responsibility for decision-making and results. Places team agenda before personal agenda. Supports and acts in accordance with final group decision; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility. Ability to “lead from behind” and work without direct authority to deliver timely and high-quality products.
• Personal: Willingness to ‘get the job’ done with a positive attitude to take on a wide range of tasks. Availability for longer travel to attend meetings.

Associate Consultant(s):

• At least a Masters degree in field related to agriculture and rural development. Specific areas of study could be business administration, international development, development economics, economics, agriculture economics, marketing, finance, or another relevant discipline from an accredited university
• Experience in the Field of Agriculture as well as private sector engagement in agriculture demonstrated by previous active role in working with government ministries (particularly, ministries of agriculture, livestock, industries, fisheries, and other related ministries) in Sub-Sahara Africa.
• At least five years of experience with private sector development and facilitation of public-private partnerships, preferably in the international development context.
• In-depth knowledge or experience in investment climate and business regulation reform, strong theoretical base in the investment climate/private sector development area, combining a broad grasp of relevant theory and principles.
• Understanding of public sector and government institutions’ role in private sector development and partnerships.
• Experience in developing tools for Monitoring and Evaluation in the agriculture sector.
• Professional connections and extensive private sector network in various industries;
• Strong relationship building skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work across teams and effectively promote information-sharing, collaboration, and cooperation.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Professionalism: Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity. Demonstrates corporate knowledge, self-development, and initiative-taking. Ability to work in a multi-cultural and international environment based on mutual respect and tolerance. Ability to exercise good judgement, discretion, and tact in handling sensitive issues.
• Planning and Organizing: Excellent organizational and task management skills, with appropriate attention to details and ability to prioritize work among multiple competing demands, and under tight deadlines. Ability to manage multiple workflows at the same time. Ability to thrive in a fast-paced work environment where adaptability is essential.
• E-literacy: Excellent e-skills, including the ability to use modern office technology and related software. Practical knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software is required. Ability to do internet research, compile information and find solutions online to information gaps is essential.
• Teamwork: Support colleagues, contribute to team culture, and share responsibility for decision-making and results. Places team agenda before personal agenda. Supports and acts in accordance with final group decision; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility. Ability to “lead from behind” and work without direct authority to deliver timely and high-quality products.
• Personal: Willingness to ‘get the job’ done with a positive attitude to take on a wide range of tasks. Availability for longer travel to attend meetings.

Application Closing Date
5:00pm, 12th May, 2022.

Submission of Documents
The proposals SHALL be submitted via email to: procurement@agra.org Please include the subject line “RFP/067/SC/2022” of the email.

Please note the following:

• The Proposals shall be prepared in English Language.
• The technical proposal shall not exceed 20 pages.
• The proposal and ALL Attachments submitted via email SHALL NOT exceed 10MB.
• VALIDITY of the proposal shall be for a period of 90 days from the date of bid closure.
• Financial proposal shall be sent as a separate attachment and MUST be password protected. The password shall be requested from the firm that meet the best technical score above 75%.

Click Here (Ms Word) for a detailed description of the RFP.