ACBAR

Request For CARE Afghanistan

Request For Re-RFP- International Consultant- CARE Afghanistan

Re-RFP- International Consultant to Support CBARD Market-Related Activities-

Terms of Reference (ToR) for an International Consultant to Support CBARD Market-Related Activities

Overview:
The CBARD-ALL project seeks to enhance market linkages within the agricultural sector, with a focus on connecting farmers to traders and ultimately consumers. Output 2 and 3 of the project emphasizes the development of clear strategies to facilitate these linkages and improve market access for agricultural products.

Scope of Work:
The consultant will be responsible for developing a comprehensive strategy to facilitate linkages between various stakeholders in the agricultural market. The following outputs are expected from the consultant:

1. Develop strategies and methods to facilitate the linkage between farmers and input suppliers, ensuring access to necessary agricultural inputs to achieve project targets.
2. Formulate strategies and methods to connect farmers with local fruit traders, enabling efficient distribution channels. Creating linkages for over 1200 CBARD treatment farmers to the 4 project supported facilities.
3. Develop a strategy for linking local traders with larger traders at the provincial, regional, and national levels to expand market reach.
4. Create a guide for organizing trade shows and exhibitions of agricultural products to showcase local produce. Work with the Agribusiness team to organize CBARD participation in trade exhibits and events. If needed, liaise directly with event organizers and other service providers in relation to reserving booth space and services, constructing booths/pavilions, registering participants, providing exhibitor profiles, and on-site branding, etc.
5. Conduct Training of Trainers (ToT) sessions on Business-to-Farmer (B2F) and Business-to-Business (B2B) approaches, providing training packages for staff to subsequently train traders and farmers. Support and mentor local staff with strategies and processes to implement market linkages and develop business relationships to collect required program documentation.
6. Develop Terms of Reference (ToR) for the participation of traders in international exhibitions to promote export opportunities. Provide quality control and technical guidance to the Agribusiness team in finalizing trade exhibit plans which should include a schedule of scheduled B2B meetings or networking events. Ensure CBARD provides sufficient training and technical support to participating traders before and during events so that potential and confirmed sales deals are maximized.
7. Design a sample questionnaire for conducting market assessments to gather insights into consumer preferences and market dynamics.
8. Develop business plans tailored to four capable traders to enhance their market competitiveness and sustainability. Develop plan for facility operationalization and maintenance including budget for each site.
9. Conduct ToT sessions on export requirements for High-Value Commodities (HVC), equipping traders with the necessary knowledge and skills.
10. Develop criteria and a selection methodology to identify and support 100 traders eligible to receive financial incentives for market linkage, both for export and domestic markets.

The consultant will work closely with the CBARD project team and relevant stakeholders to ensure alignment with project objectives and contribute to the sustainable development of the agricultural market.

Alignment with project theory of change: 

Output 3: Adding value to local agricultural products through expanded post-harvest handling and processing.

Activity Result 3.1 Training of farmers and traders on improved post-harvest handling technologies

3.1.1 Provide value addition equipment and tools to beneficiary farmers (from Output 1) for selected high-value crops and outputs.

3.1.2 Train the same farmers on the use of value addition equipment and tools, and the steps needed to process value added products.

Activity Result 3.2 Facilitation of operationalization and maintenance of post-harvest facilities established with CBARD support.

3.2.1 Conduct and report inventory of district-level needs for farmer and trader access to existing post-harvest facilities already established with CBARD support.

3.2.2 Coordinate with business owners and recipients of CBARD supported grant facilities to ensure full operation and utilization of the facilities.

3.2.3 Provide training to farmers and businesses on the use and maintenance of CBARD supported facilities.

Selection Criteria

1. Technical expertise in agribusiness for a minimum of 5 years.
2. Familiarity with the context of Afghanistan.
3. Experience in domestic and international exhibitions.
4. Experience in market linkage, strategy development, and capacity building.