Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697796579438.pdf (Dominica)
Commonwealth of Dominica Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Blue and Green Economy Emergency Agricultural Livelihoods and Climate Resilience Project Terms of Reference Agribusiness Management Specialist 1 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAM The Emergency Agricultural Livelihoods and Climate Resilience Project (EALCRP, P166328) was approved by the World Bank Board on April 13, 2018, after Dominica was devasted by Hurricane Maria in September 2017.
The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to contribute to restoring agricultural livelihoods and enhancing climate resilience of farmers and fisherfolk affected by Hurricane Maria in Dominica.

The EALCRP became effective on October 9, 2018, and the project closing date is November 9, 2023.

The total project cost is $29.5 million, of which $25 million is IDA Grant/Credit.

The EALCRP is supporting the Government of Dominica in post- Hurricane Maria recovery of the agriculture and forestry sectors.
The EALCRP wants to implement a new Subcomponent “Improved Market Access and Climate Resilience through Promotion of Productive Alliance”.

The Subcomponent Objective is to enhance access to markets and sales for competitively selected Producer Organizations (POs), as well as their allied Commercial Partners (CPs) in Dominica.
This Subcomponent supports the integration of Dominican small-scale and emerging farmers into value chains by improving their capacity to finance and execute productivity enhancing investments and respond to the requirements of end markets and buyers (Commercial Partners - CP).
The project will provide consulting and technical services to participating Producer Organizations (POs) for the formation of proposed Productive Alliances (PAs) with agribusiness entities, designing of eligible business plans for upgrading production capacities, and/or strengthening linkages with Commercial Partners (CP).
There will also be provision of matching grants to participating POs for capital investments aiming at increasing productivity, quality, and standards, improving post-harvest storage and processing capability.
The National Agribusiness Planning Consultant will support the International Agribusiness Planning Consultant in the design of business proposal and business plan templates for the Productive Alliances, be capacitated to run general training workshops for beneficiaries and ministry staff on business proposal development for the second and final calls for proposals under the project.
Furthermore, the national consultant will provide direct assistance and mentoring to the Productive Alliances in finalizing viable and sustainable business plans.

The national consultant will also support the implementation of a business level monitoring and evaluation system to track implementation progress.

The consultant will liaise closely with the International Agribusiness Planning Consultant.

2.
2.

OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTANCY Provide specialized agribusiness development services to the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) of the Emergency Agricultural Livelihoods and Climate Resilience Project (EALCRP) within the framework of Subcomponent “Improved Market Access and Climate Resilience through Promotion of Productive Alliance” to promote market opportunities for Producer Organizations (POs).

2 3.
2 3.

COMPONENTS Component 1: Support to the EALCRP Project Implementation Unit • In collaboration with the PIU, identification of general technical training needs of the selected beneficiaries; • Assist and advise PIU and external consultants in the preparation of productive alliance profiles and subprojects, with special emphasis on organizational, operational, and commercial issues.

• Collaborate in the promotion and dissemination of information on project activities.
• Verify the supporting documentation of each subproject, in accordance with the provisions of the EALCRP Operating Manual • Delivery of general training for capacity building of POs and CPs beneficiaries to support the successful implementation of identified of business plans.
• Assist the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) with general implementation support and follow up to ensure the approved business plans are implemented correctly and effectively and would allow to timely identify issues that could constraint the achievement of its intended results.
• Determine the relevant the implementation of all approved business plans in order to provide implementation support to all the POs and CPs and ensure correct and effective implementation indicators for monitoring and evaluation track to • Monitor physical and financial progress of the alliance subprojects and evaluate progress and propose technical recommendations for improvement at the level of Pos and CPs.
• Provide direct business planning and technical assistance and mentoring support to selected project beneficiaries in translating accepted business proposals into viable business plans using the approved templates.

• Participate in the implementation of a public registry of technicians and professionals trained in agribusiness management, keep it updated and disseminate it among the recipients of the subcomponent.
• Collaborate with the rest of the members of the PIU in what is required regarding the preparation of reports, data collection, organization of activities, and other activities related to the execution of the Project.
3 Component 2: Business Plans Development • General training and support in the preparation of Business Proposals/Concept Notes and Business Plans through direct support to prospective beneficiaries (Producer’s Organizations (POs) and Commercial Partners (CPs)) interested and willing to form productive alliances Component 3: Capacity Building/Training of Producers Organizations and Commercial Partners • Provide general training and implementation support to all selected POs and their respective CPs in the implementation of their approved business plans to include but not limited to financial literacy, marketing and logistics.
• Coordinate the review and adaptation of business proposal and business plan templates and include amendments as required; • Prepare a training manual on the above training that can be used in the future: Component 4: Support to the Division of Agriculture • Provide targeted training to strengthen farmer/producer organizations and public service extension officers for the successful implementation of the PA • Training in agribusiness management, inventory management, costing of operations, product pricing methods and strategies, marketing and financial literacy specific to selected value chains; • Conduct training workshops addressing issues in priority sub-sectors such as apiculture, small stocks, floriculture, exotic fruit trees, and post-harvest management; 4.
CONSULTANT QUALIFICATIONS The expert must have the following characteristics: Academic training: - Master’s Degree in Business Management, Agribusiness; Agricultural Economics, Agriculture Marketing, or related fields.
Overall professional experience: Minimum 3 years of experience in Agribusiness/agricultural value chain development - Proven experience in the implementation of agricultural, agribusiness and/or agricultural value chain development fields projects/programs Specific professional experience: - Ability and demonstrated minimum 3 years experience in the formulation of business plans and projects, preferably in the agri-food sector.
4 - Demonstrated minimum 3 years’ experience in agribusiness development with producers, cooperatives, producer organizations and/or buyers at the local, national or export level, preferably in the agri-food sector.

Core Competences - Excellent communication (written and oral), reporting and presentation skills - Excellent use of computer software as MS Office - Excellent organizing, negotiation, influencing and advisory/coaching skills 5.
SELECTION AND QUALIFICATION PROCEDURE The consultant will be selected from a shortlist, applying the criteria and weightings described below: academic level, experience in studies related to the position, experience in developing commercial channels and/or strategic alliances, economic impact assessment, and complementary studies.

Each criterion will have a weighting value.

The maximum score to be obtained by a candidate is 100 points, by applying the maximum weighting value of each criterion.
The minimum acceptable score will be 70 points RANKS SCORE FACTORS 1.

Academic level 2.

General professional regional (Caribbean) experience 3.

Specific professional experience Master's/Specialization agribusiness/ Agricultural Economics or related fields More than 3 years From 1 to 3 years Less than 1 year - Ability and demonstrated minimum 3 years experience in the formulation of business plans and projects, preferably in the agri-food sector.
- Demonstrated experience in agribusiness development with cooperatives, producer organizations and/or buyers at the local, national or export level, preferably in the agri-food sector.

- Regional marketing experience for at least 3 years - Experience in conducting Agribusiness studies in the Caribbean - Less than 3 years in the formulation of business plans and projects…etc.

from above 4.

Number of technical works developed related to the topic of the consultancy.

5.
5.

Participation in multidisciplinary task teams more than 5 from 3 to 5 from 1 to 3 more than 5 from 1 to 5 MAXIMUM TOTAL SCORE MINIMUM SCORE TO QUALIFY 25 15 20 15 10 30 20 15 5 3 10 10 100 70 5