HIRING OF CONSULTANTS

DBIS/EC

NAME OF CONSULTANT:  TO be Advertised

PROJECT TITLE: Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress

HIRING REQUEST

TERMS OF REFERENCE

TRAVEL

Travel in selected districts of province of Balochistan and other cities of Pakistan may be required

BACKGROUND

Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress (GRASP), an European Union (EU) funded project for poverty reduction and sustainable inclusive economic growth in rural Pakistan. Focused on selected districts of Balochistan & Sindh, ITC and its implementing partners are providing technical assistance in horticulture and livestock sectors for improving commercial viability of MSMEs and for a conducive policy regime. The International Trade Centre (ITC) is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN). It is fully dedicated to supporting the competitiveness of, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 

This assignment will directly contribute to Output 3.2 of the GRASP project: Business Management, Marketing and Market linkage capacities of agribusinesses in selected value chains enhanced. Under this Output, the project is providing capacity building support to agribusinesses on the areas of marketing and management, while also building linkages of the SMEs/ farmer beneficiaries to national and international market players called ‘Lead Firms’.

A lead firm is the driver of an agricultural value chain and is typically a large retailer, agro-processor, manufacturer, exporter, trading company or business which is a “recognized key market leader” in a range of agricultural produce/ agro-services.  Recognized as market Leader as made evident through market share OR market outreach OR sales turnover OR number of employees OR a unique product / service at provincial / national levels. The lead firm can be based in GRASP provinces or outside but willing to invest in/expand within Balochistan, preferably with GRASP selected products and part of their supply chain. 

Lead firms provide a unique ability to act as a bridge between GRASP beneficiaries in the districts and markets. Being a “bridge” not only means directly procuring from GRASP beneficiaries but also sending market signals, sharing technical knowledge, and improving the functioning of the supply chain. Lead firms have a unique position of acting as scale agents; the ability to create impact is significantly enhanced by the sheer size and sophistication of their operations. This allows for the engagement with a firm to target many GRASP SMEs. 

The purpose of the assignment is to establish collaborations and partnerships between these Lead Firms and GRASP Grapes and Onion beneficiaries including value added products of Farmer Marketing Collectives (FMCs) in selected value chains in Balochistan, Pakistan. GRASP project intends to ensure Grapes and Onion FMCs and SMEs make transactions between with Lead Firms/ Market Player.

The signing of these agreements is expected to contribute to various indicators at different levels of the GRASP project. At the output level, it will contribute to indicator 3.1, which is the number of SMEs having transacted business as part of the national and international value chains (gender disaggregated) - ITC’s corporate indicator C3/ C4. This means that the project aims to increase the number of SMEs transacting business in selected value chains, which could lead to increased economic activity and growth. At the outcome level, it contributes to achieve indicator 3, which is the percentage change in sales turnover of supported SMEs in selected value chains. The assignment also aims to achieve indicator 4, which is the percentage of agribusinesses sourcing from producer SMEs within targeted value chains. These indicators are important measures of the project's impact on the targeted value chains. Ultimately, the success of the assignment in achieving these indicators is expected to contribute to the impact level indicator 3, which is the percentage change in economic growth of the province. Overall, GRASP would like to have a clear and measurable set of objectives that aim to improve economic activity and growth in the selected value chains in Balochistan.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the GRASP’s Provincial Lead – Balochistan, the consultant will undertake following set of responsibilities;

1. Identify (from the existing list of Lead Firms) and other market players who shall potentially develop backward and forward linkages with grapes and onion FMCs members and SMEs (grapes and onions). These market players may include but not be limited to grapes and onion processors, shops, superstores, traders, exporters, middlemen, feed suppliers, etc.

2. Ensure that unique sales transactions are completed between FMC members of all the selected districts and market players. At least 2 transaction with each FMC member. The transactions may include;

   1. Financial transaction between a FMC and market player/ lead firm for procuring inputs or selling products.
   2. Establishing a supply chain mechanism of the FMCs with lead firms or existing market players like supply of fresh grapes, raisins, onion and other value added products to medium to large sized businesses in cities.
   3. Placement of fresh or value added products to domestic and international marts and expos.
   4. Providing access to processing/ value addition facilities operated by lead firms for farmers for increasing their product value
   5. Providing access to various markets to farmers/ SMEs through private market operators.
   6. Designing a customized joint intervention among the farmers and lead firms for shared services (Subcontracting part of the process or whole component of a value to farmers by lead firms).
   7. In coordination with GRASP partners including, PPAF (along with four PPAF partners), FAO, SMEDA, foster relationships of the GRASP’s grapes and onion farmers and SMEs that include particularly Farmer Market Collectives in the selected districts (with Grapes and Onion as selected value chain – list attached).
   8. Ensure recording and collection of means of verifications for each transaction/ relationship.

EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND TIMELINES

Deliverable-1: Identification of market players including, input suppliers, processors, buyers. Develop district wise FMC/ SME market linkages strategies for grapes and onion value chain products to increase the existing income of the FMC members.

Deliverable-2: 10 FMCs and their FMC members start making transactions with the identified market players. Detailed report on the all the transactions.

Deliverable-3: 10 FMCs and their FMC members start making transactions with the identified market players. Detailed report on the all the transactions.

Deliveravle-4: 10 FMCs  and their FMC members start making transactions with the identified market players. Detailed report on the all the transactions.

Deliverable-5: Final Report documenting the summary of the process and overall achievements, major contributions to results/ impact with annexures including, reports on each partnership, case studies, beneficiaries and lead firms data records, contact details and all material produced during the assignment. Total FMCs to be covered as mentioned in the above deliverables will be 30.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

SKILLS

-        MS office

EDUCATION

Minimums graduate degree (16 years) in the field of economic, business administration, management and related disciplines.

EXPERIENCE

a)     Required Experience

-        At-least 5-8 years of related progressive experience in the areas of marketing, sales and promotion, with private sector, at national and international level.

-        Demonstrated experience of sales and marketing in the agriculture and food industry along with in-depth knowledge of the food and horticulture market prepositions including quality requirements, technology, seasonal trends etc. 

b)     Other

a.      Experience of finalizing trade deals at national and international platforms would be a plus

LANGUAGE

Advance level of Urdu language (native preferred) (speaking, writing and listening)

Advance level of English (speaking, writing and listening)

Annex: Target Districts and Product Value Chains for Balochistan under GRASP