PROJECT INFORMATION

She Feeds the World Pakistan (SFtW) project, undertaken with the financial support of the PepsiCo Foundation, is to ensure small-scale producers in the Punjab and Sindh Provinces of Pakistan, particularly women and their families, have more secure and resilient livelihoods for food, nutrition and water security. This will be achieved by enhancing producers’ capacity to adopt sustainable agriculture practices, improving agricultural yields and productivity, and increasing women producers’ access to and control over productive resources, including through the transformation of discriminatory social and gender norms as well as facilitating greater access to markets. She Feeds the World is unique because it strategically connects multisector who, together, can create change at scale. SFtW builds on CARE's 75 years of experience in promoting an integrative approach to food and nutrition security that not only promotes access to critical inputs like water, land, seeds, technology, and finance, and access to markets, but also includes an explicit focus on nutrition, safety nets and social protection in times of crisis, and puts gender equality and women's empowerment at the heart of everything we do. SFtW works directly with women to strengthen their skills and confidence to engage in sustainable agriculture practices, financial inclusion, market engagement, gender equality, and food and nutrition security - while also engaging with men and boys to support efforts for greater equality. To continue to push the envelope on high quality programming, SFtW harnesses cutting edge research and innovation. We use evidence to build strategic partnerships, along with advocacy and influencing strategies, that fuel structural changes and scale up proven approaches to improve food and nutrition security for women and their households. Together, these evidence-based tools and practices link women to resources and markets, improve family nutrition, and break down barriers that trap small-scale producers (specially women) and their families in poverty.

The project will be implemented in two districts of Punjab Province (Vehari & Okara). The main change pathways of the project are:

• Supporting women’s empowerment
• Increasing women’s access to and control of productive resources
• Enabling women’s access to inclusive markets
• Improving nutrition
• Multiplying impact, to enable change at scale

Outcomes:

1. Increased women's empowerment through strengthened capacities, skills and confidence of women small-scale producers in sustainable agriculture.
2. Increased women producers' access to and control of productive resources.
3. Improved nutrition in communities through promotion of positive nutrition and WASH practices.
4. Increased producers’ access to inclusive markets through increased interaction between producers and other value chain stakeholders.
5. Multiply impact to enable change at scale through exchange visits, documentation and learning workshops at various levels.

Indicators:

1. 5,400 small-scale producers (49% women) have increased capacity and productive engagement in sustainable agriculture disaggregated by sex and age.
2. 5,400 small-scale producers (49% women) have improved access to and control over productive resources disaggregated by sex and age.
3. 11,880 small-scale producers (49% women) have increased access and knowledge of positive nutrition and WASH practices disaggregated by sex and age.
4. 11,340 small-scale producers (49% women) have improved access to inclusive markets through increased interaction between producers and other value chain stakeholders disaggregated by sex and age.
5. % of government officials who has demonstrated increased capacities after the training program.

CARE in Pakistan is seeking a consultant or a firm to conduct the baseline and gender study at the beginning phase of this project. The expectation of this baseline study is detailed in the below sessions.

1. A.     OBJECTIVE OF BASELINE STUDY

The purpose of the baseline study is to collect evidence and knowledge of the current situation among the project beneficiaries regarding the outcome expectations and to confirm and/or make the adjustment to project interventions. This will allow the project to have a basis against which to measure progress over time especially, at the end of the project. It will also allow the project to have evidence-based validation and revision, as needed in the project design.

The specific objectives of the baseline assessment are as follows:

1. To provide benchmark information for measuring project achievements and impact. This will be achieved by establishing baseline values for each outcome indicator (as indicated in the project’s results framework) that serves for before-and-after comparison with the different project evaluation terms.
2. Assess the current status and strengths and weaknesses of agriculture system and agricultural practices among women and men farmers.
3. To identify gender differences and the gender norms that potentially constrain the project achievements. This will include;

                                 i.      Understanding the gender context and knowledge that can be used to inform and refine project interventions. Following could be key areas of focus:

                               ii.      Insights into gender inequalities and harmful norms (e.g. related to time use and gendered division of labor, access to and control over resources, access to public spaces and services, decision-making patterns and gender-based violence).

                             iii.      Constraints/barriers that affect equitable relationships in both private and public spaces between men and women and to identify ways to engage men and boys that may affect program outcomes.

                             iv.      People’s perception on Gender Based Violence and how this can be addressed (if applicable).

                               v.      How gendered social norms, beliefs, and practices influence women’s access to productive resources and services.

1. To provide gender-responsive recommendations on the overall project’s interventions in terms of designing and planning the project’s activities, with potential adjustment in interventions.

Detailed TORs attached.