Review and updating of the Balochistan Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1991

Background

The International Trade Centre (ITC) is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN). It is the only development agency that is fully dedicated to supporting the internationalization of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). ITC's mission is to foster inclusive and sustainable economic development, and contribute to achieving the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development.

ITC is implementing the EU funded ‘Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress’ (GRASP) project which aims to contribute to the reduction of poverty through development of rural MSMEs in selected districts within two provinces of Pakistan: Balochistan and Sindh. GRASP will focus on selected product lines within livestock and horticulture.

GRASP will take a holistic approach to building MSME competitiveness in agribusiness value chains starting from a deep understanding of markets and working back through the value chain to enable MSMEs and ultimately producers to create and capture additional value. To do this, GRASP will implement three intermediary outcomes:

1. Regulatory and institutional frameworks improved at federal and provincial levels for rural value chain and MSME development.
2. Productivity, quality, and sustainability of selected value chains in horticulture and livestock improved.
3. MSME commercialization within selected value chains improved.

Under intermediary outcome 1, GRASP will seek to improve the regulatory and institutional frameworks, at federal and provincial levels in Balochitan and Sindh, in the areas of domestic commerce, agricultural policies, rural MSME development and food safety, including plant and animal health. GRASP will undertake regulatory reform by developing and sustaining policies, laws, regulations (including upgrading existing laws) and strengthening government institutions to reduce barriers to competition and market openness, and foster market dynamics, while ensuring essential social and environmental welfare. .GRASP will employ highly inclusive approaches to the design and implementation of regulatory reforms through close participation of all relevant stakeholders, especially the private sector including the small hold farmers and women through wide range consultations and public private dialogue (PPD).

In this context, ITC is hiring national consultants to review and update the (existing) Balochistan Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1991 by working closely with all relevant stakeholders from government, private sector, academia among others. The existing law provides regulation of the sale and purchase of agricultural produce and for the establishment of markets for agricultural produce in the province. However, a lot has changed over time in terms of the dynamics of agriculture markets, consumer preferences and innovations in wholesale, marketing and logistics channels. Accordingly, in order to assist the development of agricultural commerce through multiple channels and to provide meaningful support to the agricultural producers, suppliers, growers, and traders, it is necessary to review the existing law and develop an upgraded draft law to cater for the needs of all stakeholders according to international best practices and domestic experiences, especially in other provinces and comparable foreign economies.

Description of Duties/Responsibilities

ITC intends to hire a legal expert to draft the updated Balochistan Agricultural Produce Markets Act 1991 by undertaking a regulatory impact analysis of the existing law including comparisons with similar laws in force in other provinces of the country as well as international best practices and evolving trends. The proposed law will be developed in consultation and coordination with the Balochistan Agriculture Department and all other relevant stakeholders from public and private sectors. The proposed revised law shall specifically cater for the registration, establishment, regulation (including possible establishment of any authority body), market information systems, transparency and dispute settlement concerning agricultural produce markets among others.

The Legal Consultant (Agricultural Markets) will work under the guidance of the Islamabad based Deputy GRASP Coordinator um Policy Lead in association with Balochistan Provincial GRASP Lead and under the overall supervision of GRASP Coordinator. The consultant will be required to collaborate with other ITC GRASP staff and consultants working on the GRASP project.

The consultant would be required to address the below specific objectives of the assignment:

- Review existing national and provincial laws related to and affecting the agriculture produce markets in Balochistan and develop a draft law to replace the existing Balochistan Agricultural Produce Markets Act 1991 for regulation and smooth functioning of the agricultural produce markets in Balochistan in line with the evolving trends, domestic experiences and international best practices. The consultant will employ an inclusive approach to produce the draft law by engaging in consultations with the private sector (including more vulnerable groups such as small hold farmers, SMEs and women) to identify challenges with the existing law and with Balochistan Agriculture Department to understand government objectives and with any other stakeholders. Based on the collected information, the consultant will develop policy options that strike a delicate balance between government objectives and ease of doing business and present them to a PPD before further legal drafting and finalization.

"The consultant has to ensure that s/he has obtained the necessary permissions with regard to intellectual property rights required to perform his/her services under this consultancy contract and for the subsequent dissemination by ITC in any form. Documentary proof is to be submitted to ITC. S/he has further to ensure to obtain accreditation to the event(s) as required. Should any license fee be due for the use of copyrighted materials of third parties, the consultant shall request the prior written permission from ITC."

Expected Outputs and Timelines