Міждународна організація Mercy Corps шукає консультанта для проведення оцінки в прифронтових громадах Луганської області та надання рекомендацій щодо короткострокових і довгострокових заходів, які дозволять поліпшити становище фермерів на ринку (далі - англ.).

Background:

Mercy Corps is an international humanitarian organization that has provided assistance to war-affected civilians in the Donbass region of Ukraine since March 2015. Our programs include repair of damaged homes, cash transfers for food and NFIs to vulnerable individuals, repair of damaged water infrastructure and provision of small livelihoods grants. Our main program office is in Severodonetsk.

Mercy Corps is interested in supporting small agricultural producers in frontline communities suffering from the following problems:

• Physical damage or destruction of equipment, power lines, greenhouses, etc., during the armed conflict;
• Loss of farmlands due to the presence of landmines, tripwires, unexploded ordinance;
• Loss of traditional markets in the large cities now located in non-government controlled areas (NGCA).

Scope of Work: 

The consultant will assist Mercy Corps to identify constraints and assess opportunities for agriculture market improvement in Luhanska Oblast (approximately 30,000 individuals), who have seen their livelihoods drastically affected by the conflict.  The assessment will consider:

• Potential for processing and storage technology improvement (i.e. cold-storage) for small-holder farmers (SHF) in frontline communities.   This will draw on experience in other regions of Ukraine considering appropriate technology, target volumes, number of potential SHF beneficiaries, investment and marginal costs, etc.
• How to link “frontline farmers” to new markets and purchasers, both in Luhanska Oblast and farther afield, such as Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, etc.
• Potential new crops or products for small producers in these areas appropriate for Luhanska Oblast’s climate and growing conditions (diversifying beyond fresh-sell cucumbers and tomatoes).
• Particular focus should be made on questions of market access for small producers in Stanitsa Luhanska Raion and Trekhizbenka, if possible in the 2016 market season.

The assessment will guide Mercy Corps and community efforts to address key constraints, and the consultant will provide recommendations to Mercy Corps and the communities on project activities to assist SHF for short or longer-term programming targeting highest impact agriculture markets.  

Methodology: 

The consultant will use a combination of rapid market surveys, focus groups, and key informant interviews to gather quantitative and qualitative information. The assessment will focus on better understanding of:

• Highest potential agriculture markets for impacted communities
• Market maps of selected critical markets, considering supporting functions (i.e. inputs, storage, transportation, financial services, processing, etc.) and the enabling environment (i.e. farmer organization, regulations, informal rules, social norms, etc.)
• Critical constraints, capacities and incentives for primary market actors
• Prioritized intervention areas including new technology, post-harvest processing and development of new crops
• Report of key findings and recommendations for each high-potential market system analyzed.

Surveys will focus on quantifying changes and determining consensus around drivers of change; focus groups will provide in-depth explanations for the findings as they emerge from the surveys; and key informant interviews will be used to better understand enabling environment considerations that support or impede agriculture in the assessment areas.  In order to account for other factors influencing observed impacts, the assessment team will probe to understand common seasonal trends in the geographic area as well as immediate changes that have occurred since the escalation of the conflict.

Expected Outputs:

The consultant will provide a report with market maps, key actors, primary constraints, and specific recommendations on actions that can be taken by small agricultural producers, and by Mercy Corps to assist these producers. The report shall include a section outlining immediate steps that can be taken to assist producers in the 2016 market season. 

Deliverables:

• Workplan developed outlining key activities and outputs
• Documented data collection methodology and tools developed and tested
• Consultations with producers and potential market actors.  All information documented adequately and accurately through market maps, interview notes, and key findings and recommendations report
• Lessons learned are shared and a debriefing session is held for Mercy Corps team members at the end of the market assessments. 
• A report of all markets covered.
• A summary of recommendations in Russian or Ukrainian.

Timeframe / Schedule: 

The consultancy will commence in the beginning of June and be completed no later than June 30.  The engagement will include a minimum of three (3) days in the field (Stanichno-Luhansky Raion and Trekhizbenka, Luhanska Oblast). Transport to these locations (from Severodonetsk) will be provided by Mercy Corps. It is desirable to find accommodations closer to these communities than Severodonetsk, in order to minimize time spent in transport.

Required Qualifications:

• An advanced degree in economics, agricultural sciences, international development or other relevant field.
• Demonstrated skills and experience in designing and managing qualitative market assessments, and analyzing data.
• At least five years of experience in the Ukrainian agricultural sector;
• Strong written and oral communication skills in Ukrainian or Russian and English.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.

To apply: 

Please submit the following, in English:

• A CV and cover letter, mentioning your daily consultancy rate inclusive of all expenses
• A list of relevant past engagements
• Example of previous market analysis conducted
• At least three references with contact details
• A short proposal (no more than five pages) outlining the proposed approach, work plan and cost schedule. The proposal should address the main requirements of the SoW, and describe and quantify data collection activities. The cost schedule should present costs and time allocated to the main proposed activities.

The applications shall be reviewed based on the demonstrated understanding of the SoW, technical qualifications of the applicant, prior experience and past references, and the proposed cost.

The full package of documents should be submitted to [email protected] no later than 2PM on Monday, 30 June 2016.