Germany - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

Description

With almost 50 % of agricultural land eroded and at least 30 000 hectares of fertile land lost every year, land degradation is a major threat to the crop and livestock production in the rural highlands of Ethiopia. Agriculture is rapidly encroaching into marginal lands including lake catchments such as Chamo and Tana lakes to produce food and animal feed.Reversing land degradation has been a high priority agenda for the Ethiopian government since 2010. The government has developed a strategic investment framework (ESIF) aiming at improving the economic well-being of farmers, pastoralists and forest users by combining practices for large-scale sustainable land management with the potential to restore, maintain and increase the productivity of land resources. The national investment flagship Sustainable Land Management Program (SLMP) is part of the ESIF being implemented in the six highland regional states (Amhara, Benishangul Gumez, Gambella, Oromia, Southern Nations and Nationality Peoples and Tigray). The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), through GIZ, has been providing technical and managerial support to the implementing partners at national, regional, woreda and community level. The program has so far reached 3100 community watersheds in the six regions and has restored around 1 500 000 ha degraded land, of which 0.9 is arable land.The ‘Climate-Sensitive Innovations in Land Management’ (CLM) project is a technical cooperation (TC) module of the programme ‘Sustainable Land Management and Food Security in Ethiopia’ within the sectoral focal area of ‘Sustainable Use of Natural Resources, Agriculture and Food Security’ of the German-Ethiopian Development Cooperation. GIZ is commissioned by the BMZ with costs of German contribution EUR 18 000 000 to implement the project. The project, within the 3 years implementation period (July 2021 to June 2024), aims at improving effectiveness of the extension system at federal, regional states and Woredas and regional level in planning and implementing sustainable, climate sensitive land management.The CLM project support measures are organised under three major outputs.Output 1: Project support measures focus on advises the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) on the development of guidelines for the operationalisation of SLM strategies and policies and offers tailor-made training courses. The guidelines will enable the national and regional state institutions to further develop and implement innovative, climate-sensitive approaches to sustainable land management (SLM), so that they can effectively and efficiently implement the funds provided by various donors, which amount to several hundred million dollars.Output 2: The measures under this output directly strengthen the capacities of community leaders who act as multipliers in their communities. Furthermore, the measures strengthen the system of development agents, who work at the interface between Watershed Users Association (WSUAs) and agricultural extension services. Their capacities are promoted through targeted training events on climate-sensitive land management or intersectoral cooperation. To exploit the potential of digitisation for more efficient service provision, the topic of digital literacy is integrated into training measures.Output 3: The measure under this output focuses on the development of integrated approaches comprising biophysical, social, economic and institutional solutions in addressing lake catchment challenges in lake chamo.The Ethiopian ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and its structure from federal to community level is the lead executing agency of the project. Implementation of the project will be oversighted by a team of technical and steering committee composed of representatives from different directorates in MoA and development partners.The contractor under this tender is expected to contribute to Output 2 of the project.
The planned consultancy service is expected to contribute to the achievement of output 2 of the CLM project which aims at increasing the service delivery capacity of agricultural extension in establishing efficient community based SLM organisations.The consultancy service and work will focus on capacity building of the local extension workers (Development Agents - DA) and community leaders who work at the interface between Watershed Users Association (WsUAs) and act as multipliers in their communities. The consulting firm is expected to deliver targeted training services to the extension workers and community leaders on selected topics related to climate-sensitive land management based on need assessment.To this effect, the firm is required to deploy experienced field coaches/facilitators who can guide community-based extension workers in preparing participatory resource use, management and development plans.Details of the required work and service from the planned consultancy under this contract are described below:Assessments, analytical and concept developmentThe services under this work package consists of analysis and documentation of the training needs of DAs and woreda extension workers in the project related to participatory watershed development and establishment of community-based institutions.The consulting firm will also analyse and map the stakeholder engaged in the capacity development community-based institutions at federal, region and Woreda level during the inception of project. The firm is required to identify leverage points for successful implementation of the project. Furthermore, the firm will advise the partner system in the establishment of networking and partnership between the different stakeholders (including private, public and government institutions) in the project intervention areas.The firm will also contribute to developing an overall exit strategy to ensure continuance of SLM implementation beyond the project period. Moreover, the updating the output monitoring and evaluation system in line with the GIZ requirement are among the required services from the consultant.Training and workshopsBased on the training needs assessment, the consulting company is expected to deliver standardised training of agricultural extension workers (Woreda experts and Development Agents) and community watershed executive members inter-alia through Agricultural Technical Vocational Education and Training (ATVETs) and private training service providers in collaboration with the MoA extension system and GIZ. To ensure more efficient service provision, the company is expected to facilitate and contribute to developing standardised B-Learning training courses on participatory/ interdisciplinary land use and watershed development planning.In addition, the company is expected to organise awareness raising and consultation workshops regarding the project interventions in close collaboration with GIZ offices at Federal and regional level, and relevant stakeholders at Federal, regional state and local level.Coaching, on-the-job training, sensitisation and follow-upThe service under this work package constitutes mobilisation of field coaches/facilitators who can provide guidance, coaching and backstopping support to extension workers (community development agents and woreda experts) for the latter to:(i) provide advisory and facilitation/mobilisation services to communities in the intervention area;(ii) facilitate the establishment, strengthening and registration of community Watershed User Associations (WsUAs);(iii) train and assist the community watershed executive leaders in the development, appraisal and implementation of local-level participatory land use plan;(iv) guide communities in preparing annual and multi-year watershed development plans and its implementation;(v) establish a model/learning watershed for further upscaling and higher impact.As part of the on the job training, the consultant will support the SLM implementing partners at zone and district level during:— the preparation and implementation of interdisciplinary/multi-stakeholder participatory land use plans for micro watersheds, e.g. through networking and joint workshops encompassing members of different sectors;— the documentation and analyses of biophysical as well as socio-economic conditions in the intervention area.Furthermore, the consultant will sensitize and coach the extension workers in the development and implementation of plausible community agreements related to the development, use and management of watershed resources in accordance to the Community Watershed Management and Use proclamation of the ministry of Agriculture. The consultant will follow up proper documentation of lessons and best practices in executing the community agreements at Woreda level, on the quality and feasibility of community agreements and provide professional support on the development and implementation of road maps towards their execution.Cooperation and knowledge managementRequired services under this work package comprises establishment of functional multi-stakeholders partnership platform including the public and private sectors and developing innovative incentive systems including value chains for landscape restoration which supports the participation of local communities, rewards engagement and finally transfers user rights.Organising steering and knowledge exchange events with the zonal and Woreda administrations and other relevant stakeholders on community-based participator watershed land use planning and execution are part of the required services from the consultant under this work package.The company is also required to facilitate knowledge transfer and exchange between SLM actors at local, district, and national level (e.g. by organising knowledge fairs, developing promotion materials).

Opportunity closing date

12 July 2021

Value of contract

to be confirmed