Consulting for Developing Banana Value Chain Greening Training Manual and Training of TOTs as Green Agents, MESPT

1.0. Introduction

Micro-Enterprises Support Programme Trust (MESPT) has since the year 2002 developed a niche in supporting the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by providing integrated business solutions for sustainable development. The Trust is a multi-donor entity jointly founded by the Government of Kenya and the European Union who later relinquished their position to the Royal Danish Embassy in Kenya, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (DANIDA).

About Danida Market Development Partnership (DMDP) Programme

The Danida Market Development Partnership (DMDP) Programme is designed to give an opportunity to enterprises that are keen on delivering towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The programme brings commercial and non-commercial actors together in partnerships to promote sustainable business, development and employment opportunities contributing to SDGs 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and 17 (Partnerships for Sustainable Development).

The overall objective of DMDP programme is to contribute to sustainable economic growth in developing countries within the framework of the SDG’s. Through broad partnerships, the facility contributes to the motivation and mobilization of private sector investments. The basis of a partnership project is a business idea driven by one or several private companies. The support is given to ensure more combined knowledge and resources from different types of actors to ensure more comprehensive development results with a focus on SDG 8.

DMPD Banana Programme – Spurring Job Creation in Kenya by Enhancing the Competitiveness of the Banana Sub Sector. The Market Development Partnership Project will contribute to increased and sustainable incomes and decent jobs within the banana subsector in Taita Taveta County with emphasis on women and youth. This will by extension contribute to poverty alleviation. The project will roll out interventions geared to enhancing the competitiveness of the banana value chain and hence improved market access for the targeted farmers. Production capacities of small holder farmers and service providers will be developed, and vertical and horizontal linkages facilitated thereby sustainably creating value and business efficiencies.

The project will deliver a socially and environmentally responsible fruit pulp processing factory that is economically viable. The factory whose annual processing capacity is estimated at 40,000MT shall be fully operational in the fourth year of the project cycle.

The commercial partners will set up aggregation centers and an ICT system for efficient management of the supply chain. They have and will continuously explore market opportunities for both fresh banana and pulp. They will invest in a 300-acre organic farm to ensure a consistent supply while also developing the capacity of small holder farmers on the same. The commercial partners’ interventions will be anchored on 2,000 small holder farmers organized in 40 farm estates and will oversee the aggregation centers (business hubs) and offtake farm produce. They will work closely with 20 farm estate advisors whose capacities are developed by the project. The smallholder farmer and various service providers will earn incomes from the opportunities generated by the commercial partners. It is expected that at least 2,000 farmers will have their incomes increased by at least 40% from the third year. An estimated 1,200 private service providers providing an array of services to the farmers and other value chain actors will also earn and or diversify incomes because of the opportunities generated by the project. At least 31,500 MT of quality bananas per year will consistently be produced and sold and at least 600 direct decent jobs created by the commercial partners.

The consortium will promote climate smart and regenerative agricultural practices among smallholder farmers and work with key stakeholders and market players to institute green compliance framework for organic/safe food production. 20 demonstration farms will be enhanced to integrate greening solutions with partnerships on inclusive green growth and circular economy developed and engagement mechanisms established. The activities will lead to reduced carbon emissions and sequestration, improvement of soil quality while also enhancing food security amongst targeted households.

2.0. Background of Banana Value Chain

Banana value chain has been identified as a potential driver of socio-economic development within the Taita Taveta County as per the 2018 -2022 County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP). Out of the total population in the county, 60% are involved in banana production. As of 2017, it accounted for 32% of the total value of fruits and recorded 30% growth in revenues from USD 129.3M in 2016 to USD 169.77M in 2017. This presents a great investment opportunity in the banana value chain.

Due to its suitable agro-climatic conditions, Taita Taveta is a natural choice for an expanded banana industry. Bananas are grown either on rain-fed open fields or under irrigation. In the County, most farmers have been growing them traditionally. There are about 4,000 banana farmers in the county with acreage ranging from 0.25 to 3 acres. The County production per unit area is half the global average due to low adoption of improved agronomic practices, attack by nematodes and diseases, limited access to affordable quality inputs, extension and financial services, value addition opportunities and weak linkages to markets. Only 8% of Banana farmers in the county are in contractual relationship. The scenario demonstrates the need for support as elaborated in this proposal. This reflects the need for market development interventions for sustainable models and scale.

Smallholder farmers are struggling to make more productive use of their farmland. Most are unable to produce enough, to feed their families on an adequate nutritional diet and to sell in the market and generate sufficient incomes to meet other needs. Additionally, farmers are demotivated by market inconsistencies caused by the market players. Hence, there is a need for them to adopt good agricultural sustainable practices and access quality inputs to enhance production as well as linkages to consistent competitive markets to boost rural economies.

Previous studies have attributed these challenges to the following i) effects of climate change which are particularly evident in terms of unreliable and erratic rainfall patterns with shifts in planting time, moisture stress during the crop growing period and heavy rains during harvesting leading to increased post-harvest losses. Post-harvest losses also arise from the rejection of small finger sizes in banana bunches by the market, and poor handling during harvesting and transportation ii) unavailability and high cost of inputs attributed to poor distribution network across the county. Most farmers thus use uncertified seeds and other planting materials. There is also inadequate use of inputs such as fertilizers iii) poor marketing system which results from lack of accurate and timely market information and poor infrastructure across the county especially roads and post-harvest handling facilities iv) inadequate extension services due to a wide farmer to staff ratio. In addition, the extension officers lack access to emerging knowledge on modern farming practices.

3.0. Purpose of the Assignment

Towards the end of 2021 the DMFA introduced a greening component to the DMDP aimed at enhancing the greening of both the commercial and development cases for improved sustainability. The banana value chain project will be seeking to do this by among other things increasing adoption of climate smart and regenerative agricultural practices in banana production amongst the smallholder farmers. Aiming at improving productivity the project is already rolling a capacity development program for adoption of good agricultural practices amongst small holder farmers. Whereas GAP addresses certain aspects of the greening component there is need for a holistic training guide that in a more concrete manner supports the understanding and application (the theory and practice) of the greening concept to farmers and other key stakeholders. Most particularly intends to support the application of nature-based solutions to solve farming problems while also supporting farmers to adopt organic farming and related practices. The proposed training guide is therefore expected to facilitate content that will deliver a green ecosystem within a banana farming environment.

The training manual will be available for use by farm estate advisors, lead farmers, extension staff and farmers themselves. The manual will be subjected to a validation process by a carefully selected team of stakeholders and will eventually be translated in Swahili and printed.

The purpose of this assignment is to develop a training manual(s) for greening and training of trainers of trainers (TOTs) as greening agents.

4.0. Scope of the Assignment

Reporting to the programme manager the consulting firm’s scope of work will include the following at the minimum:

• Developing training manual template(s) with an elaborate outline to be used (Must be aligned to best practices)

1. Engaging technical experts to develop and incorporate various greening aspects in the manual.
2. Discussion of the envisaged content of the manual with MESPT and key partners.
3. Developing the training manual(s) for greening.

• Editing, formatting, and proofreading the developed training manual

1. Facilitate a key stakeholder forum for validation of the training manual.
2. Developing a comprehensive training curriculum / program for training trainers of trainers (TOTs) on agricultural/banana value chain greening.
3. Remote support of the manuals’ translation process.

• Submitting the final Training manual both in soft and hard copies
• Training of 20 lead farmers, 20 farm estate advisors and 5 ward agricultural officers as greening agents.
• Undertake limited coaching follow ups with the farm estate advisors (TOTs) during farmer trainings (1 per farm estate advisor)
• Submit a training report

5.0. Expected Output of the Assignment (Deliverables)

• Development and submission of an inception report before the commencement of the assignment- An inception report detailing the approach, methodology and general concept to the process.
• Development of the Greening Training Manual- A soft copy of the Training Manual in MS Word and PDF formats.
• Development of a training curriculum- A comprehensive training schedule.
• Validation of the training manual- Stakeholders’ validation report clearly demonstrating incorporation of stakeholders’ feedback in the manual(s) development process.
• Training of TOTs as green agents (include follow ups).- Draft report will be accompanied with photographic evidence of the training and signed attendance sheets for the trainees (FEAs, lead farmers and ward agricultural officers).
• Follow up and closure of the training- Final report submitted in hard bound copy and electronic version including the following: –

Concise presentation of the training sessions’ content applied methods and key discussions Conclusions and recommendations based on lessons learned for future interventions; Training programme evaluation forms filled in by participants. In addition, the consultant will provide training certificates to the trainees and a follow up report and other relevant materials will be submitted to MESPT.

• Reporting

1. Inception report
2. Manual.
3. Validation report.
4. Training report (draft and final)
5. Final assignment report.

6.0. Assignment’s Timeline

The assignment will commence immediately after signing the contract with MESPT. The assignment will be carried out in 60 working days. During implementation of this assignment, periodic updates to the programme manager will be required.

7.0. Expected Profile (Qualifications and Competencies) of the Consulting Firm

The scope of the assignment requires a competent team leader able to abide and implement the contract, to coordinate the work in consultation with MESPT and to ensure that timelines and milestones of the contract are effectively achieved. The bidding Firm is expected to be domiciled in Kenya with the following competencies: –

• The consulting firm should have a mix of experts with a background and experience in Natural Resource Management, Climate Change, Agribusiness and Food safety at least 7 years’ experience.
• The consulting firm should have experience in developing Training manuals and Learning guides (Provide proof)
• At least one of the experts/team members should be well versed and highly experienced in green growth initiatives/ green transformation.
• At least one team members should have practical working experience in the banana value chain.
• At least one of the team members must be well versed with certification/ food standards and processes preferably with a certificate in the area.
• Experts to be involved must have hands on experience in training.
• The lead consultant should have high organizational and co-ordination skills

8.0. Approach and Methodology

It is recommended that a facilitative and participatory approach is employed and adopted for this process however the consulting firm is expected to develop an appropriate methodology and implementation plan clearly demonstrating how the work will be carried out.

9.0. Logistics

MESPT will facilitate venue hire, meals, and related logistics for trainees / participants during the training and validation workshops.

10.0. Reporting

The consulting firm will work under the supervision of the programme manager.

11.0. Ownership and Beneficiaries of the consultancy materials

All documents produced under this assignment shall be the sole property of MESPT and may be used for any purpose whatsoever without the need to consult with the author. The key beneficiaries of the trainings are the local communities within the project area, as the skills gained will support them in understanding the local needs on banana clean rootstalk and support those interested in such skills in the banana and other related value chains.

12.0. Payment Plan

The Consulting firm will be paid in accordance with MESPT guidelines. MESPT will also prepare a detailed contract for the assignment and will retain 5% Withholding Tax as required by Kenya Revenue Authority.

The Consulting firm is requested to quote a fee that will cover all their costs including transport, accommodation where applicable and other incidentals.

The payment plan to the Consulting firm will be as follows: –

a) 30% upon successful mobilization of the assignment and sharing an acceptable inception report with an implementation plan.

b) 30% upon facilitation and presentation of an acceptable/ validated training manual, curriculum, and a draft training report with attendance sheets of trainees and photographic evidence.

c) 40% upon finalization of the coaching support and presenting acceptable final reports.