Value Chain Assessment - Consultancy

Action Against Hunger is planning an early recovery intervention in Lebanon focusing on the creation of short-term employment opportunities and the provision of agricultural support including training and in-kind support. The project aims to support smallholders’ farmers and cooperatives in resuming their agricultural activities (production, processing and marketing) after the 2024 conflict, while promoting sustainable and inclusive farming practices and contributing to more resilient agricultural systems. The project also includes a gender component to enhance the opportunities and decision power of women in the agricultural sector. The project will use Cash for Work (CfW) schemes to rehabilitate agricultural lands and communal/public infrastructures (e.g., irrigation channels, agricultural roads, water harvesting units…) that are critical for restoring local agricultural value chains.

1. OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES EXPECTED:

The consultancy's overall objective is to ensure the strategic relevance of the project's interventions by developing a comprehensive understanding of the agricultural context in the four target governorates: South, Nabatieh, Bekaa, and Baalbek.

- The three specific objectives are:

- Smallholder and Cooperative Profiling: Profile smallholder farmers (under 10 hectares) and agricultural cooperatives to identify their current engagement in value chains, their needs, and constraints.

- Agricultural Infrastructure Mapping: Identify and prioritize communal/public agricultural infrastructures for rehabilitation. The key outcome must be a justified estimation of unskilled worker days required for each rehabilitation activity.

- Value Chain Assessment (Focused): Analyze priority value chains identified in Objective 1 across five dimensions: economic, institutional, social, environmental, and gender. This analysis will determine the most viable chains for future project support.

2. TASKS:

The selected consultant is responsible for proposing a detailed methodology that must be approved by Action Against Hunger (ACF) before implementation. Regular meetings will be held with ACF technical teams for validation throughout the process.

- The work involves three main task groups:

- Profiling Smallholder Farmers and Cooperatives:

• This starts with a desk review of existing data on agricultural production systems and existing profiles.
• The consultant must define the specific variables for profiling.
• Primary data will be collected through Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with farmers, cooperatives, local authorities, and other key stakeholders to inform the analysis and subsequent reporting.

- Mapping Communal Agricultural Infrastructures:

• The consultant will develop clear criteria for including or excluding communal agricultural infrastructures, ensuring alignment with the seasonal calendar.
• The task includes identifying and assessing structures in need of repair.
• Site observations and assessments must be conducted to quantify rehabilitation needs, determine the type of work required, and crucially, estimate the total workload in days for unskilled laborers. This information will be used to recommend and prioritize which infrastructures should be rehabilitated.

- Assessment of Agricultural Value Chains:

• The work begins with a thorough desk review of existing value chain analyses and market studies from various institutions.
• This is complemented by qualitative data collection (KIIs and FGDs) to analyze each value chain across four key dimensions (based on the GIZ/ILO analytical framework): Economic, Environmental, Social, and Institutional.
• Finally, a gender-sensitive perspective must be integrated across all dimensions to assess women's participation, decision-making, access to resources, and the value chain's potential to reduce existing gender barriers.

3. QUALIFICATIONS OF CONSULTANTS:

The consultancy should be carried out by a qualified team of at least two complementary experts covering all required technical areas: agricultural and socio-economic expertise, gender mainstreaming, and technical/engineering skills.

- The team must collectively demonstrate the following minimum expertise:

- Agricultural Infrastructure Expert:

• Advanced Degree in Agricultural Engineering, Civil Engineering, Water Resources Management, or a related field.
• Minimum 7 years of experience in assessing and rehabilitating agricultural infrastructures (e.g., irrigation, roads, water collection units).
• Proven ability to conduct technical site assessments and accurately estimate workloads and material requirements.
• Proficiency in GIS and mapping tools (e.g., QGIS, ArcGIS) for producing spatial datasets.

- Agricultural Economics & Value Chain Expert:

• Advanced Degree in Agricultural Economics, Agronomy, Rural Development, or a related field.
• Minimum 7 years of professional experience in agricultural development, food security, or rural livelihoods in Lebanon, with proven experience in agrarian diagnosis and value chain assessments.
• Demonstrated experience in qualitative data collection and analysis (FGDs, KIIs, etc.).

- Gender Mainstreaming Expert (Cross-Cutting):

• Demonstrated experience of at least 5 years in gender mainstreaming and transformative programming into food security and livelihood interventions.