Call for Proposals - On-farm trials on Integrated Crop management (ICM) in greenhouses

1. Background

The forced displacement crisis has increased in scale and complexity in recent years. According to UNHCR, 79.5 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of 2019. Forcibly displaced persons (FDPs), including refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) face specific vulnerabilities, including loss of assets and psychological trauma, limited rights, lack of opportunities, a protection risk as well as a risk to be out of school, and a lack of planning horizon. In addition, the communities hosting FDPs also struggle to pursue their own development efforts. 

In response to the considerable challenges facing FDPs and host communities, a new partnership initiative entitled “PROSPECTS - Partnership for improving Prospects for host communities and forcibly displaced persons” was launched by the Government of the Netherlands. The partnership brings together the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank. Through the PROSPECTS partnership, the five partner agencies aim to leverage their comparative advantages and areas of expertise to programme complementary and interdependent interventions that address education and skills, employment and protection challenges. The partnership spans eight countries, namely Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Sudan, and Uganda and covers the period 20192023.  

Within the framework of the PROSPECTS programme in Lebanon, the ultimate objective of ILO’s intervention is to promote access for Syrian refugees and vulnerable host communities to decent work opportunities (rights to work); and to ensure that while working, the workers from these communities have safe working conditions and social protection (rights at work), in line with International Labour Standards. More specifically, and in line with overarching priorities, the three overarching pillars under which ILO will be working include education and learning, employment with dignity, and protection and inclusion. 

The Education & Learning pillar will aim to improve the learning outcomes for children and market relevant skills of adolescents and youth living in Lebanon. The Employment with Dignity pillar will address the pressing challenges in the Lebanese context. The main aim of the programme within the employment pillar is to ensure enhanced economic opportunities and decent employment for vulnerable Lebanese host communities and Syrian refugees, with a focus on sectors such as agriculture and digital skills with potential for growth, job retention, and creation. The Protection & Inclusion pillar will increase protection and inclusion for refugees and host communities through strengthening of legal, policy and enabling environment for protection, social protection and inclusion.

2. Context

Under the ‘Employment with Dignity’ pillar of PROSPECTS, the ILO will use, amongst other tools, its Approach to Inclusive Market Systems (AIMS)2 to unlock opportunities for decent job creation in the horticulture sector. To this end, a market systems analysis entitled “Unlocking opportunities for decent job creation in Lebanon’s horticulture sector”3 was conducted in late 2019 to identify constraints and opportunities for decent job creation for both Syrian refugees and Lebanese host communities and provide practical recommendations for project interventions to develop the sector. 

Following recommendations of the market systems analysis, ILO works on three different but intervention areas that aim to achieve the following: 

1. Encourage farmers to invest in more productive and appropriate greenhouse technologies
2. Improve production practices and better use of agricultural inputs 
3. Improve coordination and information flow along the value chain 

This assignment will be part of several interventions to improve production practices and better use agricultural inputs. Specifically, this assignment aims to supervise a pilot initiative on Integrated Crop Management (ICM) with selected farmers in Akkar and Beqaa.  

3. Scope and Objectives

Research indicated that next to a lack of knowledge of most efficient production practices, the main underlying reason for farmers’ misuse of agro-chemical inputs is the lack of incentives to switch to safer production practices. As a first step, the ILO is thus planning to conduct on-farm trials with selected farmers to compare production costs, yields and revenues of both ‘traditional’ and ICM-based production practices in order to verify whether a business case for switching to ICM production exists. 

The planned on-farm trials thus aim to test and compare ‘traditional’ methods for pest treatments as practiced by the majority of farmers in Lebanon with science-based methods that are recommended by experts. Trials will be conducted in collaboration with selected interested farmers that commit to adhering to specific production methods and standards and collect data on production costs, yields and revenues in their greenhouses. The trials will serve several objectives at the same time. It will:

1. Serve as ‘demo-plots’ to convince farmers of the benefits of switching to ICM-based practices

The project will select farmers that are well-respected within their respective communities for participation in the trials. Farmers that participate will then be encouraged to spread the word on the results of the trial within their communities. Spreading the news through participating farmers in communities of different regions of Akkar and Beqaa should encourage other farmers to look into options to switch to ICM-based production practices as well.  

2. Demonstrate the advantages of on-farm trials to stakeholders

On-farm trials that seek to collect data on benefits of better pest management that involve farmers in a participatory manner can be an effective means to convince farmers of the benefits of these 

production practices. Different stakeholders, including suppliers of inputs and research institutes, often run test sites where new pesticides are presented and tested. However, survey results indicate that farmers are more likely to apply new production methods if these were tested on other farms under ‘real life’ conditions rather than test sites. These on-farm trials thus also represent an opportunity to test the effectiveness of trials with real-life farmers as a strategy to inform and convince farmers of the benefits of ICM production practices. 

3. Generate data on the impact of ICM-based production techniques on production costs, yields and revenues of horticulture farms

Perhaps most importantly, the on-farm trials aim to generate data on the exact benefits of different pest management techniques on production costs, yields, revenues, and ultimately incomes with a view to using the collected data to launch large-scale information campaigns. Participating farmers will be asked to continue using traditional pest management techniques in some greenhouses, while adhering to ICM-based protocols recommended by experts in other greenhouses, and collect data on expenses, yields and revenues. The collected data can then be used to work with various stakeholders including input suppliers, extension services, media outlets and other relevant actors to develop an information campaign to help farmers understand the advantages of switching to ICM-based production techniques.  

In order to achieve the above-mentioned three objectives, the trials will be set up in close collaboration with experts and registered agro-chemical input suppliers who will assist in designing the on-farm trials and participate in data collection and analysis. 

On-farm trials will be designed to collect comparative data on productivity, yields, production costs, and ultimately the difference in income between the two different production methods: the traditional method used by most farmers, and the method recommended by experts. To this end, farmers located in different locations representing different microclimates will be selected for participation in the trial. Farmers are then asked to follow expert advice and specific ICM protocols in three of their greenhouses while proceeding with ‘traditional’ practices in three other greenhouses.  

Farmers will be asked to collect data throughout the season on production costs, yields and revenues in all greenhouses. A team of agricultural engineers will accompany the participating farmers and ensure that farmers follow expert advice and record all required data. Sample tests will be taken to identify residue levels of pesticides on the crops produced in both the ‘controlled’ three greenhouses and the other three greenhouses in which traditional methods are applied. 

Trials will likely focus on specific locations in both Akkar and Beqaa regions. Trials will be launched in the summer season of 2022 which shall start in April for tomatoes. The trial will continue for approximately 6 months - the duration of one agricultural season for tomatoes. 

4. Duties and Responsibilities 

In order to ensure that the selected farmers follow expert advice and collect all required data, ILO requires a team of agricultural engineers to conduct regular visits to participating farmers to advice on production practices and ensure that farmers follow protocols in the three ‘controlled’ greenhouses in which ICM-based production practices are applied. This requires at least 1-2 visits per week for each of the selected farmers. The specific tasks associated with this assignment are the following:

1. Liaise with ILO, experts and suppliers of agro-inputs to decide on the exact parameters and protocol for the trial. This includes deciding on the exact ICM-based production methods that shall be applied in 3 greenhouses per farm
2. Support ILO in selecting the 10 participating farms and conduct initial farm visits to discuss functioning and objectives of the trials with participating farmers and workers
3. Supervise trials to ensure that participating farmers and workers adhere to the agreed upon protocol. This requires at least 1-2 visits per week to farmers to:
   • check up on the progress of the trials
   • scan for pest issues or other problems related to the production
   • ensure that farmers and workers follow protocols as agreed 
   • advise and instruct farmers and workers
   • take note of the exact quantities and qualities of administered agro-chemicals  -       collect the required data on production costs, yields and revenues. 
4. Facilitate occasional visits of ILO staff and associated experts to the farms to check up on trials and document progress
5. Draft short monthly progress reports (1-2 pages) to summarize progress on the 10 farms and list any problems that may have occurred
6. Submit a final report with lessons learned and excel sheets containing all collected data on production costs, yields and revenues following completion of harvest on the farms

5. Deliverables, Timeframe 

Expected Contract Start date: as soon as the Purchase Order is placed and countersigned by both the ILO and the supplier. 

Expected Contract End date: 15/11/2022  

The Supplier is expected to fulfil the required tasks and submit all required deliverables as follows.  Deliverables:

• Short concept note outlining exact parameters of the trials including protocols to administer agro-chemicals as well as list of selected farmers, to be delivered one month after signature
• Monthly short progress reports (1-2 pages) at the end of each month during the implementation phase (April to September; a total of 6 monthly short reports)
• Final report with lessons learned and excel sheets containing all collected data, after completion of harvest, expected in mid-November 

All payments will be processed upon submission and approval the deliverables by the ILO.

6. Required qualifications 

We are looking for consultants or consultancy firms with the following qualifications and characteristics: 

• Be located in North or Beqaa Governorates with possibility to visit farms in Akkar or Zahle/South Baalbeck at least 1-2 times per week 
• Have a degree in agricultural engineering with in-depth knowledge of Integrated Crop Management (ICM) in greenhouses 
• Have experience working with farmers and collecting data on production costs, yields and revenues of farms
• Be fluent in Arabic and English