Team Leader - Crop Availability and Market Study In Ethiopia
USAID/Ethiopia Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Service (EPMES) Activity, Ethiopia
Social Impact (SI) is a Washington, DC-area international development management consulting firm. SI’s mission is to improve the effectiveness of international development programs in improving people’s lives. We provide a full range of management consulting, technical assistance, and training services to strengthen international development programs, organizations, and policies. We provide services globally in the areas of monitoring and evaluation, strategic planning, project and program design, organizational capacity building, and gender and social analysis. SI services cross-cut all development sectors including democracy and governance, health, education, the environment, and economic growth. SI’s clients include US government agencies such as USAID, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the US Department of State, bilateral donors, multilateral development banks, foundations, and non-profits. In Ethiopia, SI implements the Ethiopia Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Service (EPMES) Activity of USAID. The EPMES Activity provides monitoring and evaluation (M&E) services to the USAID/ Ethiopia Mission, which include external evaluation, performance monitoring technical support and improving capacity for learning and adapting.
Project Objective:
The five-year $16.6 million Ethiopia Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Service (EPMES) activity aims to provide USAID/Ethiopia with project/activity external evaluation, performance monitoring and performance management support services in alignment with the USAID Automated Directives System (ADS) and Evaluation Policy. It is anticipated that this contract will assist USAID/Ethiopia and its partners to generate empirical data on project/activity implementation as well as foster learning and knowledge management to improve evidence-based project design and development programming in support of the Country Development and Cooperation Strategy (CDCS). The Contractor will provide support services at all stages of USAID’s program cycle. Specific services to be provided under this contract include implementation of external evaluations, as directed by the Mission’s Program Office and Development Objective Teams/Technical Offices; management and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) technical capacity building for implementing partners (IPs), select local organizations, and Mission staff on M&E best practices, data collection, data analysis and data quality assurance practices; support to technical offices to analyze geo-referenced data and produce maps with geographic information system (GIS) tools; and support to IPs and Mission staff for the ongoing use of the Agency’s portfolio management system(s), including AID tracker Plus (AT+), for active performance management. The expected results of this contract are to build internal and external M&E capacities of USAID staff and IPs to improve accountability and the use of empirical evidence for programming, learning and adapting at every stage of the project cycle.
I. Background
USAID has supported the Productive Safety-net Program (PSNP) since its inception in 2005 and is the biggest bilateral donor to the PSNP, contributing approximately 16 percent of the total budget for 2017-2021 implementations (USD 567 million), pending availability of funds. PSNP IV is built on a “cash first” principle that states, whenever possible, cash should be the primary form of transfer. Food transfers are provided at times and places when food is not available in the market, or where market prices for food are very high in order to protect beneficiaries from food shortages and asset depletion.
Following the Meher assessment of late 2016, the Humanitarian Response Document (HRD) issued in January 2017 required humanitarian food assistance to 5.6 million beneficiaries. Further, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA), in its May 02 Weekly Humanitarian Bulletin, stated that the performance of the Belg rains in the already drought affected lowland areas as well as other highland areas are poor which could result in an increase in humanitarian needs. As of 02 May 2017, the number of people receiving relief food assistance has already increased to 7.78 million from the initial 5.6 million. In the 2017 PSNP cycle, USAID partners are approved to provide food transfers to 1.3 million PSNP IV base beneficiaries and in Amhara, Oromia, and Tigray Regions and Dire Dawa Administrative region of Ethiopia. In 2016/2017, 116,000 metric tons (MT) of Title II development food commodities that consists 91,600 MT of wheat and 24,400 MT of pulses are approved to be distributed in 39 chronically food insecure (CFI) districts.
As mandated by Congress, prior to the approval of a proposed US food aid program in a recipient country, the USG must make a positive ‘Bellmon Determination’ that:
1. Adequate storage facilities will be available in the recipient country at the time of the arrival of the commodity to prevent the spoilage or waste of the commodity; and that the distribution of the commodity in the recipient country will not result in a substantial disincentive to or interference with domestic production or marketing in that country; and
2. Impact on local farmers and economy – The Secretary or the Administrator, as appropriate, shall ensure that the importation of United States agricultural commodities and the use of local currencies for development purposes will not have a disruptive impact on the farmers or the local economy of the recipient country.
This study is intended to collect data to assess Ethiopia’s Crop and Market situation based on the Bellmon determination requirements.
II. Study Objective
The overall objective of the study is to provide sufficient information about current and anticipated local market dynamics in Ethiopia to enable USAID to make a Bellmon determination regarding potential Title II distributed food and possible cash transfers for FY 2018 programs. To achieve that objective, USAID requires the best available evidence of the market demand and supply situation for 2016/2017, as well as an estimate for 2017/2018. The study must provide detailed updates on production and availability of major crops, affordability of staple foods, and the markets’ ability to respond to an increase in effective demand without undue upwards pressure on retail prices. Moreover, the study will assist with the design improved food security programming in Ethiopia by informing USAID’s decisions about the appropriateness of transitioning to cash transfers as the preferred mode of food assistance in most of the highland areas.
III. Research Tasks and Timeline
The study will involve pre-visit preparations, field assessments, collection and review of substantial primary and secondary qualitative and quantitative data (including previous Bellmon analyses or relevant market assessments), so as to estimate food availability and access situation the country and inform USAID’s strategic approach in Title II-funded development programs in Ethiopia: The study has a national scope with primary data collected from key stakeholders and markets in Amhara, Oromia, Tigray, SNNP and other areas. The expected period of performance will be tentatively from 27 June 2017 to 30 August 2017.
IV. Methodology
The study team is expected to use a combination of methodologies including quantitative and qualitative methods and collect primary and secondary data on the agricultural economy, commodity markets, and food aid programs, at regional and federal levels. As the major focus of this study is on domestic food crop production and supply, primary data will be from sampled woredas and markets in the five major regions (Oromia, Amhara, Tigray, SNNP, Somali and Dire Dawa) collected using rapid rural appraisal techniques. As appropriate, key informant interviews, focus group dicussions, and mini-surveys will be key components of the assessment, to get relevant information from other key stakeholders including key Ethiopian Government bodies, a broad cross section of traders, millers, cooperatives and farmers, UN Agencies and other humanitarian aid and development project offices, networks, academic institutions, etc.
V. Position Descriptions:
Social Impact, through its EPMES Activity is seeking to recruit on a short-term basis, a competent Local Team Leader for the Market and Crop Availability Study in Ethiopia. The Team Leader should have a strong background in agricultural production estimation, marketing, commodity trading and sales, agricultural statistics methodology development, and market data analysis. The study team will have 4 core team members with pertinent qualifications. The Team Leader will be responsible for team coordination and ensuring the timeliness and quality of deliverables. The study team will work under the closer supervision Social Impact’s EPMES Activity.
The Team Leader will be responsible for the overall study, including the following:
Requirements: The incumbents must meet the following criteria:
§ A minimum of M.Sc. degree in Economics/Agricultural Economics or related discipline. PHD preferred.
§ Should have at least eight (8) years of work experience related to leading/ undertaking relevant big research/ assessment/ study undertakings;
§ With practical experience and credentials of leading and conducting studies/ assessments in areas related to food security, agricultural market and crop availability, disaster risk management, port, transport and storage capacity assessment, etc.;
§ Knowledge and prior experience of Bellmon Estimation work in Ethiopia or elsewhere is preferred.
§ Strong background and experience in conducting rapid rural appraisal involving quantitative and qualitative study methods;
§ Very strong quantitative (Econometric modelling) data analysis and interpretation skills;
§ Strong understanding of the local food security context of Ethiopia and knowledge on USAID’s past food security programming.
§ Must be fluent in English and have strong writing, oral communication, presentation and inter-personal skills.