Consultant – Horticulture Activity at USAID Tanzania

Business Development Jobs, Private Sectors Jobs

Full-time

Scope of Work: Consultant –USAID/Tanzania Horticulture Activity

Consultancy Dates: August 1-31, 2021

LOE: Not to exceed 23 Days

Scope of Work:

Reporting to the Business Development, Manager and Technical Design Lead, and working closely with LWR Tanzania Senior Program Manager, the consultant will lead and support intel gathering in youth, horticulture, and the private sector in preparation for the USAID Tanzania Horticulture Activity in USAID’s Zone of Influence Tanzania. Target geographies for this opportunity include the regions of Morogoro, Iringa, Mbeya, Njombe, and Zanzibar.

The Activity will seek to improve youth employment opportunities at household level, support the transformation of small and informal Tanzanian market actors/organizations/businesses into financially viable in the horticulture sector and value chain. The focus of the effort is on private sector actors and entrepreneurs active, or willing to be more active in, horticulture markets. Achieving results for targeted populations will require engagement with men, women, as well as local government, various providers of agricultural produce and/or services, small businesses and civil society in order to foster systems-wide commitment and actions.

Specific responsibilities could include, but not be limited to:

Identify, and meet with existing private sector horticulture firms and youth entrepreneurs and enterprises, that preferably operate in the target geographic areas (zone of influence – ZOI) listed above for potential partnership. These should encompass small and informal Tanzanian civil society organizations, entrepreneurs and businesses that can be transformed into financially viable businesses. Private sector networks, Chambers of Commerce and associations should be included.
Map out the key roles of entities (entrepreneurs and enterprises / businesses) to show their core business and marketing functions.
Delineate and propose current institutional and regulatory gaps in the private sector (not limited to horticulture, youth or finance sector) in the target regions and make suggestions of (1) potential business opportunities that will engage the private sector, and (2) changes to the enabling environment that would increase private sector opportunities in the youth horticulture sector.
List current horticulture and agriculture projects or initiatives (district, national and international) that the program can coordinate and collaborate with.
Document any financial service sector engagement in the youth and horticulture sector in the target districts, if any.
Participation in relevant headquarter-field level meetings; set up and participate in meetings with businesses/companies and others that are relevant for this program design

Deliverables:

A written report including:

A list of private sector businesses, civil society organizations, and networks operating in the Tanzanian target districts. Provide a description of the core business and engagement, a point of contact, contact information, location/geo coverage, main business focus, and other relevant information.
A list of financial institutions that are active in making funds available to support (1) youth entrepreneurs’ engagement as market actors in the horticulture value chain.
A list of horticulture crops by hectares and metric tons over 3-year period (2018, 2019, 2020) to show trend analysis.
List potential horticulture crops that youth are interested
Document specific gaps and policy and regulatory constraints affecting the private sector and youth and/or horticulture sectors within the target geographies, and potential solutions to address these gaps.
List of current programs and initiatives in youth and horticulture and a description of their core focus with which the program can coordinate and collaborate.
Contribute to technical design discussions, and provide a written document that recognizes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the youth and horticulture sector in targeted districts.
Describe how the public sector can foster and regulate the private sector in a way that it can maximize its role in reaching the poorest with high quality horticultural produce to reach and expanded sales.

Qualifications:

Master’s degree or higher in agriculture, agribusiness, agriculture economics, or related field.
Experience in technical assessment, design, and implementation of agricultural development projects in Tanzania. Familiarity with USAID preferred.
Professional experience and networks in the private and public sector, with 10-15 years of relevant experience in Tanzania.
Extensive knowledge of the market systems, value chain development and horticulture supply chains with the ability to clearly identify factors influencing Tanzanian youth participation.
Ability to quickly absorb and analyze a large quantity of information and communicate, both verbally and in written form, concise, highly relevant and useful answers and recommendations to key questions.
Excellent writing and presentation skills, including proficiency in Word, Excel and online communication tools.
Excellent time management and communication skills.