Consultancy -Farmer Reach Assessment Survey – CABI

Background

In bidding for new business, CABI is expected to provide estimates of coverage and scale of interventions to donors, especially on the number of people that will benefit from the proposed interventions. While implementing development interventions, CABI is required to report on the reach, or the number of people that have benefited from the various interventions. Estimating programme coverage and scale is based on estimates, which can be straightforward, or challenging depending on the nature of reach to be estimated. The two categories of reach are:

Direct reach covers the persons participating directly in the project, and thus benefit from its existence, for example all persons employed by the project, supply it with raw materials or other goods and services, or who use in some way the output of the project (FAO 2005). Households or individuals that receive an intervention by directly interacting with the project or its partners (Okello 2019).

Indirect reach covers persons living within the zone of influence of the project, i.e., all those within 5km., 8km., etc of the target invention site (FAO 2005). Households or individuals that receive an intervention without directly interacting with the project or its partners (Okello 2019).

For CABI to effectively demonstrate beneficiary reach in PlantwisePlus, there is need to provide a measure of counting farmers benefiting through direct counts and use of a multiplication factor that is representative of the various channels used to disseminate the various interventions to the farmers, and within the various country contexts.

Under Plantwise classic, estimating reach involved a multiplication factor of four (4). The passage of time has necessitated the need for a review and an update to the multiplication factor. Consequently, a survey is planned in multiple CABI countries, which will involve a phone survey of farmers to establish a) when they receive agricultural advisory information, if they share the information they receive b) with whom do they share the information c) the number of other persons they share the information with.

The factor will be generated in accordance with the various channels through which farmers receive agricultural advisory services- direct or face to face participation, listening to radio, or watching TV and receiving short messaging services (SMS) via phone, and other gadgets.

Survey Objective and Suggested Approach

The key objectives are:

i) to assess whether farmers share agricultural information and knowledge with other farmers and families and

ii)generate a multiplication factor for use in estimating farmers to farmer reach of PlantwisePlus interventions.

Methodology

The expected approach is that a survey will be conducted in multiple countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas (Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, Malawi, Uganda, Bolivia, Peru, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Vietnam), using simple random sampling with over 3000 respondents (approximately 300 farmers per country, with a gender balance between women and men farmers). It is anticipated a phone survey approach will be used. Suggested questions for the survey include the following:

• Which channels do farmers receive agricultural information and knowledge from?
• Do farmers share the agricultural information gained from these sources among themselves and their families?
• What level of detail of information do the farmers share with others?
• What factors determine the level of detail of information shared?

Expected Deliverables and Timelines

All written documentation will be submitted in English using Microsoft Word in electronic copy. The main body of all reports should be written in simple, non-technical language, with any technical material to be presented in annexes. All primary data collected and analysis conducted for the purpose of the assessment shall remain the property of CABI, and must be submitted electronically, and in a clear and comprehensible format in Excel, and any other statistical software. The consultant will provide:

• A draft of the final report within 8 weeks, for review by CABI
• A final report within 2 weeks of return of comments by CABI, to include:
  • Executive summary of max. 1 page
  • Methodology/ approach
  • Key findings
  • Conclusion
  • Annex with data in excel, and supporting tables per country

Requirements

• Strong experience of carrying out farmer level surveys in Asia, Africa and the Americas
• Demonstrate presence in the identified countries
• Strong experience of conducting phone interviews with farmers
• Track record of working in agricultural development arena and supporting organisations in this area
• Good knowledge of public agricultural extension service delivery and information service provisio
• Strong analytical, data interpretation, and communication skills
• Excellent reporting and presentation skills

Management and Implementation Responsibilities

The consultant will report directly to the CABI M&E team. Any proposed changes to the team composition listed in the application must be approved by CABI.

The Consultant shall be responsible for:

• Proposing a survey design and implementation plan, including developing a detailed survey methodology, sampling procedures and determining sufficient sample size
• Developing survey tools targeting the respondents
• Conducting all data collection. Use of digital data collection tools is highly recommended
• Data cleaning and data quality assurance, analysis and reporting, in a clear and accessible format
• Cater for all his /her field expenses and those of the team of enumerators
• Regular progress reporting to the CABI M&E team and Project manager, including responding to any comments or technical inputs within agreed timelines.
• Producing deliverables within agreed timelines, and in accordance with quality requirements from CABI
• Seeking comments and feedback from CABI, through the M&E team, in sufficient time to discuss and incorporate these into the final report
• Producing the final report as specified above
• Submitting to CABI the clean datasets

CABI shall provide:

• Guidance and technical support as required throughout the assessment
• Introductory meetings with key staff
• Comments and feedback on, and approval of all deliverables, within agreed timelines