Consultancy to conduct local market mapping and analysis for nutritious foods in SWS- Baidoa, Somalia

Terms of Reference

Tender Reference number: 8303627

Title: Consultancy to conduct local market mapping and analysis for nutritious foods in SWS- Baidoa, Somalia

Duration: 60 days (Between January and March 2023)

Organization: Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

Critical interfaces: BRCiS Consortium

Consultancy to conduct local market mapping and analysis on production capacities and demand for nutritious foods and how they have been affected by the current crisis in SWS- Baidoa. The BRCiS Consortium would like to identify ways in which we can work with other key market actors to enable an increase in access to affordable nutritious foods.

1. Introduction and Background

NRC through the BRCiS Consortium will be implementing a USAID-funded project that aims to reduce malnutrition rates among drought-affected communities in Somalia. The project aims at supporting and developing market systems, with a focus on nutritious foods. The market system mapping and analysis will provide an understanding of the supply and demand dynamics of the identified nutritious foods (including their seasonality and socio-cultural uses), with a specific focus on how the different actors and services in the market system are being affected by the drought and the humanitarian crisis which ensues.

The market system mapping and analysis will provide intervention recommendations for various market system actors, especially with regards to:

• Which nutritious foods should be supported and further promoted- through preliminary review of secondary information.
• How to create more drought resilient markets (short, medium and long term programming timeframes),
• Ways in which nutritious food market systems can be stimulated in the short term to meet immediate food needs as part of the drought response.
• Advocacy messages for the wider humanitarian and development sectors engaged in food security, livelihoods and nutrition.

Overall the assessment should identify and recommend environmentally-sensitive opportunities that link the production of nutritious food with environmentally responsible (or even regenerative) agricultural practices. Elements around seasonality, gender, socio economic and cultural need to be considered.

1. Objectives

The overall purpose of this consultancy is to identify ways in which we can work with key market actors to improve access to affordable nutritious foods in Baidoa, Bay region. The work will entail producing market system maps that also indicate how the systems are affected by the current crisis. Based on the prevailing conditions, the consultants will be expected to model likely market functioning scenarios in 2023 with and without the prevailing disruptions. The final report shall include specific intervention recommendations for humanitarian, development, stabilisation, and resilience practitioners, as well as the government for strengthening these market systems’ resilience to the impact of drought.

Specific Objectives of the study

• Establish the nutritious foods which should be supported and further promoted by Identifying the foods that are both locally produced and consumed. The choices will have to be valilated with the consortium?
• Impact of the drought on production and opportunities to make production more resilient (markets (short, medium and long term programming timeframes) by :-
• • The identification of key opportunities and barriers to the resilience of these market systems For example: access to finance, consumer awareness, product transformation and processing . Opponities and barriers relating to production, sale and product transformation/preserving
    – Determine opportunities and barriers to local demand.
    – With a future lens to the agro-ecological environment and climate in this part of Somalia, identify potential climate-related shocks or stresses (i.e. soil degradation, aridification)
• Ways in which nutritious food market systems can be stimulated in the short term to meet immediate food needs as part of a drought response.
• Provide key recommendations on:
  • How the humanitarian and development sectors , stabilization and resilience actors as well as specific nutrition and health sectors could support wider access to locally grown nutritious foods (scale-up), with a long-term goal to sustainably reduce malnutrition
  • Which market actors and service providers should BRCiS Consortium actors engage and seek partnership with and why/ rationale for selection?
  • On what market system development interventions would improve the esilience of market systems to various shocks such as drought floods economic crises etc
  • The relative cost-effectiveness of support to different nutritious food value chains (i.e. comparing the cost of improving production and consumption vs. potential to improve nutrition outcomes i.e, does support to these nutritious food value chains have a positive impact on nutrition outcomes

1. Methodology

• NRC recommends the application of market systems analysis tools such as Market System Mapping (as outlined in EMMA and Market 4 Poor and strategic resilience assessments) and Value Chain analysis where there is a clear understanding of the relationship between the market chain, infrastructure/ service providers and wider market environment.
• The inception report period should include:
  • secondary data analysis to better understand existing literature, nutritious foods consumed (potential market systems), seasonality, cultural preferences etc. A better understanding of domestic production and consumption versus commercial is needed.
  • preliminary mapping of key nutritious food market system maps, to assist in the identification of key stakeholders and information gaps.
  • development of qualitative and quantitative mixed method data collection tools for BRCiS members to review
• The methodology will also involve engagement with market actors from both supply and demand sides to map them out, as well as understand the challenges they have been encountering since the beginning of the drought, their coping strategies, and support systems.
• Market Observation and Mapping Tools: This should focus on understanding the general local market activity including basic supply and demand of goods and services, trade routes and movements of goods, as well as identify challenges of consumers and local market actors.
• Conduct a consumer demand analysis and willingness to pay analysis
• KIIs with the private sector, retailers, relevant government ministries Non-Governmental actors/UN agencies.

1. Deliverables

• Inception report covering; detailing preliminary findings of the secondary data analysis, well, articulated methodology based on the guidance above and the tools (for review and approval), assessment work plan, and detailed budget
• All recordings, all questionnaires, and analysis files
• Draft report
• Final report

1. Role of Norwegian Refugee Council; NRC will provide help in the following areas:

• Technical support where needed. – help in the facilitation of the KIIs
• Facilitate the process of finalization of tools /methods for the study.
• Provide feedback for improvement in the inception and draft report.
• Make payments against the level of effort in accordance with the above-mentioned schedule.

1. Application procedure and requirement: Candidates interested in the position are expected to provide the following documentation:

• Technical proposal-outlining a methodology based on the guidance above.
• Initial work plan based on the methodology outlined, and an indication of availability.
• A financial proposal detailing the daily rate expected and other modes of payment.
• Company profile and CVs of the lead researchers to be involved in the market mapping and analysis.
• Demonstrate expertise in similar undertakings in the Somalia Context
• Preferably a Somalia local firm with linkages with firms that have substantial technical assistance expertise on market systems analysis
• Detailed budget breakdown based on expected daily rates

The whole exercise including report writing should be completed within a maximum period of 60 days after award of the contract.