EXTERNAL FINAL EVALUATION OF THE SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION (SLM-4-CCAM) IN MOYAMBA DISTRICT, SL PROJECT

TERMS OF REFERENCE

EXTERNAL FINAL EVALUATION OF THE SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION (SLM-4- CCAM) IN MOYAMBA DISTRICT, SIERRA LEONE PROJECT.

I. INTRODUCTION

1.Situation justifying the project

Today, one of the major challenges for agriculture is its capacity to ensure sustainable food and nutrition security for the world’s growing population in the context of resources scarcity, aggravated by the impacts of climate change. Climate change is among the major challenges that needs urgent attention in the 21st century. Sierra Leone is vulnerable to climate change: the climate-sensitive agriculture sector provides livelihoods for 75% of its population and contributes more than 50% of its Growth Domestic Product. Agriculture is also among the largest emitting sectors as regards greenhouse gas emissions. Since 1960, there has been evidence of increasing temperature, decrease and unpredictable rainfall and substantial climatic hazards such as floods, changed rainfall patterns, strong winds, thunderstorm and seasonal droughts. In recent times the gradual change in rainfall patterns and temperatures in the country has threatened the fragile agricultural system. In addition adaptation efforts are still hindered by the lack of access to information, technical or financial support that could help farmers invest in more climate-resilient agriculture.

In 2015, Sierra Leone has drafted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution: one of the strategies to mitigate greenhouses gas (GHG) emissions is the “Adoption and application of climate-smart and conservation agriculture through best agricultural practices that enhance soil fertility and improve crop yield”. Sustainable Land Management (SLM) strategies and practices can decrease GHG emissions, and can enable farmers and communities to become more resilient to climate change. Obviously, in order to sustainably ensure food and nutrition security for the most vulnerable populations and reduce climate-related deaths, there is a need for alternative approaches that aim to maintain and increase crop productivity while adapting and/or mitigating climate change. SLM is one of these approaches.

Cassava is the second most important crop in Sierra Leone, used as food and cash crop. It is highly adaptable to climate change and drought resistant and has the potential to build long-term resilience to the uncertainties posed by variability in climate. However, cassava is mainly planted as a sole crop on ridges or heaps in major cassava producing areas in the country. The conventional tillage practices often result to soil degradation and emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Planting cassava on flat land to permit intercropping with legumes could lead to an improved soil fertility, an increase in amount of organic carbon storage in the soil through decomposition of crop residue, reduction of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions through nitrogen fixation. Two studies conducted by SLARI on cassava-legume intercropping show that intercropping cassava with legumes is a SLM practice that can allow communities to better adapt to climate change, reduce the emissions of GHG in the atmosphere from nitrogen fertilizers, and maintain carbon stocks in soil and vegetation at relatively low cost, while also improving food production and securing diverse livelihoods.

2. Project stakeholders/target groups

The action will directly target 1,260 smallholder farmers (selected from 42 FBOs), each representing a household; 30 Agricultural extension workers from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) in Moyamba district serving at least 10 FBOs of 30 farmers; and research scientists with interest in the agriculture and climate change nexus globally. Therefore, the action will indirectly target/benefit 7,560 household members (and possibly other farmers from their communities exposed to the trials and demonstration-plots), with a multiplier effect from the Extension Staff benefiting up to 3,000 farmers.

3.Project intervention area

The project is implemented in Bagruwa and Kori chiefdoms, Moyamba district, Southern Province, Sierra Leone

II. PROJECT DISPLAY

a) Presentation of the project intervention logic (objectives and activities).

The action aims to increase crop productivity, farmers’ adaptability to and mitigation of climate change through sustainable land management in cassava-legume based cropping systems in Sierra Leone.

This will be achieved through the assessment of farmers’ and agricultural extension staff’ perceptions on climate change and its impact on crop production and productivity (Output 1); the evaluation of the efficacy of cassava-legume intercropping systems as an innovation for climate change adaptation and mitigation, through action-research (Output 2); capacity building of farmers and agricultural extension staff on sustainable land management in cassava legume based cropping system (Output 3) and the dissemination of key findings and lessons learnt (Output 4).

Innovative practices including intercropping of cassava and legumes will be introduced and on-farm trials conducted to determine the profitability, sustainability, and farmer’s acceptability of this system. Farmers will also be taken through the basic principles and concepts of climate smart agriculture and sustainable land management. All these activities will allow to achieve 2 outcomes:

1) Generation and dissemination of evidence to inform climate change adaptation and mitigation in agriculture;

2) Increased resilience of smallholder cassava farmers through enhanced knowledge and skills on crop diversification and sustainable land management.

Activities are mainly comprised of studies, on-farm trials and action research, capacity building and inputs provision, and project results dissemination. To achieve Output 1: Formative studies to understand perceptions of farmers will be conducted, as well as an analysis of the climatic trends based on meteorological data from Sierra Leone Meteorological Station. These will allow to better engage with smallholders on the topic of climate change, thus improving the design of activities under Outputs 2 and 3. To achieve Output 2: On farm trials will be set up in collaboration with smallholders, and participatory action-research on cassava-legume cropping systems conducted. Control (cassava only) and treatment (cassava-legumes) plots will be established and analysis of differences in yields, pests and diseases attacks, productivity, soil organic matter and carbon stocks will be conducted. Results from Output 2 will help better design Output 3, which will consist in the capacity building of farmers and extensionists on sustainable land management and cassava-legume intercropping through trainings and exchange visits. To achieve Output 4: workshops will be conducted at various levels, articles and case studies published, and consortium members will participate in conferences. See project logical framework as annex one.

b) Other key project information

The project will promote gender mainstreaming and will encourage the participation of women and youth groups. The action will target largely women farmers, will discourage the use of children for labor work at any stage of the action, and will promote environment friendly practices.

Main risks identified are exceptional shocks on cassava or legume production, and the Covid-19 outbreak that could disrupt agricultural activities and programs. It is foreseen that, farmers will be willing to actively engage with the project, given that cassava is a major crop and highly in demand, and with support from the MAF, farmers will feel motivated to participate.

III. STUDY OBJECTIVES

The overall objective of the evaluation is to assess the project’s overall performance and determine whether the project’s intended outputs and outcomes were achieved, with a clear explanation of why or why not through an integrated analysis of the entire result chain (inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes) as well as contextual factors.

The OECD/DAC criteria (Likely Impact, Coherence, Coverage, effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, and sustainability) will be used in the evaluation. In addition, the consultant will examine the design of the program. The evaluator must fill out the DAC assessment criteria table and attach it to the report as an appendix.

The specific objectives to be addressed by the evaluation are;

• To assess the relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the outputs and achievements of the project;
• Drawing lessons learned for better implementation performance and for possible scaling up;
• Make recommendations to strengthen the impact and sustainability of achievements after the end of the project

CONSULTANT PROFILE: QUALIFICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

1. Essential:

The Evaluation Steering Committee will choose the evaluator. This decision is made based on the quality of the proposal as well as the consultant’s knowledge and experience. The evaluator must be able to demonstrate familiarity with and experience with the following:

• Relevant academic background with a minimum qualification of Master’s Degree in Agriculture related discipline, Development Studies, Research Methods or its equivalent
• Practical experience evaluating development projects, specifically in the area of food security and livelihood include climate sensitive (provide one evaluation report as proof);
• Previous involvement and understanding of ACTION AGAINST HUNGER’s procedures, monitoring, and evaluation guidelines is an advantage. Provide details including an explanation of the assignment, the value of the contract, and the specific role of the consultant (provide details as part of Technical Proposal);
• Analysis: Knowledgeable in a range of statistical and qualitative data analysis software and approaches (such as KOBO or other similar software)
• Demonstrated experience and expertise in the design and undertaking of programme evaluation using participatory methodologies, including both qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Understanding of the realities of data collection in remote and resource poor settings
• Ability to write clear and useful reports (may be required to produce examples of previous work);
• Significant experience in coordination, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes;
• Knowledge in Sierra Leone’s food security and livelihood; and climate resilience intervention as well as advocacy and research.
• The proposal should at least include:
• A technical proposal of the execution of the evaluation;
• Clear work plan including outputs/deliverables and detailed time frames
• Detailed CVs of consultant/team members who will undertake the assignment as per the qualification criteria
• An explanation of the experience of the consultant with similar assignments
• A specification of the knowledge and experience of the consultants who will be working on the assignment;
• A detailed budget including a specification of tariffs (by members of the study team), a specification of days needed (by members of the study team), and a specification of other costs.
• A cover letter outlining the suitability of consultant/firm for the assignment, motivation, and summarizing relevant experience

FULL TOR DOCUMENT AVAILABLE AT: [email protected]