Mercy Corps Indonesia Job Consultant for Market Assessment of Corn Farmers’ Demand for Bundled Services in Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara

Background

The Agri-Fin Mobile project is a 6-year, CHF6,000,000 project funded by Swiss Development Cooperation and implemented by Mercy Corps in three countries (Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Indonesia) that aims to improve farmer incomes through improved delivery of value chain services. Since late December 2014, in partnership with Syngenta Indonesia, Bank Andara, BPR Pesisir Akbar, ACA Asuransi, and Grain traders, Mercy Corps Indonesia’s AgriFin has facilitated access to bundled services for corn farmers in Bima District, the City of Bima, Dompu District, and Sumbawa District. These bundled services consist of micro credit, agricultural inputs (seeds and chemicals), crop microinsurance against harvest lost due to drought or cyclone, financial literacy training, SMS Reporting service to ask questions and receive answers about the “Begin It Right” (ADB) technology and to report harvest activities, and a payment system using AndaraLink for sales of crops to grain traders. A corn farmer who has signed a micro credit agreement with BPR Pesisir Akbar automatically receives each of these services. By the end of January 2017, after three planting seasons, 805 farmers with a total farm area of 1,506 HA have borrowed a total of Rp 12.5 billion and accessed the service bundle. Based on production data per HA and the selling price of corn during two planting seasons, the average production increase per HA is 20% and the average increase in farmers’ income is 16.5%.

Agri-Fin Mobile Project in three countries aims to reach 84,000 female farmers by 2018 (at least 30% of the smallholder farmers who access rural advisory services and financial services through the Agri-Fin models).  By the end of the first planting season, female farmers accounted for only 4% of the corn farmers who received micro loans from BPR Pesisir Akbar. In the third planting season, the proportion of female farmers receiving micro loans from BPR Pesisir Akbar rose to 21%. While this increase in the number of female farmers receiving micro loans from BPR Pesisir Akbar was not intentional, the presence of three female grain traders, out of the 13 grain traders taking part in the third planting season, is strongly suspected as being one factor that led to the increase in the number of female farmers receiving the bundled services.

Based on total farm area reached in the third planting season and the interest from corn farmers who have not received micro loans from a rural bank, Agri-Fin plans to facilitate access to bundled services for corn farmers with a total planting area of 5,000HA in the fourth planting season, which starts November 2017.. For the fourth planting season, Agri-Fin plans to increase the proportion of female farmers using bundled services to 30%.  Based on the West Nusa Tenggara Agriculture Agency[2], it is estimated that there is around 185,000HA of potential corn farmland throughout Bima District, the City of Bima, Dompu District, Sumbawa District and West Sumbawa District.

Purpose of the Assessment

The Consultant will conduct a market assessment on the potential demand for the bundled services provided by the partners of the Agri-Fin Mobile Program of male and female corn farmers in Bima District, the City of Bima, Dompu District, and Sumbawa District within the time period 2018 – 2020. This assessment will support Agri-Fin to effectively target farmers after the program’s fourth planting season.  The consultant will map demand across the target geography with a particular focus on how to reach female farmers and achieve the project objective of engaging small holders (defined as farms up to 2 HA). In this way it is hoped that after the program’s fourth planting season, the number of female farmers using the bundled services will rise to over 30 percent. The demand assessment conducted by the consultant will focus on corn farmers in four districts/cities on the island of Sumbawa who as of the end of January 2017 are not yet using the bundled services facilitated by the Agri-Fin Mobile Program and its partners, although they may already be using similar services provided by other business providers (private or government).

Key Activities

• Work with the MCI Agriculture and Financial Program Director and MCI BRIGE Team to define criteria for farmer selection and discuss relevant gender inputs
• Data collection and desk review of information relevant to contextualizing and targeting field work
• Focusing on corn farmers in Bima District, the City of Bima, Dompu District, and Sumbawa District who are not yet using the bundled services facilitated by the Agri-Fin Mobile Program and partners, identify, map, assess and analyse the following:
• Estimate the potential number of corn farmers who will use the bundled services in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and their acreage to ensure program targets are met;
• Disaggregate the farmer targets by gender, household type to see differences with female-headed households, and by corn field location (at subdistrict level);
• Identify the types of services and services providers already being used by corn farmers (non-Agri-Fin) and estimate the costs expended by corn farmers from planning of planting through planting and maintenance, harvest and post-harvest, and sales after the harvest. Included in this is whether there is any significant difference between male farmers and female farmers;
• Identify constraints faced by corn farmers in accessing and utilizing agricultural inputs, advisory services, financial services, harvest and post-harvest services, and transportation services currently being used disaggregated by geographic location and gender.;
• Identify corn farmers’ needs with regard to the services in the preceding point for the coming three years. Included in this is whether there are any differences in needs between male farmers and female farmers (particularly female-headed households);
• Conduct a Gap Analysis for bundled services (including training, mentoring) needed by corn farmers in the four districts/cities by gender;
• Identify ownership and purpose of use of handphones (by type – feature/smart) and air time expense per month for corn farmers in the four districts/cities by gender;

Deliverables

• Assessment work plan and survey instruments in English and Bahasa (in-depth interviews and FGDs) by April 21^th, 2017. The instruments developed for interview and FGD will take account the integration of gender;
• Conduct In-depth interviews with up to 120 corn farmers (60 male and 60 female), and FGDs with up to 120 (60 male and 60 female) in four districts/city by May 5^th, 2017;
• Submit a Draft Report for comment by May 19^th, 2017;
• Final Report and Recommendations on May 26^th, 2017;
• All other work product, including meeting notes and data, and other.

Timeframe

The Consultant shall complete the duties described in the scope of work from April 17^th – May 26^th, 2017. Mercy Corps Indonesia will provide the consultant with all existing documentation related to the TOR upon request.

Compensation and Payment

The Consultant will receive lump sum (not include travel expenses to and within Bima District, Bima City, Dompu District, Sumbawa District) for services provided under this agreement, with a maximum of 30 working days.

Mercy Corps Indonesia will pay the Consultant after receipt and approval of the Consultant’s invoices and deliverables, as noted above.

If you are interested please send:

• Proposal max 5 pages (including the proposed costs and the experience in implementing similar work);
• CV of the main Consultant or Team Leader

To procurement@id.mercycorps.org before 13 April 2017.

Thank you,

Procurement

Mercy Corps Indonesia