Terms of Reference for final External Evaluation Enhancing the ecological farming system of agro-pastoral communities in Jalalaqsi district (phase I)

 

Somali Organic Agriculture Development Organization (SOADO)

Terms of Reference for final External Evaluation 

Project Title: Enhancing the ecological farming system of agro-pastoral communities in Jalalaqsi district (phase I)

Project Holder: Somali Organic Agriculture Development Organization (SOADO)

Project Number: A-SOM-2018-0188

The evaluation is commissioned by SOADO

Date of announcement: 24/12/2o2o; Application deadline 31/12/2020

1. Background

SOADO is a local Humanitarian and Development Organization registered at the Ministry of interior and federal affairs, of federal government of Somalia. The overall goal of this organization is to improve the livelihood conditions of the Somali society through sustainable agriculture and conservation of natural resource, as well as capacity building of the rural communities and provision of skill training to women and youth. SOADO operates in food security, nutrition and health sectors and implements agro-ecological farming practices in south-central Somalia.

SOADO is partner with Protestant Agency for Diakonie and Development/ Bread for the World, cooperates the implementation of the improving of food security in agro pastoral and riverine communities in Jalalaqsi district, Hiran region by addressing the underlying issues such as farming practices, diversification of crops and soil fertility amendments. SOADO is implementing a multyears project to the enhancing ecological farming of agropastoral and riverine communities in Jalalaqsi district, the target communities received support to improve food production and reduce food gaps (hunger) from 8-5Months.

Benefiting about 950 households (650 agro-pastoral and 300 riverine) in Jalalaqsi districts and its satellite villages, district with poor farming practices and degraded farmland ecosystems, besides the previous government neglected to support marginalized communities. The project mobilizes and sanitized a community for the participation of the project activities and greater ownership, responsibility, and empowerment. This ToR sets out the responsibility of the consultant to design and carry out the mid-term evaluation in agro-pastoral and riverine livelihood zones of Jalalaqsi district, Hiran region.

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2. Project Description

The communities in the project target area are agro-pastoral and riverine farmers along the Shabelle river and adjacent rainfed farmlands, primitive farming practices have undermined the production capacity of the farmers, and the small-scale farmers in these target areas cannot produce enough food to sustain their families until next harvest due to poor agronomic practices, use of low/no quality seed, little or no planting manure, fertilizer, pesticides, degraded farmland, and ecosystem an unpredictable rainfall due to climate variability. The same land is being used by small scale farmers without any soil fertility management. Plowing soil during the dry season makes the soil prone to wind erosion. Previous governments have neglected agro-pastoral and pastoral communities in rural areas and have failed to enhance their capacity to adapt to impacts of climate change and secure food within their ecosystem.

This project is funded by the Protestant Agency for Diakonie and Development/ Bread for the World, which seeks to ensure and improve the knowledge of farmers on agro-ecological farming practices and natural resource conservation. The project conducted a series of farmer training on ecological farming practices coupled with demonstration fields, farmer field visit days, crop diversification, integration of animal manure to the fields, distribution of N-fixing, provided irrigation support to Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) growers and extension services for the growing seasons.

O b e r
Project Title	Enhancing the ecological farming system of agro-pastoral
	communities in Jalalaqsi district (phase I)
Project Location	Jalalaqsi district, Hiran Region
Implementing Agency	SOADO
Funding Partner	Protestant Agency for Diakonia and Development Bread for
	the World – Protestant Development Service
Project Goal	Agro pastoral and riverine communities’ adaptive capacities
	and resilience to climatic change and variability are enhanced
Project Objective	Agro-pastoral and riverine community’s food security in
	Jalalaqsi district is improved
Project indicators	1.	950 households (305 female) of 650 agro-pastoral and
	300 riverine communities reduced their food gap from 8 to 5
	months
	2.	500 households (125 female) of agro-pastoral and 200
	households (110 female) of riverine farmers in 40 target
	villages adopt at least 3 agro-ecological farming practices (Zai

pit, rip-ping techniques, cover crops, and intercropping and composting practices).

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	3. 400 (130 female) households of riverine communities in 15
	villages started growing at least three different types of
	crops (legumes, fruits, tuber, vegetables)
Project beneficiaries	The direct beneficiaries are 950 (305 female-headed)
	households of 650 old agro-pastoral and 300 new riverine
	communities’ farmers on the banks of Shebelle river and
	adjacent rain-fed farmland and who live in 40 villages of
	Jalalaqsi district. Additionally, 2,030 riverine non-
	participating farmers will benefit directly from 290
	participating farmers, who must give 80-100 Orange-
	Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) vines to fellow farmers
	seasonally.
	The indirect beneficiaries of the project will be 3,750 agro-
	pastoral communities living in the adjacent lands. The
	benefits could be in the form of adopting good land
	management practices, gaining knowledge and skills, they
	will benefit from the enhanced pastureland. They will
	also benefit from employment opportunities created in
	the use of magoya-ripper, preparation of basin farming
	etc.., access to agricultural products from adjacent
	markets, diversified diets, and improved nutrition
	through staple food availability as well as legumes. Apart
	from these, pastorals will also benefit from improved
	organic matter (crop residues) production and biomass
	production in restored ecosystems. Pastorals employ
	mobile livestock rearing and, during the dry season, move
	into agro-pastoral and riverbanks for grazing crop
	residues in the farmland ecosystem, so the project is
	addressing pastoralists indirectly.
Project duration	Three Years, (October 1, 2018 – September 30, 2021)

As the project is coming to an end of its phase, SOADO is planning to commission an external consultant/s to conduct external final evaluation.

3. Objective and Purpose of the Evaluation

The task’s objective is to evaluate the above-stated project in terms of its efficiency, effectiveness, impact, relevance, and trend for sustainability. The purpose of the evaluation is to measure the success of the project against its targeted objective and indicators. The evaluation aims to pull out the key lessons learned and formulate evidence-based recommendations that can be applied

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within the remaining project period and beyond. Also, the quality of governance and management of the project and organization shall be assessed. The planned final evaluation is, therefore, meant to track the changes made in the agro-pastorals and riverine livelihood zones of Jalalaqsi district as a result of the project interventions and evaluating the attainment of the intended objective. Moreover, it is expected to review the project’s role in addressing marginalized groups, gender equity, and the fairness of benefits among the various community groups. Under this general framework, the terminal evaluation will have the following specific objectives:

To assess the achievements of the project;

To review the project effort towards impact and perceived change on the target community;

To assess relevancy, efficiency, effectiveness, impacts, and sustainability of the project

To draw lessons, conclusions, and recommendations for future development intervention Develop a project framework for the next phase of project planning

The evaluation’s primary users will be the program management, relevant stakeholders, SOADO, and Bread for the World (BftW) for the requirement of accountability and future project planning.

3.1. The evaluation is expected to address the following key Evaluation questions (OECD DAC Criteria’s):

Relevance: Assess the extent to which the project activity is relevant or suited to beneficiaries’ priorities and the existing government policies and strategies.

To what extent are the objectives of the project still valid?

Are the project’s activities and outputs consistent with the development goal and the attainment of its objective?

Are the activities and outputs of the project consistent with the intended impacts and effects?

Efficiency: Evaluate the project’s results in terms of project efficiency

Were project activities cost-efficient?

Were project objectives achieved on time?

Was the project implemented in the most efficient way compared to alternative approaches to achieve the same outputs?

Effectiveness: Measure the extent to which the project activity is effective in attaining its objectives.

To what extent was the project objective achieved?

What were the significant factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the objectives?

Evaluate enhanced food access in the target communities through crop diversification practices

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Impact: Assess the impacts of the project towards the achievement of the project’s objective and the wider scope of the development goal

What has happened as a result of the project?

What real difference has the project activity made to the beneficiaries? How many people have been affected?

Assess the impact of training of good agriculture practices (GAP) on the food production and reduction of food gaps of the target groups

Evaluate the impact of farmland ecosystem restoration through the integration of manures and distribution of N-fixing plants in the project target areas

Sustainability: Assess the trend for the sustainability of the project’s outcomes

To what extent did the benefits of a project continue after donor funding ceased? What were the major factors which influenced the achievement or non-

achievement of sustainability of the project?

Organizational effectiveness and efficiency

How far are human resources, quality of work, and internal environment, including governance, adequate in relation to program and external relations?

How effective have management strategies been adopted and implemented? How is second-line leadership developed?

What has been the role of staff in the planning, monitoring, and implementation of the organization?

How effective is the organizational structure and the internal communication/coordination system, the division of roles and functions, the decision-making procedures, and the representation and participation of staff and beneficiaries in decision making and policy development?

Examine the partnership with and role of stakeholders (target beneficiaries, government offices, NGOs, etc.) in the project implementation, monitoring, handing over of outputs, and continued follow-up

Examine how far the project addressed cross-cutting issues such as gender, the environment?

Examine to what extent external factors, such as socio-economic, political, infrastructure, availability of inputs, COVID-19, natural incidences, etc. have adversely affected the project’s implementation.

Evaluation Methodology/Design

The evaluator shall use both primary and secondary information, which includes but not limited to:

The evaluation must be conducted according to OECD-DAC standards.

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This evaluation’s geographic scope covers all project sites described in the project’s proposal/application.

The evaluator will need to review the approval documents, baseline survey reports (if available), progress reports, audit reports, monitoring, and annual review meeting reports, summary project budget, and other records during the evaluation.

The evaluator will need to review the relevant organizational information or documents and conduct an interview with the relevant stakeholders (Management, staff). This information/documents will be made available to the successful candidate upon commencement of the evaluation.

Key informants interview

Field and household level observations.

Focus group discussion and interview with beneficiaries, discussion with project staff, sector Offices, and other stakeholders.

Analyze the lessons learned and

Analyze the data quantitatively and qualitatively, present findings, and formulate recommendations.

Data to be collected & data collection method

Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected from primary & secondary sources.

Secondary data will be collected from various published and unpublished documents available in the district, zonal and regional sector offices, census bureau documents, etc. Primary data will be collected by interviewing beneficiaries, community groups, community-based institutions, and government offices. From these sources, the information will be extracted to answer questions listed under section 3.1 above.

Profile of consultant requirements Qualifications required for this consultant:

• Ph.D. degree in the areas of Agricultural development/humanitarian action/economics/rural development, food security, Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, and related profession or social science. Master’s degree in these areas and extensive (more than 7 years) managerial experience in the relevant fields would compensate for the absence of a Ph.D. degree;

• More than 10 years of experience in research and strategy/organizational development/project management and monitoring and evaluation;

• Extensive experience of working within complex environments in the field of rural development, project management cycles, sustainable food security developments, social accountability, and institutional development

• Excellent attention to detail and evidence of quality outputs from previous assignments;

• Good qualitative and quantitative analytical skills;

• Good reporting and presenting skills;

• Punctuality and availability to complete the work on time;

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• Fluent English (Somali is an asset);

8. Roles and Responsibilities

8.1 Responsibility of SOADO

To avail transportation facilities for the fieldwork

To cover per diem for the enumerators as per the SOADO per diem rate Cover the consultancy fee as per the agreement to be signed.

Avail of necessary files and documents at the project level

Through project office, arrange meetings, interviews, and other activities related to the final evaluation as deemed necessary by the consultant

Arrange any additional/ necessary supportive information/stakeholders for the consultant

8.2 Responsibility of the Consultant

The consultant will be responsible to:

Prepare a detailed checklist and questionnaires for the evaluation work and Coordinate the evaluation,

Conduct field visits, discussions, and interviews. Collect field data.

Conduct field assessments survey

Train enumerators on data collection,

Cover perdiem cost for data collectors or enumerators, supervisors, and any related expertise cost.

Conduct final evaluation field assessments,

Upon return from the fieldwork, the consultant shall brief SOADO

Summarize the findings and debrief SOADO and Bftw (virtual via zoom or Microsoft teams) following the draft evaluation report’s submission for subsequent comments/feedback.

Prepare and submit a draft and final reports of the evaluation both in hard and soft copies

Complete the work within 20 days

Therefore, the consultant shall submit sealed detailed technical & financial proposals in two separate envelopes.

9. Study Duration

Tentatively the evaluation is expected to be completed in 20 days, including field assessment and final report writing.

Somali Organic Agriculture Development Organization (SOADO)

Time	Activities	Responsible
4days	•    Initial briefing and skype meeting about	•    SOADO is responsible for sharing
	the evaluation assignment;	all relevant documents and
	•    Draft Inception report, detailing	arranging meetings with key staff
	evaluation tools, methodology, and time	and stakeholders;
	frame	•    Consultant for interview schedule
	•    Final inception report no later than the	an inception report production;
	4th days from the signature of the
	agreement
10days	Data analysis;	•    SOADO responsible for logistics
	•    Desk review of documents and reports	and arranging meeting with
	• Field visit to two livelihood zone of the project target areas	beneficiaries/stakeholders
	• Draft evaluation report which is circulated internally for comments;	•    Consultant for draft evaluation report
4days	Presentation of key findings,	•    Consultant for presentation and draft report
	• Feedback on the draft evaluation report, revision, and lesson learned	•    SOADO and BftW for consolidated feedback
2 days	•    Final evaluation report for submission to SOADO and BftW	•    Consultant and SOADO

10. Deliverables

The consultant will summarize and analyze the Evaluation & field assessment findings and debrief SOADO and Bread for the World immediately after the fieldwork. After the discussion, he/she prepare the report and will submit it.

The draft report of one hard & soft copy to SOADO

Upon review and comment on the draft report and debriefing workshop to SOADO and BftW, the consultant will incorporate the comments and prepare & submit hard and soft copies of the final report.

The project prospect assessment report shall be part and parcel of the evaluation report.

The evaluation report shall be written in English (maximum of 30 pages plus annexes) and has to include the following contents:

Information Page: Basic organizational data, Duration of the project to be evaluated, title of the evaluation, principal of the evaluation (who commissioned the evaluation), contractor of the evaluation and date of the report.

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Executive summary: tightly drafted, to-the-point, free-standing document (maximum 1.5 pages), including the key issues of the evaluation, main analytical points, conclusions, lessons learned, and recommendations.

Introduction: the purpose of the evaluation, scope of the evaluation, and key questions. Short description of the project to be evaluated and relevant frame conditions.

Evaluation design/methodology

Key results/findings: according to the questions pointed out in the ToR at section 3.1. and, the projects’ specific intervention components.

Conclusions: a summary based on evidence and analysis.

Recommendations: on the findings leading to suggestions to be used for the way forward

Lessons learnt: all relevant information beneficial to the partnership between SOADO and BftW

Annexes (ToR, instruments used, list of persons/organizations consulted, literature and documentation consulted, copy of any relevant documentation used for the assessment).

11. Expression of interest

Interested consultants should tender a bidding proposal which clearly highlights the qualification of the bidder(s), a tentative work plan, and a detailed financial budget breakdown of the consultancy fee (technical and financial proposal) to the email: soadongo@hotmail.com, Contact person: Dr. Osman Gedow Amir Tel. +25261-5384774

Successful proposals must contain:

CVs of the consultant

Proofs of experience (testimonial), renewed legal license, VAT registration, and TIN number

Explanation and justification of the evaluation methodology

Description of how cross-cutting issues of gender, age, poverty, and social inclusion will be taken into account

Tentative work plan

Financial proposal with a breakdown into costs such as consultancy fee and ancillary costs such as transport, accommodation, other fees.

Application Deadline: 31/12/2020