Job Description

Company Information: About HarvestPlus

At HarvestPlus, we believe that hidden hunger should not be inevitable for the people most at risk. We work at the intersection of agriculture and nutrition to develop creative solutions to combat hidden hunger. The HarvestPlus mission is to transform food systems to be more nutritious and more economically vibrant while improving public health. HarvestPlus develops and promotes staple crops that are enriched with vitamins and minerals through selective breeding and agronomic methods – a process known as biofortification. For the past two decades, the HarvestPlus program has led a global effort to scale up the production and consumption of nutrient-dense staple crops scientifically shown to improve nutritional status and health. Our vision is a more nutritionally resilient food system, with a goal to sustainably reach one billion people worldwide by 2030.

HarvestPlus works across CGIAR as part of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). To learn more about HarvestPlus, visit our home page here.

Biofortification in Zambia

HarvestPlus in Zambia has been a pioneer in testing biofortified vitamin A maize in school feeding programs, with the aim to a) reach school children with improved nutrition, b) create demand for biofortified crops in a manner that will support the building of a market system for biofortified crops for smallholder farmers, c) increase smallholder and medium entrepreneur (SME) processing of various products for school feeding and other markets.

HarvestPlus with its new project Production of Ready-made nutrient-Rich Ingredients for Children in Home grown school feeding programs (PORRICH), funded by Seeding the Future Foundation and the Institute for Food Technology (IFT), now aims to leverage to scale the nutritional benefits of biofortified crops by developing ready-made food products that can be consumed by children through the strategic mechanism of school feeding. By involving the processing stage, we aim to develop nutrient-dense flours for porridge or other products that can be easily stored, handled, and prepared for a large number of consumers.

Home-grown school feeding programs aim to source the ingredients required for the preparation of meals from local suppliers. Our project responds to a gap in the supply chain: the linkage between the production of biofortified crops by local communities with a consumer group that requires nutrient-rich ingredients that are affordable and accessible to schools.

The products shall contain high iron beans, vitamin A orange sweet potato and vitamin A maize. The development of new formulas of nutrient-dense flours for porridge or other suitable products will add value to biofortified food crops produced mainly by small-scale farming communities in Zambia. The products will communicate the relevance of nutritious foods and balanced diets by highlighting the benefits through branding and marketing. Schools are thus enabled to make a conscious consumer choice in favor of more nutritious ingredients for school meals.

HarvestPlus is committed to the scaling and reaching more people with biofortified seeds, grains and foods, using a tried and tested delivery model and a scaling strategy. An essential part of this work is to understand the drivers of demand from schools.

Details of this Request for Proposals

Scope of Work

The Delivery & Demand Creation Consultant will be responsible for implementing activities for the project in Zambia, including the identification of farmers and schools; the production planning of the required crops for the prototype and first production series; product presentations and product testing in schools; and communication with major stakeholders in Zambia. The consultancy is estimated to require 10 work days/month for 18 months contingent on successful completion of deliverables and continued project funding. The project is specifically tailored for biofortified crop production in locations in Zambia and the locations of food producers (e.g. Lusaka).

The main objective of the consultancy is to support success of the PORRICH through agronomic activities, demand creation activities, and research.

Specific Deliverables

Agronomic activities

• Assess the availability of biofortified crops (high iron beans, orange flesh sweet potato, vitamin A maize) and identify suitable producer groups
• Develop training curriculum
• Conduct trainings on agronomic practices for farmers, seed multipliers, aggregators, millers, and other relevant stakeholders in the supply chain
• Provide technical assistance for biofortified crop production
• Ensure supply of biofortified crops to produce the prototype and first product series
• Assess viability of 5-year production plan for sustainability beyond the project period

Demand creation in schools

• Examine the school feeding system in Zambia; consider the requirements for new food products to be considered for school meals and make recommendations to the HarvestPlus project manager in the form of a marketing strategy
• Identify suitable target schools for product testing and consumer feedback
• Carry out demand creation activities and product presentations in schools (learners, head teachers, procurement officers, nutrition officers) and government representatives responsible for or related to school feeding
• Maintain communication with key stakeholders, including food companies, producers (farmers, seed multipliers, aggregators), schools, and government authorities

Research

• Develop production plan for product prototypes including the identification of biofortified crop producers/suppliers and target schools
• Develop a survey tool for prototype and product testing
• Conduct testing with end users and evaluate the user experience, consumer attitudes, and user feedback; complete prototype testing in 88 schools
• Analysis of Zambia market for biofortified food products including food trends and product sales

Deliverables may be added or amended over the course of the consultancy in agreement between the consultant and the HarvestPlus project manager.

Outcomes and Purpose of the Deliverables

1. Ensure successful completion of the PORRICH project in Zambia
2. Foster strong relationships with major stakeholders in Zambia and among the project team
3. Ensure supply chain support for product testing
4. Guarantee products are developed in a consumer-oriented manner, aligned with the school feeding program in Zambia

Timeline

Deliverable	Deadline
RFP issued	March 20, 2024
Proposal submission	April 15, 2024
Review committee complete and choice of vendor	April 30, 2024
Contracting process finalized	May 21, 2024
Inception meetings and project kickoff	May 30, 2024
Project Completion	January 2026

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in agriculture or social sciences with at least 10 years working experience in agriculture (e.g. crop production)
• Several years of experience in providing training or extension services to farmers
• Experience in innovation management (prototype development, product testing, consumer-oriented management, business, or market development)
• Experience in qualitative and quantitative survey methods and data analysis
• Excellent record in project implementation with the ability to plan and organize activities along an existing work plan for successful and timely achievement of goals
• Analytical ability and willingness to familiarize and engage with the topic of school feeding in Zambia, engage with the education sector, and to establish effective and supportive procedures with the target groups for demand creation and user feedback
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with the capacity to manage multiple tasks with a high degree of accuracy, pro-activeness, and flexibility
• Ability to work independently, in close cooperation with the Project Manager
• Proficiency in data analysis software and general computer usage (Word, Excel, Access, Management Information Systems)
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

To Apply

Submit full, concise work proposals outlining how objectives will be achieved, and financial proposal on the IFPRI website. In the event of any questions you may reach out to [email protected].