Consultancy for an Individual/Organization/Firm to provide Research Support for the CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program in India

IFPRI is seeking a qualified individual/organization/firm within the Agri-food Innovation and Resilience (AIR) Unit to provide research support for various activities under the CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes (MFL) Program. This consultancy is for applicants based in India and will be required to travel within India for field support at various MFL project locations.

Background:
The Multifunctional Landscapes (MFL) Program envisions diverse and healthy landscapes that are managed holistically to support sustainable and diverse eco-agrifood systems, resilient livelihoods, and healthy diets while remaining within planetary boundaries. In this vision, landscapes are co-created and managed by diverse stakeholders who co-generate technological, socioecological, policy, and institutional innovations, underpinned by inclusive governance and effective planning. The program is currently operating in 9 countries, including in India in Mandla, Madhya Pradesh and Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. In India, we work with and through grassroots partners, government stakeholders and market and value chain actors.

Scope of work:

Activity 1: Impact evaluation of the interventions conducted under MFL SP

The main objective of this activity is to understand the impact of various interventions to be carried out under the MFL science program in India. The interventions include and are not limited to, an RCT experiment which tests the impact of varied extension modes on adoption of agroecological practices, understanding nutrition profile of adopters of community nutri-gardens and agroecological homestead gardens, and various interventions on efficient water management. For this assessment, a questionnaire is already being developed which will be rolled out for data collection soon in the next 1 month. The survey will serve as a baseline assessment of key outcomes against various interventions. Location of survey: Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh and Mandla, Madhya Pradesh.

The consultant will be involved in assisting the IFPRI team in survey coding, enumerator training, coordinating with data collection partner for field management in both the sites, monitoring on-field data collection, ensuring that data is collected in accordance with IFPRI’s standards, conduct data cleaning, generate a cleaned dataset for both sites which shall be used for further analysis, and support in conducting basic descriptive analysis.

Activity 2: Value chain analysis of key crops in Jhansi, and identification of entry points for agroecology

The main objective of this activity is to identify major crops that are grown by farmers in Jhansi and undertake a value chain analysis of these crops. This would involve getting familiar with the context, understanding the agriculture profile of the region, identifying key crops grown in the region with existing value chains. It would be also desirable to identify crops that have untapped potential to be developed into prosperous value chains.

Based on the final crops selected, the consultant will be expected to conduct a mapping the status of the full value chain of that crop, from production to consumption, such as who produces, what are the distribution channels, who are the final consumers, what are the different ways of consuming the crop (that is if there is any value addition along the value chain), profitability analysis, etc. The consultant should be able to identify the major stakeholders that play a role in these value chains, such as those supporting the collection & aggregation activities, sale, awareness generation, market integration, policy formulation and other activities related to these value chains, and a description of their roles. A final component of the analysis would involve understanding the interlinkages with agroecology. This would involve a current assessment of how the VCs are linked to the principles of agroecology, identification of entry points for agroecology in improving the sustainability of these value chains and behavioral changes of the value chain actors required to develop prosperous value chains and explore enabling and hindering factors in relation to these changes.

Activity 3: Assessment of presence and scope of self-help groups in Jhansi

During recent field visits in villages in the Jhansi region, it was observed that women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are either weak, inactive, or not present in many villages. There is a need to understand the reasons for this situation and explore possibilities for reviving old SHGs or creating new ones. In this assignment, the consultant will conduct field-based research to understand the status and relevance, and identify opportunities, challenges, and possible ways to strengthen women’s collective action through SHGs in selected villages in the Jhansi region.

The consultant will be expected to unde