Expression of Interest
Agriculture Based Enterprise Development Training.
1. Background
With the collaboration of Trocaire Pakistan, Indus Resource Centre has started a project for Promoting smallholder agriculture in
Dadu by developing farming families' livelihood assets and building local leadership. The project focuses on promoting
smallholder agriculture by developing farming families' livelihood assets and building local leadership. The project aims to replace
subsistence farming with entrepreneurial farming through value addition, marketing, access to resources and building linkages with
private and public actors. In addition to increased incomes through improved on-farm and off-farm livelihoods, the project will further
seek to increase food availability and nutrition at household level from own food and value added production. Environmentally
friendly technologies will be adopted and better preservation of village natural resources will be also promoted through active
community involvement. The project will be focused on rights based approach for sustainability through information and advocacy on
land and water rights.
It will be implemented in six villages of the union councils of Mitho Babbar and Gozo in the taluka K.N.Shah. The project will focus
to target small landowners, share-croppers and also landless farmers, women from these households and also youth through Common
Interest Groups Approach –CIGs So that grassroots and poor farmers can be mobilized for the enterprenual farming. Through CIGs
farmers will collectively enhance their skills and expertise for improving their income through on-farm and off -farm activities
including production, post-harvest processing, value addition and marketing.
2. Purpose of consultancy Training
The training focused on enterprise skills, such as market analysis, distribution and business management, would support small-scale
farmers in identifying the technologies that would benefit them most, and would help them to participate in agricultural innovation.
Providing business skills to the rural poor allows them to improve the quality of their goods and gain higher prices in the market. This
helps them move out of the low quality, low price sector where it is difficult for small enterprises to compete. Understanding the
market, acquiring certified seeds and getting fair prices allowed smallholders to make significant gains in their productivity and
income.
Objective of the training:
The trainings aims to help farmer men and women smallholders to manage and market their farm production more
effectively, to take advantage of new agricultural opportunities.
To undertake feasibility exercises for the viable and profitable (Existing or innovative) agri-business in the area.
Enterprise training will help farmers take – and manage – the risks involved in introducing progressive production
technologies.
It will diversify their productive activities by branching out into non-farm enterprises, an important mechanism in reducing
susceptibility to crisis and developing a more stable year-round income.
Successfully integrating enterprise development into the women's lives involved an array of integrated approaches
Starting up an enterprise, as the required capital and knowledge are shared within the group.
Marketing training is not separated from enterprise training to support quality control, capital management and price
awareness; factors required to achieve a fair price.
Training would guide farmers to engage successfully with larger markets is particularly valuable to help farmers profit from
new enterprises.
Direct linkages to markets farmers need to be empowered to interact with middlemen or market intermediaries on fair terms.
Ensuring that training has a financial management concept
The training will involve following three steps:
Step: 1 Focus Group Discussion for assessment of skills, expertise, motivation, activities and resources for proposed business ideas
with the groups for initiating any enterprise.
Step: 2 Conduct centre assessment for potentiality of the business proposed by CIGs and prepare the list of other profitable business in
the area (with the group members)
Step: 3 Train the CIGs groups for initiating or improving farm based enterprise (based on but not limited to following)
Basics of business, types, contract farming, value addition, group buying and selling concepts etc.
Learning to do feasibility of business
Develop business plans
Evaluating market
Clarity of value chain concept
Developing marketing strategy
Book keeping for enterprise
CIG Trainings schedule
S.NO Training group Estimated
No. Of
Participants
UC Training place Training period (4
days training in
each week)
01 Women Farmers Group 40 Gozo K.N.Shah Third week
January
02 Small Farmers Group (Men) 40 Gozo K.N.Shah Fourth week
January
03 Landless Farmers Group (Men) 45 Gozo K.N.Shah First week
February
04 Lendless Farmers Group (Men) 40 Mitho Babbar Kakkar Second week
February
05 Small Farmers Group (Men) 40 Mihto Babbar K.N.Shah Third week
February
06 Landless Farmers Group (Women) 45 Mitho Babbar K.N.Shah Fourth week
February
Total 250 1.5 Months
4. Principle of work
The process will be guided by the following considerations:
• Broad participation – all CIG group members should be involved during the whole process
• Appropriateness- the strategy, approach, methodology and enterprises must be appropriate to
Sindh's rural context
• Practical - the training must be practical and user friendly
5. Consultant team
The Consultant team with a good balance of agriculturists, enterprise development experts should have sound knowledge and
experience in working on the livelihood and enterprise development training programs in rural areas of Sindh specially based on
agriculture integrated enterprises.
6. Deliverables and timeframe
The consultant will perform the required duties within a period of up to one and half months (45 days) in between First week of
January 2013 to the end of February 2014.
The work must be carried out and completed within the given timeframe.
The consultant team is responsible to the following deliverables:
Deliverables (Outputs) Deadlines
FGDs with three CIGs January first week
Submission of a final work plan and revision of the assignment's Terms
of Reference including Training Manual with pre and post evaluation sheets
January 2nd
week
Revision on teams feedback and comments January 2nd
week
Submission of the final version of the "Manual by integrating feedback and
Comments"
January 2nd
week
Centre Assessment Report, Imparting Trainings and Developing business plans for
submission to IRC with CIGs (Total 18)
13th
January to 28
February, 2014
7. Language
The trainer must be fluent in Sindhi or Siraeki.
8. Please send your EOIs with following:
1. CV with General information a. Name of the applicant:
b. Type (Individual, Association, Partnership concern,
Private Ltd Co., Public Ltd Co., / others – specify).
Specify the relevant law under which the entity is
registered.
c. Name of head of the organization
d. Postal address:
e. Office phone numbers - landline:
f. Fax:
g. Email:
h. Website:
i. Key contact person
j. Cell number of the key contact person
2. EOI letter
Please provide concise EOI letter in not more than two pages
3. Tentative Budget
Please attach a brief breakdown of the cost or tentative budget in Pak rupees (PKR). This is an essential part of the EOI.
Last date to apply:
31st
December, 2013
Email to: Please send your narrative and financial proposal at raabnoor@gmail.com AND sumaira.irc@gmail.com,
mentioning clearly the position consultancy/ training applied for in the subject line.
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