Consulting Services for Forage Production At Handicap International – Humanity & Inclusion

1. About the Organization and the Projects

‘Humanity & Inclusion’ (HI, formerly known as Handicap International) is an independent and impartial aid and development organisation with no religious or political affiliations operating in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. We work alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable people to help meet their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights. Since the organisation was first founded in 1982, we have set up development programmes in 62 countries and responded to many emergencies. Today we have a budget of around 150 million euros, with 3,500 employees worldwide. HI has an employment policy in favour of workers with disabilities. For further information about the organisation please visit www.hi.org.

HI has been operating in Laos since 1996, starting with the national UXO impact survey and providing Technical Assistance to the national clearance operator/UXO Lao. Following missions in the country include Road Safety project, Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) project, project to improve quality of medical rehabilitation services, Early Childhood Development through hospital-based screening, support, scheme for Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPD), in Local Inclusive Development, partnering with the National Committee of Disabled People and Elderly (NCDE) to develop Disability National Policy, Strategy and Action Plan and up to ten projects related to Economic Empowerment of people with disabilities.

HI is implementing the OKARD project, in a consortium led by World Education, in Kham District of Xiengkhouang Province and Xaybuthong District in Savannakhet Province. The projects have three main components – Component 1: Health; Component 2: Economic Empowerment; Component 3: Stakeholder Engagement. In Component 2 regarding economic empowerment, HI supports beneficiaries to 1) develop vocational and technical skills through formal/informal vocational training activities at vocational training centers, community based workshops or with mobile trainers; 2) formulate business plans, develop business skills and improve household and personal finance management; 3) access financial services and market (where relevant); and 4) start or develop the businesses with small grants.

To develop technical skills for the target group who wants to conduct livestock raising, HI and its local implementing partners are cooperating with the Department of Agriculture and Forestry at provincial (PAFO), district (DAFO) and village level (vet volunteers), so-called local agriculture partners. The Project team also works with agriculture specialists to investigate current practices and provision of technical recommendations for better productivity and business outcomes.

In attempt to support project beneficiaries to improve animal nutrition, growth and productivity, HI is looking for Lao national consultant(s) to deliver service for Forage Production.

2. Objective of the Consultancy, Technical Focus and Main Activities

The Consultancy aims to provide technical recommendations for improving animal nutrition, growth and productivity through promoting forage production among smallholders.

Technical focus of the consultancy should include but not limited to the following initial identified areas:

• Animal nutrition and potential impact of fodder supplementation
• Forage species, cultivation and harvesting practice suitable for the local context
• List of the equipment, machinery, parts, supplies and other inputs needed with priority given to inputs that can be sourced locally or adapted by the households
• Land preparation and forage production
• Production of silage or fermented feed
• Risk analysis and mitigation measures including environmental impact, e.g. water supply, rodent risk, record keeping, etc.

The consultant(s) is/are expected to conduct the following activities. The consultant will work closely with local agriculture partners, Project Managers and Income Generating Activity Officers in all of the above tasks.

• Attend briefing with project team and local partners
• Develop a set of technical materials (in English and Lao language) in consultation with local agriculture partners, including 1) technical brief with key recommendations covering the above technical focus; 2) Criteria for seed procurement and selection of quality suppliers; 3) Communication materials, training and coaching package
• Provide TOT for project field team, project local agriculture partners and model farmers. The trainings should be designed in participatory format with highly visualized materials
• Provide on-the-job technical support to project local agriculture partners when they deliver trainings and coaching to farmers. Special attention should be paid to make training and coaching services inclusive for persons with disabilities.
• Develop final report with key lessons learnt during consultancy process and present key findings to project team
• It is anticipated that this service will take in total 29 days starting from December 2022.

Activity

1. Online/In person at HI Office briefing with project team and local agriculture partners, Number of working days= 0.5 day.
2. Developing technical materials, technical brief (max 10 pages), Criteria for seed procurement and selection of quality suppliers, Communication materials, training and coaching package , Number of working days = 1,5 days.
3. Xayphouthong Kham district TOT report = 14 (5 days training and 2 days travelling per site.)
4. Xayphouthong Kham District On-the-job technical support, on-the-job technical support report = 12 (2 coaching days and 4 travelling days per site)
5. Final report development and presentation = 1 day.

Total 29 days.

3. Remuneration

The consultant(s) will receive remuneration as follows:

• Lump sum package of USD7,000. The package consists of consulting fee, travel cost inside and cross provinces, per diem and accommodation.
• The remuneration does not cover cost relating to allowances for participants who join consultation and workshop venue. These costs are the responsibility of HI.

The qualified candidate will be Lao national(s) who have significant and practical experience in developing technical materials and delivering trainings and workshops for forage production for small-holders.

The following qualifications will also be considered as highly desirable:

• Graduate degree in livestock production, forage development or related disciplines
• Extensive experience in delivering relevant services for international organizations
• Familiarity with the context of Lao PDR
• Proficient in written and spoken English and Lao language and demonstrated ability to both write and layout high quality documents and to confidently give clear, succinct presentations to diverse audiences