Rapid assessment on the local (locally produced) food supply chain in Gaza At DanChurchAid

Terms of reference

• Background information

In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation has been imposing prolonged movement restrictions on the movement of people and goods through Israeli-controlled crossings; a complete land, sea, and air blockade since 2007 and recurrent attacks on Palestinians which has led to severe living conditions. Approximately 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza find themselves completely isolated from the rest of the oPt and the entire world. Additionally, Egyptian authorities’ restrictions at the Gaza-Egypt crossing further worsen the situation. The recent war waged on Gaza since October 2024 has dramatically exacerbated the crisis, resulting in critical shortages of essential resources such as food, water, fuel, electricity, and medical supplies raising drastic concerns about protection, malnutrition and famine, mental health, and the increased risk of disease transmission.

According to the WHO, the latest Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Phase Classification (IPC) report found devastating levels of food insecurity in Gaza and confirmed that the entire population of Gaza (2.2 million people) are in crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity. Virtually all Palestinians in Gaza are skipping meals every day while many adults go hungry so children can eat, and the report warned of famine. The evolution of the nutritional situation is rapidly deteriorating due to the lack of humanitarian access, particularly in governorates with very limited humanitarian assistance, and with the high burden of disease and food insecurity. The WFP has confirmed that the local market, shops, and bakeries are either non-operational or lack sufficient stocks, with limited food options available. Gaza’s food production sector is severely impacted, eliminating the local production of essential fresh foods like eggs, vegetables, and milk. Crucial items like canned meat, vegetables, children’s biscuits, tuna, sugar, cheese, baby formula, diapers, and cleaning materials are often unavailable in many areas. Pregnant women face additional challenges due to restricted access to special foods, medicines, and vitamins. High prices of available goods contribute to the hardships faced by the affected populations. Households are experiencing meal reductions, posing challenges for pregnant, breastfeeding women, and children in meeting nutritional needs. The limited availability of cooking gas is forcing people to resort to cooking over fires, leading to visible signs of hunger, widespread weight loss, diseases, and malnutrition, rapidly intensifying the health crisis in the Gaza Strip.

DCA/NCA Palestine and Ma’an have a longstanding partnership of more than 12 years working on various projects in the West Bank and Gaza. From the beginning of the latest war on Gaza, The DCA / NCA joint mission in Palestine has responded to the unfolding crisis in collaboration with relevant clusters and partners particularly with Ma’an, to meet the emergent needs of people. To date, DCA / NCA Palestine has supported the Gaza response through in-kind distribution of NFIs, water and food parcels, hot meals and EMPCA to displaced and vulnerable persons in informal shelters. Despite very difficult circumstances, Ma’an remains operational with management and staff ready to implement and coordinate project work on the ground in Gaza. Ma’an is one of the largest local agencies in Palestine, supporting both humanitarian and empowerment programming. Its emergency response in Gaza has been delivered through cash assistance, medical assistance, psychosocial and psychological first aid, WASH interventions and the distribution of hot meals, food parcels, and NFIs.

• contract purpose and Expected results

Overall objective:

DCA/NCA Palestine wants to hire a consultant to conduct a rapid assessment on the local (locally produced) food supply chain in Gaza, the assessment will include a quick overview of local production and market pre-October 7th versus the realities of the current situation, the access to necessary input, expected challenges, and the accessible geographical areas in the Gaza Strip. The assessment and its recommendations will inform future interventions to support the re-establishment of the local fresh food market in Gaza in terms of preparedness, opportunities, entry points, tools, modalities, and potential interventions based on different scenarios.

Purpose:

Currently, there is minimal ongoing local production in Gaza and disruption to the normal functioning of the local food supply chain. The supply is irregular and on a very small scale, resulting in prices being ten times higher than they were before October 7th. Additionally, due to the lack of fodder and other inputs, poultry production is halted. The focus and priority of the humanitarian response will focus on protection and meeting the immediate needs of the Gazan population. The prospect of entering a recovery phase remains distant. However, there is a need to ensure the minimum viable local produce of fresh food in the immediate post-emergency phase, i.e. in a ceasefire scenario, it will be crucial to address immediate challenges and explore immediate actions that could be put in place to support a (partial) re-establishment of the local fresh food production and value chains inside Gaza. While dry foods and stables will still be coming from outside of Gaza, supply of fresh foods such as fruits, vegetables, chicken, meat, and eggs should slowly pick up via local value chains. A minimum supply of local fresh produce would allow access to and provide the availability of a balanced and nutritious diet for the Gazan population and ensure accessibility and affordability.

The aim of the assessment will be to enable DCA/NCA Palestine and its partners to adequately prepare for a temporary or permanent ceasefire and to provide support for the re-establishment of the local food value chains. It is imperative to conduct a mapping of the current situation, including the identification of key bottlenecks.

This will enable the formulation of recommendations on where to focus potential interventions in the local fresh food supply. The mapping should take the form of a rapid assessment, primarily relying on qualitative research through interviews with key stakeholders on different levels and building on data from previous analyses. This approach has been chosen, given the time-sensitive nature of this assessment. The mapping process should be designed for regular updates of key findings and figures, emphasizing simplicity in both approach and format for presenting findings.

Results to be achieved by the Contractor:

1. A mapping of the current situation, building on existing pre-October 7th analyses and qualitative data collection, mapping of accessible geographical areas, and a mapping (interviews) of the needs and roles of different stakeholders in the supply chain. Such stakeholders would include farmers and livestock breeders (probably displaced), key stakeholders such as large enterprises, agricultural input suppliers and wholesalers, fodder factories, and solar energy companies. It should also involve medium and small-scale businesses, i.e. water vendors, input retailers, and providers of veterinary services. The mapping will also include data collection, in the form of a scan of the availability of fresh foods in markets, their origin and price. It is important that the mapping is designed enabling regular updates of data and findings, as the situation is likely to develop and conditions (including bottlenecks) for fresh food supply might change. As such, the assessment will take the form of a baseline that future data collection can be monitored against.

2. Identification of the gaps, needs (including input) and key bottlenecks for the re-establishment of the local fresh food value chains: what is unavailable in Gaza, what conditions need to be re-established for farming to be possible, which actors would be able to assume needed roles and work. This identification section will include exploring potential innovative methods of producing fresh food when land is inaccessible or deemed not suitable for food production, such as aquaponics or other relevant approaches that can be applied in urban settings with limited space and rudimentary energy supply.

3. Recommendations: Based on the identification of key bottlenecks, the rapid assessment will list practical and concrete recommendations to enable contributing to the re-establishment of local fresh food production and value chains in Gaza. These recommendations will encompass both immediate and intermediate actions, offering concrete insights to guide DCA/NCA Palestine, Ma’an, and other partners. The consultant will provide specific and actionable suggestions for potential interventions, outlining recommended entry points, activities and proposing practical tools for implementation.

4. The assessment will preferably also include a mapping of other actors’ plans regarding local food value chains in Gaza. This would enable synergy and avoid duplication of efforts.

• Scope of the Services

DCA/NCA Palestine will contract the consultant, A joint committee will be formed to support the realization of the assignment and guide the consultant along the different steps of the assessment. The committee will consist of DCA/NCA CO and HQ, and Ma’an’s technical staff. The division of roles and responsibilities of members of the joint committee will be clarified during the inception meeting.

As part of his or her proposal, the consultant will provide an outline of how to respond to the ToR. This will include suggestions for a timeline and a list of the stakeholders/actors to be consulted and the key questions that will drive the assessment. This outline should also demonstrate how the assessment and data will be presented. Once the contract is signed, the joint committee will meet with the consultant to kick off the assignment and agree on the recurrency of meetings with the committee and Ma’an’s technical staff on the ground in Gaza. Internal agreements will be made to help the exchange of information and data collection results.

The deliverables will include:

• The suggested outline of the assessment report
• The first draft of the report, including:
  • A mapping, (presented in schematic manner or other simple and logical format) that enables for regular updates of data and findings (see further details above).
  • A list of key bottlenecks and recommendations on how to conduct immediate and intermediate response interventions (see further details above)
• A debriefing session to present the draft report to the committee.
• The final report that integrates input/feedback from the assessment committee.

The report should not exceed 20 pages and should be produced in English.

• timing, logisitics and facilities and reporting

The timeframe allocated to the rapid assessment process and finalizing of the report is a maximum of 30 working days. The process should be in the period between 4 April 2024 – 10 May 2024.

Task

Deadline

Responsibility

DCA/NCA Palestine / HQ

Ma’an

Consultant or firm

Technical and financial proposal to be submitted to DCA/NCA

26 March 2024

x

Selection of the Consultant/Consultancy firm by the procurement Committee and negotiation of contract

4 April 2024

x

x

Inception meeting with selected consultant and assessment committee

8 April 2024

x

x

x

Finalize desk review and research

13 April 2024

x

Suggested assessment outline submitted to DCA/NCA and plan for data collection shared

14 April 2024

x

Data collection and interviews with stakeholders in Gaza

24 April 2024

x

x

Draft assessment report submitted

28 April 2024

x

Review of first draft

1 May 2024

x

x

Debriefing session

2 May 2024

x

x

x

Second draft of the report submitted

6 May 2024

x

Final review, last amendments if any and approval of the report

10 May 2024

x

x

x

• QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
• Location Requirement: Consultants are required to be situated in Gaza, or if working remotely, must have a designated focal person within Gaza.
• Expertise in Food Security and Market Systems: The consultant should possess a strong background in food security and market systems, demonstrating expertise in analyzing value chains, market dynamics, and factors affecting food production and distribution.
• Experience in Conflict and Crisis Settings: A proven track record of working in conflict or crisis-affected regions, particularly in conducting rapid assessments to evaluate the impact on local food supply chains and identifying challenges and opportunities for intervention.
• Understanding of Gaza’s Context: Familiarity with the socio-political and economic context of Gaza is essential for contextualizing findings and recommendations.
• Analytical Skills: Strong analytical capabilities to synthesize complex information, identify key bottlenecks in the local fresh food value chains, and formulate practical and actionable recommendations for intervention.
• Previous experience with INGOs particularly in the middle east and conflict zone areas is preferable Knowledge and experience in innovative approaches to agriculture is highly recommended.
• Proficiency in English is required, and knowledge of Arabic is desirable for effective communication with local stakeholders/partners in Gaza.

How to apply:

Qualified consultants interested in undertaking this assessment are invited to submit a comprehensive technical and financial proposal no later than 02:00 pm Jerusalem time on 26 March 2024, at the following email: nkhr@dca.dk

The proposal should include the following:

• A detailed CV highlighting the consultant’s professional background, expertise, and previous experience in similar assessments or projects.
• Technical Approach: A clear outline of the consultant’s approach to responding to the Terms of Reference (ToR). This should include proposed methodologies, key questions to be addressed during the assessment, and a suggested timeline.
• A budget estimate outlining the consultant’s fees and any other costs associated with the assessment. The financial proposal should be realistic and in line with the scope of work.
• Sample of Previous Work**:** A sample or link to a relevant report or assessment on food security and market systems conducted by the consultant, showcasing their ability to deliver similar tasks.
• Contact information for at least two professional references.