Consultants for Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) project At SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

Investment projects at John Vents International and Phuc Sinh Corporation
Two of the companies currently being supported by the DFCD’s Origination Facility are JohnVents Industries, a cocoa producer, trader and processor in Nigeria, and Phuc Sinh Corporation, a coffee and spices trader and processor in Vietnam.

• JohnVents Industries is part of a diversified and rapidly growing agricultural and food group looking to scale up its cocoa supply chain to become the leading sustainable cocoa processing and trading company. The project aims to de-risk planned investments in the cocoa value chain by expanding the reach of its Rainforest Alliance certification and associated climate benefits.
• Phuc Sinh is already a leading promoter and trader of Rainforest Alliance coffee (and pepper) in Vietnam and they are preparing an investment plan to scale its deforestation-free coffee business by extending certified farming practices to a broader base of farmers and develop new processing infrastructure to support this expanded supply chain.

Consultancy Objective
The objective of the assignment is to review and synthesize existing research into the outcomes and impacts of sustainable agriculture standards, including Rainforest Alliance and Organic farming certifications (e.g. as recognized by IFOAM), with respect to biodiversity and the climate resilience of smallholder farming. This can be within the context of both annual and perennial farming.

Climate action is the primary objective of the DFCD, and it works to stimulate private sector investments in climate change adaptation innovations and scalable business models that contribute to climate-resilient agrifood systems, land use and ecosystems. Regarding biodiversity, the principle of ‘do-no-harm’ to biodiversity is a minimum requirement in all our projects, and the DFCD is committed to at least 25% of our investments enhancing biodiversity. This means reducing the drivers of biodiversity loss and/or protecting and restoring nature. We are also committed to monitoring, evaluating, and communicating the adaptation and biodiversity impacts of our projects so that we can contribute to a global understanding of how private investments, scale up action, and close the adaptation and biodiversity finance gaps.

The ‘Rainforest Alliance Farm Requirements’ being promoted by JohnVents Industries and Phuc Sinh are aligned with this commitment. They are “designed to support certificate holders to maximize the positive social, environmental, and economic impact of agriculture, while offering farmers an enhanced framework to improve their livelihoods, build climate resilience and protect the landscapes where they live and work.” One of the long-term outcomes of the programme is expected to be that “forests and natural ecosystems are protected and restored, biodiversity and ecosystem services are conserved, climate change is mitigated and climate resilience enhanced.” (the other relates to livelihood improvement). Other companies in the DFCD’s pipeline and portfolio are investigating the benefits and impacts from adoption of other agricultural standards, including organic farming.

However, while these farm requirements are based on collective understanding of best practice (and possibly developed through detailed research and evaluation), neither The Standards’s requirements nor the process for certifying farmers and companies requires the monitoring of impact and outcomes. Instead, the process is focused on monitoring and assuring the implementation of the requirements – the inputs or activities. The mandatory monitoring that there is, is (understandably) largely focused on proxies for desired outcomes – for example requiring companies and farmers to measure what % of land is natural vegetation, or the adherence to requirements around chemical applications, rather than monitoring and understanding the benefit to biodiversity or climate resilience of such action.

There is however to our knowledge good third-party research conducted by a range of different research groups and organisations into the medium – and long-term impacts and outcomes of Rainforest Alliance standard farming practices, as well as on organic farming, and other similar or even equivalent farming standards. This information available, should thus be synthesized in a knowledge base and made accessible for practical use and decision making by the DFCD.

With a specific focus on similar contexts where possible – i.e. smallholder production of cocoa and coffee or in Nigeria and/or Vietnam – the assessment will review the existing research into the impacts and outcomes and synthesise it so that the DFCD team and our company partners have a clear understanding of what the expected contributions of the investments would be for biodiversity and climate resilience. Given that farming standards encompass a wide range of criteria, the review should also answer the question which of the aspects of a given farming standard lead to these benefits, or what are the relative contributions of different practices to achieving the outcomes? It should be able to identify, based on case studies in West Africa, East Africa and South East Asia, how, if adopted, these activities actually enhance resilience and biodiversity’. It must also discuss the parameters or indicators of impact – for example, in a study, what does ‘resilience’ or ‘biodiversity’ mean and how is it measured.

Key deliverables and timeframe
This is a desk-based review of existing public and privately available evidence – empirical studies, and other meta-analysis published in scientific journals and reputable grey literature.

It is expected to:

• Provide a high-level review on the evidence base for the (climate resilience and biodiversity) impacts of Rainforest Alliance and Organic standard farming, linking the standards to impacts or benefits for climate adaptation and biodiversity conservation.
• Provide a deep dive into evidence related to perennials/tree-crops, with emphasis on cocoa/coffee in West Africa, East Africa and Vietnam.
• Provide a list of studies, the locations, the crops, and the pathways for impact that have been tested/researched.

The work specified above is expected to be completed within Q1 2025, commencing April 2025 and completed by June 2025.

The expected deliverables are:

1. Kick off meeting(s) and inception report.
2. Fortnightly check in meetings and progress reports.
3. Presentation on results and findings (week 6)
4. Final report.

Qualifications

The consultant should meet the following requirements:

• Be a renowned research institute with global experience and footprint.
• The consultant will have a team with demonstrable experience relevant to:
  • Biodiversity and the inter-relationship between biodiversity and agriculture.
  • Different production standards in agriculture.
  • Globally adopted biodiversity indicators and monitoring frameworks
  • Climate change adaptation and resilience in smallholder farming
• Practical experience in the application and adoption of climate smart and/or biodiversity positive actions by smallholder farmers and enterprises in the agricultural value chain, or relevant experience evaluating and researching adoption of these actions.
• Team members will be required to have a master’s degree or above in (sustainable) agriculture, biodiversity, conservation, climate change, rural development or similar fields relevant to the assignment.
• Proven experience and strong reputation – individually and/or as an institution – in research, analysis, and thought leadership regarding the impacts of agriculture on biodiversity and climate smart agriculture, and the practical implementation of such measures.