Individual Consultancy: Mapping and Characterization of Relevant Actors in the Coffee Supply Chain in Kenya At International Labour Organization

1. Background and Rationale

The 2020 Child Labour Global Estimates indicate that for the first time in 20 years the absolute number of children in child labour has increased to 160 million of children – 63 million girls and 97 million boys. Most child labour – for boys and girls alike – occurs in agriculture. This is especially the case among younger children, for whom agriculture often serves as an entry point.

Coffee ranks among the world’s most valuable agricultural commodities and is cultivated in more than 80 countries in Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. Globally, coffee cultivation provides livelihoods for 20-25 million farming families and engages over 100million people in its producing and processing countries. It is the fourth sector in the world with the most child labour listing by number of countries (17), only after gold (22), bricks (19) and sugarcane (18).

The causes of child labour in the coffee supply chain are multi-dimensional and complex. Evidence available shows that main root causes of the problem include: limited legal protections and lack of enforcement; poverty and social vulnerability; exposure to individual and collective shocks; inadequate social protection; poor quality of schooling, insufficient school access; limited decent work opportunities for adults, including for women and young people, and difficult transitions to work; and absence or weak realization of other fundamental principles and rights, including the rights to freedom of association, collective bargaining, and non-discrimination, including discrimination on the grounds of gender, ethnicity, or migration status.

The ACCEL Africa Project is dedicated to eliminating child labour in critical sectors, including the coffee and tea industries in Kenya. These sectors, vital to Kenya’s economy, have complex value chains involving various actors from smallholder farmers to multinational corporations. However, these supply chains also present vulnerabilities that can contribute to the persistence of child labour.

To enhance the effectiveness of interventions aimed at eradicating child labour, it is crucial to understand the key players within these value chain and identify gaps or weaknesses that may facilitate child labour. ACCEL Africa Project seeks to conduct a detailed mapping and characterization of the actors involved in the coffee and tea supply chains to ensure a targeted, strategic approach in addressing child labour.

2. Objectives of the Consultancy

The primary objective of this consultancy is to map and characterize all relevant actors within the coffee value chain in Kenya, with a particular focus on identifying gaps related to child labour across three key dimensions in global supply chains. These dimensions include:

1. Legislation, enforcement, and access to justice: identifying gaps in legal frameworks, their enforcement, and the accessibility of justice for victims of child labour.
2. Socio-economic factors: addressing issues such as education, social protection, discrimination, and migration that contribute to child labour.
3. Business conduct and environment: exploring how procurement practices, business models, pricing structures, and the use of casual labour may perpetuate child labour.

The consultant will provide actionable insights that will enable the ACCEL Africa Project to engage effectively with key stakeholders and develop targeted interventions to address these challenges.

Specific objectives include:

1. Mapping the Actors: Identify and document all actors involved in the coffee supply chain, including but not limited to producers (smallholder farmers), processors, exporters, intermediaries, traders, cooperatives, roasters, government agencies, and relevant civil society organizations, and try to find out who are the big buyers who source coffee from Kenya.
2. Characterizing Actors: Provide detailed profiles of each actor’s role, influence, and capacity within the supply chains, with particular focus on their connection to labour practices, especially child labour.
3. Gap Analysis: Identify existing gaps or weaknesses within the supply chains that contribute to the prevalence of child labour, including socio-economic pressures, insufficient enforcement of labour standards, procurement practices of buying coffee in Kenya and the common transaction modalities such as verbal or written contracts and lack of awareness or support services.
4. Stakeholder Engagement:The consultant will recommend key actors who should be prioritized for engagement in the fight against child labour, both at the national and subnational levels. This will include mapping existing child labour coordination structures to determine whether formal mechanisms for addressing child labour are in place. The consultant will assess whether coordination structures exist at both national and local levels, their composition, and the extent to which child labour issues are being discussed within these forums. Additionally, the analysis will examine the participation of the private sector in these structures and highlight opportunities for further engagement.?

3. Scope of Work

The consultant will be required to undertake the following tasks:

1. Desk Review: Conduct a thorough review of relevant literature, reports, and existing data related to child labour in the coffee supply chain in Kenya. This includes legal frameworks, policies, and previous studies on child labour in agriculture.
2. Fieldwork: Engage with key stakeholders and actors within the coffee supply chain through interviews, surveys, and site visits where necessary. Thismay include producers, exporters, cooperatives, government bodies, and non-governmental organizations.
3. Mapping of Actors: Develop a comprehensive map of actors across the value chain, detailing their roles and relationships with each other and their capacity or role in child labour prevention and elimination.
4. Characterization and Gap Identification: Analyse each actor’s contribution to the supply chains andidentify gaps thatmay enable childlabour. This mayinclude issues related to labour monitoring, socio-economic challenges, or enforcement of child labour laws.
5. Recommendations: Provide recommendations on key actors and areas that require targeted interventions to eliminate child labour, including strategies for strengthening partnerships and stakeholder engagement.
6. Report Submission: Prepare and submit a detailed report outlining the findings from the mapping and characterization exercise, including recommendations for future action.

4. Deliverables

The consultant will be responsible for delivering the following outputs:

1. Inception Report: Outlining the methodology, work plan, and timeline for the consultancy within the first 7 days.
2. Mapping Report: Comprehensive mapping of all relevant actors in the coffee supply chain, including their roles and profiles.
3. Gap Analysis Report: Identification of gaps within the supply chain that contribute to child labour, including potential causes and barriers to eliminating child labour.
4. Recommendations: A set of actionable recommendations on interventions to address the identified gaps, as well as suggested strategies for engaging with key actors.
5. Final Report: A consolidated final report summarizing the entire consultancy process, findings, and recommendations, submitted in both digital and hard copy formats. A power point presentation of the project.

5. Timeline

The consultancy is expected to be completed within 6 weeks, commencing on 25th Nov 2024. The consultant will submit a proposed work plan and timeline as part of the inception report.

6. Qualifications and Experience

The consultant or consultancy firm should possess the following qualifications:

1. Expertise in business and human rights and extensive experience carrying out complex national and global supply chain analyses
2. Advanced degree in supply chain management, development studies, labour rights, or a related field.
3. Proven experience in conducting mapping and characterization of actors within agricultural value chains, preferably within the coffee and/or tea sectors.
4. Strong knowledge of child labour issues, labour rights, and relevant Kenyan laws and international conventions.
5. Experience in stakeholder engagement, particularly in the context of value chain actors.
6. Strong analytical, research, and report-writing skills.
7. Familiarity with Kenya’s coffee sectors will be a distinct advantage.
8. Must be Kenyan.

7. Reporting and Coordination

The consultant will report to the ACCEL Africa Project’s National Project Coordinator. Regular updates and coordination meetings will be required to ensure progress is aligned with ACCEL’s objectives.