Background
The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is a nondenominational development agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) with a vision to improve the quality of life for communities through a multi-input approach including health, education, and market systems strengthening. AKF brings together the required human, financial and technical resources to assist the poorest and most marginalized in society, especially women and girls, so that they can achieve a level of self-reliance and an improved quality of life. The organization works closely with the private sector and other actors in Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, and Mozambique on a variety of value chains including- cotton, maize, Artemisia, black eyed peas, rice and vegetable values chains.

When working with private sector and value chain actors, AKF’s role as a market facilitator is time bound over the length of a project to develop the institutional, business and technical capacities of smallholders in producer businesses helping to create a sense of shared value and respect between the principal actors, the producers and buyers. The outcome is a self-sustained, more efficient commercial environment amongst a better functioning market system. AKF aims to graduate smallholders from largely subsistence farming activities to micro business entities in groups with the capacity and knowledge to analyse, understand and make choices about how best to play the market.

AKF also works to provide farmers with climate smart solutions so that productivity is enhanced despite environmental and particularly weather challenges that have become increasingly frequent over the last five years or so. Sustainable solutions mean climate smart shorter season varieties, an understanding of the soil and the importance of improving its quality/fertility as well as its capacity to retain moisture and thinking about how farming systems can include trees which are resilient and hardy as well as offering other benefits to crops around them.

Programme
AKF is designing programmes that focus on inclusive food security, nutrition, and livelihoods. Areas of opportunity include sustainable/climate smart agriculture value chain development, integrated with messaging on nutritional benefits, diversified food consumption, recipes and dietary messaging, financial inclusion, and women’s equity as a result. AKF will build off of lessons learned and best practices within the region, and the financial inclusion and youth empowerment work in Uganda to date.
The proposed programme will offer saving groups’ services to farmers, engage the private sector locally, and if appropriate nationally, it will look at food and cash crops, it will investigate value addition possibilities and look at new food varieties. It approach will include multiple partners, linkages with Village Health Teams, the use of farmer field schools, demonstration plots and the use of appropriate digital solutions. It may also include radio and other media. These are an example of approaches and directions and others will be considered. Cross cutting issues will include gender, environment/climate smart practices, research and learning and the programme will seek to be participative, accountable and transparent.
Consultancy
The consultant(s) will be responsible to conduct a situation analysis and provide recommendations on a two-pronged framework. The first overarching area of focus is on livelihoods, while the second is on nutrition:

Livelihoods
1. What crops can be grown in the focus districts in West Nile that have either/or a food and market value?
2. Of these crops what are the most popular with local farmers?
3. Conduct a value chain mapping of crops as selected in consultation with AKF.
4. Who are the principal local actors and what connections do they have nationally? Describe their network and how that works.
5. What are the most common weaknesses in food value chains in West Nile?
6. Which main local actors in the market are worth considering for a partnership and why. Obviously trading in certain commodities will be paramount but this question asks the consultant to consider other factors such as an understanding of “shared value” and willingness to contribute to the business development of producers.
7. What national level buyers have links into the local market? Describe their operations.
Nutrition
1. From a nutritional perspective, which of these crops have the most value. List the top three and describe why.
2. What are the most effective means for linking the Village Health Teams with farmer/savings groups?
3. How can we best embed nutrition messages in local communities and how might these messages be modified as knowledge changes? Describe sustainable options for achieving this.
4. What can we use to measure positive changes in nutritional behaviour? Give 2 or 3 options.

The deliverable will be a document of no more than 15 pages that will answer the questions posed above, providing the situation analysis and recommendations for the programme. The draft document will be submitted to AKF Uganda for approval before a final document is submitted.
Therefore, the qualifications and experience of the consultant(s) should include expertise in livelihoods as well as health and nutrition. If this means two consultants teaming up (one focused on agronomy/livelihoods while the other on health and nutrition) then a consolidated effort can be presented.
The timeline will be as follows:
Action, Location and Number of days
Desk review, discussion with AKF – Remotely – 2 days
Field visit to West Nile -West Nile -5 days
Compile and refine situation analysis and recommendations – Remotely – 4 days
Present to AKF Uganda – Kampala – 1 day

HOW TO APPLY:
Please submit your expression of interest (including a cover letter and CV of the consultants) to akf.uganda@akdn.org by September 15, 2017.