Gender in Agricultural Extension Consultant

Background

The Enabling Farmers for Agricultural Transformation (EFAT) Project, led by Winrock International and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), strengthens agricultural extension and advisory services and systems (EAS) as a pathway to boosting agricultural productivity among smallholder farmers and helping them diversify their livelihoods and strengthen their resilience in the face of adverse climate conditions.

EFAT will catalyze and support pilot EAS delivery models in Senegal to learn how to organize and incentivize public, private, and civil society organizations to effectively work together to provide inclusive, demand-driven advisory and complementary services to smallholder farmers, particularly women and youth. Each proposed models will be led, respectively, by public extension services, a private firm or a civil society organization (citizen working group, producer organization) working in partnership with a several public or private advisory and complementary service providers.

To start-up activities on the ground in Senegal and refine the design of the EAS delivery models, EFAT will conduct a series of consultations and assessments with local stakeholders, EAS and complementary service providers, producers and other value chain actors. We are looking for an experienced local gender consultant to conduct a gender and social inclusion analysis of agricultural extension and advisory service provision in Senegal and a barrier analysis to identify constraints women and youth are likely to face in adopting new climate-smart agricultural technologies.

This consultancy requires field work in rural parts of Senegal.

Purpose of assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to start up EFAT activities in Senegal by identifying priority agricultural value chains, available technologies/practices, target locations for pilot activities and implementing partners.

The gender consultant will take part in three activities: 1. a gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) analysis of extension and advisory services in Senegal to identify approaches used by extension, advisory and complementary service providers to improve access by women and youth producers to new agricultural technologies, information and knowledge and the success of these approaches; 2. a landscape analysis in selected locations to identify EAS and complementary service providers, on-going EAS activities, projects/programs and other agricultural actors and stakeholders; and 3. a barrier analysis to assess farmer demand for priority technologies, complementary services, information, and support needed to enhance adoption and constraints to adoption.

The consultant will undertake the first activity on his/her own and will join a team of 3 other consultants to carry out the landscape and barrier analysis.

Scope of work

The consultant will work on his/her own and with other team members to carry out the following activities:

• Conduct a gender equality and social inclusion analysis of agricultural extension and advisory service provision and complementary service provision in Senegal based on existing literature
• Identify and make contact with EAS stakeholders and complementary service providers for key informant interviews including USAID Senegal, public sector extension agencies (ANCAR, SRDRs), producer organizations, donor-funded agricultural projects, agrodealers, seed suppliers, suppliers of agricultural machinery (e.g. irrigation), climate information services, financial services
• Develop interview guides for key informant interviews
• Conduct interviews with key informants from 10-15 organizations in different categories (public extension, private EAS providers, input suppliers, financial services, producer organizations, donor funded projects, climate information services etc.)
• Write a report (20-30 pages) on the findings of the desk review and key informant interviews and provide recommendations for improving women’s and youth access to advisory and complementary services
• Together with other team members, identify existing tools and contribute to the development and/or adapt of tools for conducting 1. a landscape analysis to identify EAS and complementary service providers, on-going EAS activities, projects/programs and other agricultural actors and stakeholders; and 2. a barrier analysis to assess farmer demand for priority technologies, complementary services, information, and support needed to enhance adoption and constraints to adoption
• With other team members, conduct fieldwork in 4-5 locations (exact number to be determined once the priority VC, technologies and locations have been identified by stakeholders) for: a landscape analysis to identify EAS and complementary service providers, on-going EAS activities, projects/programs and other agricultural actors and stakeholders and a barrier analysis to assess farmer demand for priority technologies identified, complementary services, information, and support needed to enhance adoption and constraints to adoption with specific consideration of constraints faced by women and youth
• Participate in analyzing the data from the landscape analysis and barrier analysis and preparing a report on the fieldwork
• Contribute to preparing a report on the fieldwork

Activity

• Number of days

Target

Orientation meetings

• 1

Project Director, EFAT team

GESI analysis

Conduct a gender and social inclusion analysis of agricultural extension and advisory service provision and complementary service provision in Senegal based on existing literature

3

Identify and make contact with key EAS providers and complementary service providers for key informant interviews and develop interview guides*

3

USAID Senegal, public sector extension agencies (ANCAR, SRDRs), producer organizations, donor-funded agricultural projects, agrodealers, seed suppliers, suppliers of agricultural machinery (e.g. irrigation), climate information services, financial services

Conduct interviews (in person or on phone) with key informants from 10-15 organizations in different categories*

6

Private EAS providers

Input suppliers

Financial services

• Climate information services

Producer organizations

Donor funded projects

Write a report (20-30 pages) on the findings from the desk review and key informant interviews and provide recommendations for improving women’s and youth access to advisory and complementary services*

6[1]

• Number of days for GESI analysis

19

Landscape and barrier analysis

Identify existing tools, contribute to the development and/or adapt of tools for landscape analysis and barrier analysis with emphasis on the inclusion of women and youth

2

Conduct fieldwork for the landscape analysis and barrier analysis in 4 locations; 2.5 days per location (10 days total)

Local ANCAR officers

Agricultural projects/initiatives

Pos

• Citizen working groups

Women’s groups

Analyze data

3

Contribute to first draft of report

• 4

Contribute to revising first draft and submit final report

2

Number of working days for landscape and barrier analysis

• 21

Total number of working days

41

• To be done after the landscape and barrier analysis

Deliverables

• List of EAS and complementary service providers to be interviewed
• Interview guides for key informant interviews
• Notes from key informant interviews
• Report (20-30 pages) on the findings of the desk review and key informant interviews with recommendations for improving women’s and youth access to advisory and complementary services
• Tools (guide questions) for conducting landscape analysis and barrier analysis
• Draft and final report on the EAS landscape and barrier analysis in 4 target areas

The consultant should have the following experience and qualification

• Master’s degree or higher in gender studies, agricultural extension, agricultural economics, rural sociology, rural development or other related field of study
• At least 8 years experience conducting gender analyses related to agricultural value chains and systems in rural parts of Africa, including in Senegal
• Knowledge of youth inclusion in agricultural development
• At least 5 years experience conducting desk reviews on agricultural topics
• At least 5 years experience analyzing qualitative data
• Fluency in English and French, including excellent writing skills in French and English
• Experience with public-private partnership, public sector agriculture agencies, research institutions, and civil society groups