CONSULTANT PROCUREMENT NOTICE
(NATIONAL)
Date:
23 June 2014
Country: Kenya
Description of the assignment:
Request for Recruitment of a consultant or consortia of consultants to develop a communication plan
for knowledge and information sharing and produce content for the information products:
30 days Consultancy.
Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock Development and
Fisheries in partnership with The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are jointly
implementing a Project on climate change adaptation. The objective of the Project is to mainstream the
conservation and use of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA) into national climate
change adaptation policy, programs and projects for enhanced food security and economic development.
UNDP wishes to commission a study to review the existing plant genetic resources’ administrative and
regulatory frameworks in Kenya. Expressions of interest are therefore invited separately for the following
tasks of this study from individual or consortia of consultants. This is a national consultancy and
preference will be given to qualified Kenyan citizens.
Project name: Integrating the Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources into National Climate Change
Adaptation Planning in Kenya
1. BACKGROUND
A) GENERAL BACKGROUND
Agriculture is the mainstay of Kenya’s economy and the growth of the sector is crucial to the country’s
overall economic and social development. Unfortunately climate change and variability threaten to
worsen the performance of the important agricultural sector in Kenya, thereby increasing food insecurity
especially among the very poor. Climate change for Kenya means, inter alia, increased variability and
intensity of droughts and floods, more invasive species, and generally higher temperatures. All of these
factors will render domestic agriculture less effective at meeting the nutrition needs of the nation. The
agriculture sector is currently attempting reform aimed at converting agriculture into a vibrant
commercially oriented enterprise. The planning and execution of this reform will have tremendous impact
on the future state of PGRFA.
Maintaining a rich diversity of crops along with wild crop relatives will be a critical component of climate
change adaptation in the coming years. Yet, the diversity of plant genetic resources is on the decline in
Kenya. Traditional crop varieties have been increasingly replaced with elite strains. This trend has been
accelerated by climate change, population pressures, changes in land use, over-exploitation, and
appropriate agricultural development policies. A concerted conservation effort of plant genetic resources
for food and agriculture is underway in Kenya; but it needs both strengthening and integration with a
broader cross-section of government and stakeholders.
Since indigenous farmers are the primary conservators of the diversity of seeds, they must have the skills
and knowledge needed to carry out a continual process of seed development that will allow crop varieties
to adapt to drought, higher temperatures, and other variations, while maintaining or increasing
productivity. This process will become increasingly difficult as climate change and variability increase.
Small producers and farmer’s organizations must actively participate in collaborative breeding efforts
alongside research and extension institutions, which need the capacities to combine state-of-the-art plant
breeding methods with traditional practices. On-farm conservation and management of PGRFA is
strategically important as a resource to ensure decentralized ready access to these resources.
Additionally, sustainable agricultural practices that maximize productivity and agro-ecosystem resilience
must be identified, strengthened and disseminated. Supporting policies, incentives and markets should
work together to help motivate and reward farmers, while supportive institutions provide cost-effective
and timely technical assistance, credit and other services.
Especially important will be the sharing between communities, ethnicities, and regions, of traditional
knowledge around crop diversity and cultivation practices, facilitation of collaboration between farmers’
organizations and extension services, a legal and policy framework which sends the right incentives for
conservation of PGRFA, and market information and mechanisms to support conservation in the longterm. A great deal of information remains to be gathered around social dynamics of seed access,
preservation and cultivation, and grass-roots collaborative activities.
This broad array of barriers to farmer empowerment, toward genetic conservation and productive
landscape efforts, can be best overcome in the context of a larger climate change adaptation effort. Such
a project exists in the Sustainable Land Management, Agro pastoral project that seek to promote
economic development, food security and sustainable land use practices while restoring ecological
integrity of the Arid and Semi-arid lands (ASALs).
Projects overall goal is to promote economic development, food security and sustainable land use
practices while restoring ecological integrity of the ASALs. Its objective will be to provide land users and
managers with the financial incentives, enabling policy and institutional capacity for effective adoption
of sustainable land management (SLM)
The SLM project outcomes are
i. Outcome 1: Knowledge based land use planning forms the basis for improving dry lands
sustainable economic development
ii. Outcome 2: Viability of the agro-pastoralism production system increased through
diversification and increased access to finance for SLM
iii. Outcome 3: Policy, regulatory and institutional arrangements support mainstreaming of
sustainable land management in the agro-pastoral production system
Kenya is a rich source of genetic diversity, the conservation of which could be leveraged as a potent
adaptation strategy especially for small farmers in the face of climate change. However, a pathway to full
integration with a broad policy regime must be established.
It is within this background and context that UNDP and its partners seek the services of a National
consultant to review and analyze the existing PGRFA policies and frameworks and develop a Strategy
Action Plan and Policy Paper. The consultant will focus on the existing and drafted agricultural and
environmental policies in Kenya.
B. PROJECT OBJECTIVES
Overall Objective: To mainstream the conservation and use of PGRFA into national climate change
adaptation policy, programs and projects for enhanced food security and economic development.
Specific Objectives:
1. To develop a national strategic action plan for mainstreaming conservation of PGRFA into national
planning through a consultative and all inclusive process.
2. To promote consultative networks between all stakeholders involved in conservation and
promotion of use of the PGRFA that include community based organization and non-state actors
(for in-situ conservation) and research and education institution (for ex-situ conservation).
3. To enhance programmatic synergies between the Orphan Crops Program at KARI with the
Ministry of Agriculture - and link these two with the Climate Change Unit and National Gene Bank
within KARI.
4. To work out modalities for strengthening linkages of the above initiatives with Kenya Climate
Change Secretariat at the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources and the National
Environment Management Authority (NEMA) that is spearheading the review of National
Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.
2) OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT
i.
Formulate and develop methodologies for dissemination of PGRFA and Climate Change
information
ii. Produce content for knowledge and information sharing products as agreed with the client
3) SCOPE OF WORK
In order to achieve the above objectives, under the overall guidance of KARI the consultant will be
assigned specific duties and is expected to perform the following tasks:
i. Develop a schedule of delivery of the products for various stakeholders as and when required
ii. Liaison with mainstream media to ensure that the national profile of the Project is maintained in
order for it to garner the support of key stakeholders and the general public
4) DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT, DUTY STATION AND EXPECTED PLACES OF TRAVEL
Duration: 30 days overall and subject to extension on a need-to basis
Consultancy days: The successful consultant will be paid based on the number of Consultancy days agreed
upon for this assignment. The Unit proposes 30 Working Days based UN rates for National Consultants.
Duty station: Nairobi based with regular reporting to KARI (Genebank)
Travel: The consultancies are expected to involve reasonable travels within the country when required.
5) FINAL PRODUCTS
Expected results
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
An inception report
A draft plan on knowledge and information sharing
Briefing and presentation of reports to KARI and key stakeholders through at least 2 workshops
A final Plan on Knowledge and information sharing
A final consultancy report on the plan and content for the products for knowledge and
information sharing
Work Breakdown Schedule
Task
Desk Review as per TORs
Develop a schedule of delivery of the
products for various stakeholders
Consultancy Expected product
Days
5
Inception report
5
A draft plan on knowledge and
information sharing
15
Content for Brochures, leaflets, booklets
Produce PGRFA and climate change
knowledge and information sharing
products to garner the support of key
stakeholders and the general public
including media
Validation and publication of the final 5
report to the national PGRFA committee
Total consultancy days
30
Final report and presentation in a
workshop
6) PROVISION OF MONITORING AND PROGRESS CONTROLS
The work of the consultant will be interactive and will be supervised by the Project Coordinator.
7) DEGREE OF EXPERTISE, QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES
Qualification requirements for the consultants



At least a Masters degree in communication
Must have knowledge in PGRFA and/or climate change
Demonstrable analytical and writing skills


Excellent ability to communicate in English and Kiswahili
Competencies in team work, strategic partnerships and networking
8) EVALUATION CRITERIA
Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70 points will be considered
Criteria (Technical)
Weight (100%)
Max. Point (100)
At least a Masters degree in
communication
25%
25
Must have knowledge in PGRFA and/or
climate change
15%
15
Demonstrable analytical and writing skills
25%
25
Language proficiency in English and
Kiswahili
Competencies in team work, strategic
partnerships and networking
25%
25
10%
10
10) PAYMENT TERMS

20 % after acceptance by KARI/UNDP of the inception Report

30 % upon delivery of the draft project communication plan

50 % after acceptance by KARI/UNDP of the content for the products for knowledge
and information sharing and a final consultancy report
11) APPLICATION PROCESS
1. Qualified and interested candidates for this consultancy are hereby requested to send in their
applications addressing them to: Procurement Unit, UNDP Kenya Country Office and emailing
them to consultants.ken@undp.org
2. The application should contain the following:
 Brief proposal addressing the requirement (Methodology)
 UNDP Personal History Form (P11)
 Detailed achievement based CV