1.0 Background and rationale
The Agricultural Council of Tanzania (ACT) is the premier apex organization of private sector stakeholders engaged in agriculture with the core mandate of creating an enabling environment for private sector involvement in sector development in Tanzania. ACT is also the National Farmer Organizations’ (NFOs) member of the Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU) a regional farmers’ organization representing the common interest of farmers in southern Africa.
The impact of climate change is one of the modern-day biggest challenges for farmers worldwide as they are the most hit and affected by any climatic shock. Multilateral institutions, governments, development partners, civil society, and the private sector players have put various mechanisms to mitigate against and adapt to climate change impacts. Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) Paris Agreement, governments have made commitments to ensure that Green House Gases emissions are curbed to net zero by 2050. Governments are committed to determining and communicating their actions in achieving this ambition through the Intended Nationally Determines Contributions (INDCs). The INDCs are important for global efforts that lead to net-zero emissions by 2050. They describe each country’s self-determined ambitions for reducing GHG emissions coupled with building resilience through adaptation, typically in five or ten-year periods.
A standard INDC document includes the most comprehensive and inclusive mitigation efforts and plans to reduce GHG emissions. These efforts consist of a wide range of climate adaptation and mitigation commitments, varying in ambition from transformative aspirations to mere repetitions of existing approaches. Although agriculture is both affected by and a contributor to anthropogenic climate change, most farmers often lack an understanding of the scientific knowledge around climate change, both in terms of general impacts and how these might be localized. National Farmers’ Organizations (NFOs) lack the capacity and accessibility to effectively engage with policy and decision-making institutions involved in in INDCs processes and climate change management in general.
In an advisory paper for Farmers’ Organizations on INDCs produced by SACAU, it was stated that government institutions, scientists, researchers, and technical experts often work in vacuums, divorced from experiences on the ground. The knowledge and information generated by these entities are often not well-received and utilized by farmers to influence their day-to-day decision making. However, the (advisory) paper identifies good examples where NFOs are provided a formal opportunity for input into the policy formulation and/or revision processes, and in other cases, they are included in the official national negotiating teams to important climate meetings/ summits., Training on technical aspects of climate change and INDCs is provided prior to the events. The general conclusion though is that the participation of NFOs in research, policy, and programs/programmes increases the effectiveness and sustainability of solutions to climate change challenges. Thus, empowering NFOs to participate in review processes and engage with decision-makers; enables them to take the lead in the implementation of interventions and holding authorities to account.
SACAU acknowledges that the engagement of NFOs in climate change related policies and programs including the INDCs should be through their participation in various climate change management processes, policy forums, and programs, in their respective countries. This is the case because documents such as INDC give a consolidated and summarized view of the intent of governments and might not provide enough room for influence or contribution of ideas and solutions. Thus, the need to identify platforms, forums, and various sources leads to the development of these overarching/key documents.
It is against this background that SACAU intends to support the NFOs to engage the services of a consultant in their respective countries to conduct a rapid assessment of the existing processes and forums for farmers’ engagement at the country level as well as the current extent/degree of engagement in these processes/forums. The consultant will also map out stakeholders/role-players, illustrating different levels of engagement, participation, and collaboration, and produce an inventory of programmes, projects, strategies, and action plans linked to climate change management in the country. The consultant will also be expected to do a quick assessment of how these documents are linked. Finally, the consultant will identify current opportunities and obstacles for the effective participation of NFOs and make proposals on how to take advantage of the opportunities for active involvement in the processes.
2.0. Scope of the assignment
The consultant will,
- Assess and identify relevant procedures, platforms, forums, and programs, for farmers in climate change management through which farmers’ organizations could be engaged on.
- Collect, and analyse documents (strategies, policies, action plans, programs, and information products/tools) deployed by the government in the processes of formulating, reviewing, and implementing the INDCs, and identify entry points for NFOs to engage with the government using these documents/instruments/processes.
- Assessment of the linkages between the documents listed in b) above.
- Identify key ecosystem players (key actors) and their roles in promoting effective participation of NFOs in INDCs processes.
- Provide an overview of opportunities (enablers) and bottlenecks (hindrances) for the NFOs to effectively participate in climate change forums (including INDCs)
- In liaison with NFOs organize a day-long consultative meeting to share and validate the results of the rapid study and suggest what should be done to enhance the active involvement of NFOs in INDCs processes and climate change management.
4.0 Duration of the assignment
The assignment should be completed by the 5th of May 2023.
5.0 Deliverables and timeframe
- Participation in a webinar for all consultants to discuss methodology and reporting framework.
- Draft report on the rapid assessment and outcomes of stakeholder validation meeting by 24thApril 2023
- Final report by 5thMay 2023
6.0 Expression of interest
Potential service providers are invited to express their interest to undertake this assignment. The expression of interest should be accompanied by a technical proposal, a budget (in local currency), and a work plan. It should clearly outline the approach/methodology that will be adopted in undertaking the assignment, number of proposed days for the assignemnt and the key questions that will guide the process. Finally, the proposal should also be accompanied by the consultant’s CV outlining the relevant knowledge and experience to undertake the assignment.
The expression of interest should be sent to the Agricultural Council of Tanzania (ACT) at the following address: act@actanzania.or.tz and copy bernardavelina@gmail.com and obedyabraham97@gmail.com by not later than 7th April 2023