Agri-financing Consultancy

Overall Objective: To help sustain the capacity of the Lebanese agriculture to produce food for the local market and create and maintain jobs, in an effort to contribute to the prevention of tensions between host communities and Syrian refugees.

 

Specific Objectives:

1. Value chain actors recover their livelihoods affected by the recent socio-economic and financial crisis
2. Farmers improve their access to livelihoods, through Sustainable, Productive, Equitable and Resilient (SuPER) Food Systems
3. Agriculture sector actors engage in improved market activities, resources, and trade relationships
4. Agriculture and related sector actors increase investments through tailored and inclusive financial services and products
5. Agriculture sector stakeholders utilize high quality, reliable evidence to promote evidence-based sector development

 

Expected Results: BASATINE will support 6,000 farms, reaching 12,000 male and female adult farmers, 10,000 Lebanese and refugee seasonal farm workers, 400 public extension officers and vocational students, 20 input supply/distributor SMEs, 156 agri-food processor micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and over 30 agri-sector key stakeholders (including development actors, donors, local and national government). Overall, the Programme will maintain/improve over 19,000 jobs and create 700 jobs for male and female value chain actors. Overall, the Programme will generate the following results:

• Farmers have an increased volume of farms’ sales by the end of the programme;
• Female actors in the agri-sector have improved access, control, or ownership of agricultural productive resources, assets, and services.
  • Targeted farms and MSMEs (female/youth-led and owned) have maintained, improved, or increased employment levels including for females, youths and PWDs leading to jobs maintained/improved in the farms (for farmers and seasonal workers) and MSMEs;
  • 1750 farms access innovative and adapted agri-financing

 

 

Purpose of the Consultancy – Agri-financing

 

Farmers, agri-businesses and other actors of the agriculture sector lack access to financial products that are designed to answer their financial needs. To fill this void, the Programme will develop new loan products and/or adapt existing loan products that are tailored to different types of agri-businesses and different types of agricultural investments: tenant farming (rent of land for cultivation), agricultural inputs (such as seeds, fertilizers, etc.), production systems, tools and equipment (such as machinery, equipment, irrigation system, greenhouses, etc.), distribution and marketing (such as processing, packaging, marketing, transport).

 

Under the leadership of Al Majmoua, which is responsible for the implementation of the Programme’s Specific Objective 4^[1] focusing on access to finance, BASATINE is looking to bring on board a consultancy firm to develop an adapted financial product tailored to agricultural investment. The consultant will closely work with Al Majmoua and the BASATINE team to complete the following:

 

1. Desk review and production of a 2-3 pages context analysis of agri-finance in Lebanon

The consultant will conduct a desk review of all relevant Programme documents and relevant background documents. The service provider will also conduct a thorough literature review of available secondary data sources to produce a short context analysis of agriculture financing in Lebanon.

Estimated level of effort (TBC): maximum 5 days

 

1. Market Research

The following activities are expected to take place: key informant interviews and focus group discussions with business owners, farmers and other market actors (transporters, retailers, input providers, etc) in order to complete a short market research in order to:

• Determine the market potential and demand for agricultural loans, divided by client segments.
• Determine, per client segment, the client needs, preferences and seasonality of farm (household) cash flows and demand.
• Quick scan to establish if there is potential for agricultural value chain financing as a delivery mechanism.

Estimated level of effort (TBC): maximum 7 days

 

1. Institutional diagnosis to identify bottlenecks and changes needed to implement an agriculture finance program

This diagnosis will include an in-depth review of the appropriateness of Al Majmoua’s systems, processes and MIS (Management Information System) for agricultural lending (including the ability to offer irregular payment plans and bullet payments).

Estimated level of effort (TBC): maximum 3 days

 

1. Design of specialized demand-driven agri-financing products

The design will be adapted to the needs of the identified client segments agriculture market and will take into account the lending modalities, the seasonality of cash flows, and/ or cater to value agriculture chain financing considering that the BASATINE Programme has a VC approach.

It will also include:

• Recommendations on appropriate pricing of the agricultural loan products based on costing and agricultural loan portfolio Programming; to determine appropriate pricing;
• Identification of potential donors to provide capital grants for the agri-financing in USD

Estimated level of effort (TBC): maximum 15 days

 

1. Provision of adequate training for the staff of Al Majmoua

The technical assistance will also allow to build the capacity of Al Majmoua’s staff as the consultant will deliver in-depth training on agri-lending to selected operational staff which will help them to acquire knowledge for implementation.

The consultant is expected to:

• Support the development of training materials for loan officers and other staff.
• Staff In-depth training course for loan officers in all aspects of agricultural lending.
• Summary agricultural lending training course for other staff: branch management, risk department and senior management.

Estimated level of effort (TBC): maximum 5 days

 

1. Recommendations to facilitate the agricultural lending

The consultant is expected to support on the following:  

• Alignment of (staff) adjustment of incentives to the specific requirements of agriculture lending.
• Adjustments to the make sure there is an appropriate MIS for agriculture lending.
• Adjustments to the organizational setup of the institution.

Estimated level of effort (TBC): maximum 3 days

 

1. Final report and presentation to the BASATINE partners

The consultant is expected to:  

• Deliver a final report about the overall technical assistance to Al Majmoua;
• Present in a meeting the technical assistance outcome to the BASATINE partners;

Estimated level of effort (TBC): maximum 2 days

 

Phasing

The consultancy should take place along three phases:

 

Phase 1

(maximum 15 days)

Based on this TOR, the consultancy team will conduct a thorough desk review to produce a short context analysis of agriculture financing (3-4 pages) in Lebanon and will do an initial consultation with Al Majmoua to draw up a Plan of Action (3-4 pages). The Plan of Action will include the proposed approach of the consultancy team, the methodology, a detailed timeframe and work plan.

Based on the primary data collection a short market study (4 to 8 pages) will be presenting the initial results, the market potential, the segmentation matrix, the financial needs, etc.

Once these have been reviewed and approved by the Al Majmoua team, the consultancy team will start working on the development of the agri-finance products.

Phase 2

(maximum 15 days)

During Phase 2, the consultancy team will design the agri-finance products adapted to the needs of the identified client segments agriculture market and will consider the lending modalities, the seasonality of cash flows; and/ or cater to value agriculture chain financing considering that the BASATINE Programme has a VC approach.

Phase 3

(maximum 10 days)

Based on feedback received at the end of Phase 2, the consultancy team will provide training to the Al Majmoua staff and recommendations to facilitate the agri-lending ahead of the pilot testing. A final report will be submitted to Al Majmoua for review and a final presentation of findings will be organized for BASATINE members.

 

Timeframe

The agri-financing consultant is expected to complete the consultancy by end of December 2022. The anticipated LOE for this assignment is around 40 days.

 

Expected Deliverables

List of deliverables

Deliverable

Estimated Level of Effort

Anticipated due date

Conduct Desk review and produce a short context analysis of agriculture in Lebanon

5

December 2022

Conduct a Market Research

7

January 2023

Conduct an Institutional diagnosis to identify bottlenecks and changes needed to implement an agriculture finance program

3

January 2023

Design specialized demand-driven agri-financing products

15

February 2023

Provide adequate training for the staff of Al Majmoua

5

March 2023

Provide recommendations to facilitate the agricultural lending

3

March 2023

Produce a final report and presentation to the BASATINE partners

2

March 2023

Total

40 days

 

 

Roles and responsibilities

The Consultant will report to Al Majmoua, who acts as the technical co-lead on access to finance and is responsible for all activities under SO4. The Consultant will work closely with Al Majmoua Partnership Manager, Al Majmoua Product Development Manager, Al Majmoua IT Manager and the BASATINE Consortium technical experts and Program Managers.

The technical assistance will be closely managed by Al Majmoua’s Product Development Manager pre- during and post-assignment, so the learnings from the TA will be properly integrated in Al Majmoua’s processes, policies and procedures.

 

Al Majmoua’ responsibilities:

• Brief/guide the consultant team
• Review tools, methodology, reports, and deliverables.
• Advise on field activities and locales where needed.
• Support on the market research.
• Facilitate meetings with key stakeholders from the community.
• Provide team members to support with data collection (i.e KII, FGD).
• Review/approve all draft and final deliverables.
• Develop a seasonal cashflow and irregular / bullet payments schedule.
• Implement the pilot including the establishment of benchmarks and indicators as well as the development of a monitoring and evaluation system.
• Rollout and widespread expansion to incorporate rural products into the portfolio and commercial strategy of the institution.
• Identify strategic alliances with institutions capable of reducing costs and risks of agriculture penetration.

 

Consultant responsibilities:

• Conduct Desk review and produce a short context analysis of agriculture in Lebanon.
• Conduct a Market Research.
• Conduct an Institutional diagnosis to identify bottlenecks and changes needed to implement an agriculture finance program.
• Design specialized demand-driven agri-financing products.
• Provide adequate training for the staff of Al Majmoua.
• Provide recommendations to facilitate the agricultural lending.
• Produce a final report and presentation to the BASATINE partners.
• Finalize all deliverables listed above.

 Qualifications & Success factors

 

Qualifications

 

• A firm or an individual registered as a company (required for primary contractor).
• Consultancy team with strong experience in providing agriculture and agri-finance technical assistance. The team must include (1) at least one agriculture expert, (2) one financial expert, (3) an expert with MIS knowledge is preferable.
• Demonstrated competence in socio-economic development in agricultural context.
• Proven high level of competence in financial inclusion and microfinance.
• Deep understanding of the current Lebanese financial context.
• Experience working in Lebanon is a must.
• The Team Leader and relevant technical team members will possess a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in agriculture, economics, business administration, international development, or a Programme-related field (Master’s degree is preferred).
• Fluency in spoken and written English (required for primary contractor).

 

Success factors

• Ability to carry out complex research Programmes remotely while ensuring high standards and attention to detail.
• Ability to work under pressure, independently and with limited supervision.
• Demonstrated creative problem-solving skills and excellent time management capacities.
• Security, political and cultural awareness.
• Highly developed interpersonal communication skills.

 

Submission requirements

Note that missing documents may result in disqualification from the selection process.

The prospective consultant will be expected to submit a detailed proposal with the following components:

 

1. Technical proposal

• Maximum of fifteen pages outlining an understanding of the TOR and the proposed approach to deliver the assignment
• Proposed workplan, in-line with the deliverables and milestones outlined in this ToR
• CV/resume of all consultants to be involved in this assignment, with detailed breakdown of roles and responsibilities with regards to the assignment; relevant experience, including experience with agriculture and socio-economic research and experience in Lebanon or other developing contexts.

 

• List of previous experience and/or clients relevant to this consultancy
• Copy of newly issued juridical record for nationals
• Copy of ID or passport

 

1. Financial proposal

• Itemized consultant’s fees and costs. The proposed daily rate of consultants should be inclusive of all cost.
• For Lebanese consultancy firms: provide proof of Ministry of Finance of Lebanon registration (Fiscal number). In case the consultant cannot provide proof of MOF registration, 7.5% will be deducted from the proposed consultants’ daily rate:

1. A signed statement of integrity (see template annexed below)

 

Selection criteria

The selection will be Quality and Cost-Based (QCBS), with a weighted scoring of the technical and financial proposals as such:

 

Criterion

Weight

CVs and qualifications of consultancy team

10%

Experience in Lebanon

10%

Previous experience in agriculture assessments

10%

Previous experience in agriculture financing

15%

Examples of previous work

10%

Technical proposal (including methodology and timeline)

30%

Financial proposal

15%

TOTAL

100%

 

How to apply

The bidding firm must submit the proposed offer “Technical and Financial Proposals” in separate digital folders mentioning “Technical Proposal” and “Financial Proposal” on each digital folder so that the financial information could not be revealed before financial proposal opening.

 

The two digital folders saved in one digital folder (zipped) with the title saved as the full name of the bidder, followed by the project title “BASATINE PROGRAM – Agri-financing TA”, and date of submission.

 

Questions from potential bidders on any section of this TOR are welcome. Please send relevant questions to Mrs Alia Nazar-Farhat – [email protected] and Al Majmoua will provide feedback on your queries by 18 November 2022:

 

Proposals should be submitted by email to [email protected]

 

Both financial and technical proposals should be valid for 90 days.

 

The deadline for submission of technical and financial proposals is Monday 28 of November 2022 at 11:00 p.m to be scored as per the above selection criteria table.

 

The proposer will receive a confirmation email in return upon submission.