Seed Sector Analysis at IESC Private individual

Approach:

The focus of this assessment is to highlight the potential and profitability of the seed business in Tanzania, opportunities for collaboration between seed producers and financial institutions and identify areas for capacity strengthening on both sides of the financial equation to unlock financing opportunities to increase the production and availability of quality seeds to farmers, particularly youth and women.

The consultant will be expected to examine the following areas:

•  The trend towards financing seed production and distribution activities and providing the status of financing seed production for food crops (maize, rice, sorghum, beans, and horticultural crops ) in the project ZOI
•  How the needs for financing were identified, who initiated the processes, what players of the seed system were involved, and how.
•  Explore seed system players' current initiatives to secure seed production, multiplications, and distribution financing.
•  Examine the status of seeds used by smallholder farmers and the factors behind their seed selection.
•  Examine seed production business potential, returns, and opportunities for financing from formal financial institutions.
•  Identify the availability of specialized financial products and services that meet the needs of seed sector players and identify required product terms/structure to expand opportunities to the sector.

A consultant will be contracted to conduct the Seed Sector Analysis. The consultant will review relevant existing studies, data, and information on seed production, multiplication, certification, distribution, and consumption in Tanzania. The consultant will also collect primary data by interviewing local stakeholders in Tanzania such as financial institutions, farmers and farmer groups, seed companies, TASTA (association of seed traders), government ministries and agencies, and Local government Authorities to identify the bottlenecks faced by seed system players to access agricultural financial services in Tanzania, including access to collateral, productive resources, knowledge, and other factors to be determined.

Tasks:

• Develop an implementation schedule for the assignment in consultation with the IESC team.
•  Review, assess, and summarize relevant desk research through the submission of the literature review before commencing in-person fieldwork.
•  Develop interview questions for each stakeholder type to be visited, including both supply-side financial institutions, and demand-side institutions ( e.g. Seed companies, Agro Dealers, Government Agencies and ministries, farmer groups, youth groups, women’s groups, agribusinesses, etc.) in the Tanzania seed system.
•  Interview key seed system stakeholders and other projects in Tanzania ( for example: AGRA, ASPIRE) working on seed systems within the agricultural finance sector.
•  Interview farmers, farmer groups, youth, and women engaged in agricultural production and/or agri-premiership to understand their activities, specifically concerning seed use and factors behind their seed selection.
•  Visits may include one-on-one or focus group discussions including separate and combined interviews with financial institutions and seed producers and traders.
•  Identify and document the challenges and opportunities faced by seed producers and traders to access finance from financial institutions.
•  Identify and document the challenges and opportunities faced by financial institutions to extend their credit and finances to seed producers and traders.
•  Develop a list of recommendations on how the Feed the Future Tanzania Agri Finance Project can support the seed system players to access the finance required to grow their businesses to increase the production and availability of quality seeds to farmers. eRYhbof Dmw14q
•  Submit a report on the findings (including gaps/challenges, recommendations, specific targets, and outcomes on unlocking access finances to the seed system players

*All written products must be in Microsoft Word format.

Deliverables:

•  Literature review;
•  Interview questions by stakeholder type;
•  Assessment report on findings, including recommendations; and
•  A list of stakeholders interviewed and meeting notes.

Administration and logistics: IESC will provide hotel accommodation and transport.

The consultant is required to have their own computer.

Requested Qualifications:

•  Higher university degree in business development, business administration, economic development, agriculture, agriculture economics, or another related field of study
•  10 years of relevant experience in business development, enterprise development, business management, agri-business, and Agri -financing
•  Independence and strong interpersonal skills
•  Experience in research work, statistics, and conducting and synthesizing both primary and secondary data into written deliverables
•  Extensive practical experience in agricultural financing
•  Experience assessing the constraints and identifying opportunities in the agricultural sector
•  Demonstrated ability to identify, and coordinate with various stakeholders across public and private sectors
•  Creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
•  Goal-oriented mindset and hands-on approach.
•  Good written and verbal communication skills.
•  Self-motivated, proactive, detail-oriented, mature, professional team player with excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
•  Ability to address issues, challenges, questions, and concerns in a professional, respectful, logical, and timely manner.
•  Ability to work effectively in cross-cultural contexts.
•  Prior experience working in developing country contexts – especially in Tanzania and/or East Africa – will be helpful; and
•  Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English.

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