Objectives of the assignment

• The primary objective of this assignment is to help conduct a Market System Analysis (MSA) of the fodder sector in Nakuru, Kajiado, and Narok counties. The support provided by the consultant to this end will be both of technical nature (e.g. advising on appropriate key informants, developing research methods and tools, collecting data, analysing findings, preparing the reports etc.) and of logistical nature (e.g. establishing contact with relevant stakeholders / key informants, planning and setting up meetings with these, etc.).

Specific objectives of the MSA:

• In this assignment, the national consultant will work closely with the PPDP team and HQ backstopping team to complete the market systems analysis following ILO methodology, as outlined in section 3 of ILO’s VCD guide and its complementary gender-sensitive VCD guide.4 This will include covering the 5 key steps of an MSA which include:
• Understanding and mapping the fodder value chain’s structure and its main dynamics: The MSA will seek to better understand the different stages of the fodder value chain and supply and demand dynamics within these. This will notably include examining the different actors in the fodder sector, their performance, their relationships with other actors, etc. A gender perspective will be adopted, identifying the proportion of men and women employed at each stage of the value chain, the extent of women’s unpaid labour, the proportion of businesses at each stage owned by women and men, their channels to the market, among other gender equality considerations. As fodder is an input for livestock, which is a large sector, purveyor of many jobs, particular attention will also be given to understanding the relationship between fodder supply and the livestock sector (and thus a minimum level of understanding of livestock value chains’ structure should be acquired at this step).
• Understanding the employment outlook in the fodder sector and market opportunities associated with better DW outcomes for women and men: The MSA will seek to understand the number and nature of jobs in the fodder sector and potential employment outcomes (notably income generation potential) for those purchasing fodder in the livestock sector. Throughout this exercise, the MSA will keep an eye towards understanding gender and age differences and barriers to improved Decent Work outcomes for different groups. Informed also by the fodder value chain analysis conducted under step 1, the MSA will then seek to identify market opportunities with potential for creating more jobs or increasing incomes to the benefit of youth and women in the target counties. Here, the MSA will also notably seek to understand skills requirements for different occupations and potential gaps among youth and women that the project may realistically address within its skills development component.
• Identifying key supporting functions and rules and regulations: Following the analysis of the core value chain and identification of market opportunities with associated employment impact, the MSA will seek to better understand what is constraining the realization of these opportunities. To this end, the MSA will seek to identify which supporting functions (including provision of training, business development services, financial services, etc.) and rules and regulations (coordination, tax regulations, investment incentives, quality standards, etc.) can be improved to unlock identified market opportunities and associated employment impact.
• Analysing key supporting functions and rules and regulations: Having identified key supporting functions and rules and regulations, the MSA will analyze these in further depth. In other words, it will examine the behaviors and practices of key supporting actors (e.g. financial institutions, training institutions, coordination bodies, government agencies, etc.) and why they are not delivering what fodder sector stakeholders need to unlock identified market opportunities. Specific attention will be given to the identification of gender-based constraints, potentially limiting women’s access to supporting functions in the broader market system. This will also include a forward-looking analysis of the capacities and incentives of such support actors to improve their practices, and what are the main barriers they face in this regard (and which sub-systems they originate in5). At the end of this step, the research team should be confident it has identified the “root causes” of constraints, including gender-based constraints, to more and better jobs linked to fodder supply and access to fodder in the livestock sector.
• Identifying and prioritizing implementation opportunities: The end result of the MSA will provide the project initial intervention ideas to deliver in partnership with local actors. These intervention ideas will be informed by a realistic “systemic change” vision of how project interventions will address the root causes of constraints identified under step #4 and how addressing these will lead to more and better jobs linked to fodder sector supply and access to fodder in the livestock sector. The design and prioritization of intervention ideas will have to consider the time and budget available as well as the potential partners available to drive these interventions.

Qualifications and experience
The consultants applying to this assignment should have the following qualifications and experience:

• Degree in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Economics, Business Management or related field.
• Good understanding of the socio-economic context of Nakuru, Kajiado, and Narok counties.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• 5 years’ experience in the agriculture sector in Kenya.
• Experience in conducting research

Deadline: 4th February 2025