Consultancy on Study on Private Sectors Engagement in Supply Chain

1.      Background of consultancy assignment/ project

WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption

Shrimp farming for export provides income and livelihoods for thousands of households in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. In 2016, the revenue of Vietnam shrimp exports reached $3.1 billion USD. Attractive profits drive farmers in some areas to do whatever it takes to raise shrimp despite unfavourable farming conditions. Spontaneous farming, uncontrolled by quality and standards of the industry, has led to economic loss from disease outbreak and inability to meet importer’s requirements. It has also caused severe environmental impacts such as pollution, depleted of marine resources for feeds and mangrove forest loss.

Over the last decade WWF-Vietnam has been collaborating with the provincial DARD of Baclieu, Soctrang and Camau to support farmer groups/cooperatives to take further improvement steps in applying the Better Management Practices (BMPs) towards the end goal of ASC certification. An important part of the program has focused on developing approaches to engage the private sector with the farmer groups in the shrimp value chain (e.g. different contract farming models, group certification, co-financing, credit agreements etc.). The right institutional arrangements have shown to be key to enable ASC certification and to enable social, environmental and economic improvements among small-scale farmers. In the current phase the programme supports 30 farmer groups/cooperatives with more than 500 benefited farms on the area of 785 hectares. The project has successfully established 5 supply chains with more than 300 farming contracts for ASC certified production and purchase between 4 Vietnamese seafood companies and small-scale shrimp farmers in 5 cooperatives /farmer groups at project sites. These arrangements have however not been documented, assessed or discussed in a systematic manner and there is a need to pool and assess these cases jointly to understand how, if, and to what extend they contribute to the outcomes and objectives of the programme and furthermore to give recommendations for future strategies and approaches within this field.      

2.      Objectives of the study

Based on # cases, the study should provide a systematic documentation; assessments and recommendations of WWF-Vietnams approaches to engage the private sector to improve the social, environmental and economic performance of small-scale shrimp farmers in Vietnam. This includes:

• A systematic description, mapping, and documentation of the project’s cases of institutional value chain arrangements (e.g. contract farming, sales agreements, credit arrangements etc.) to engage the private sector (input suppliers, trader, processors, buyers) in shrimp supply chains to promote sustainable production practices among small-scale shrimp farmers.
• Based on these case studies an assessment of the viability, potentials and limitations of these different types of institutional arrangements in terms of their ability to contribute to the outcomes and objectives of the Danida Framework Agreement and the Aquaculture Improvement Programme and their potential for replication and upscaling.
• A reflection and discussion suggesting future strategies, approaches and opportunities to increase the engagement of the private sector to expand positive social, environmental and economic impacts among small-scale shrimp farmers in Vietnam.

3.      Proposal required

• Profile, financial and technical proposals (proposed methodology, working plan, activities, timeframe and budget) of consultancy service must be required to be signed and stamped;

• Business license of consultancy service must be required (copied));

• Certifications/degrees of consultant team related to fields as ToR required (copied);

• The Technical proposal from any bidder must specify the following:
  
  • General objective of the assignment
  • Specific objectives of the assignment
  • Specific work plan and mechanism
  • Methods and methodology used
  • Tentative timeline and deadlines
  • List of members and CVs for each one of them detailing name, position in the team, qualifications, tasks for each member and number of working days.

Click here for the ToR.

Financial and technical proposal packages in English should be sent to:

Aquaculture Programme, WWF Vietnam - Cantho office, Gate C, Campus II, Cantho University, Xuan Khanh Ward, Ninh Kieu Dist., Can Tho City or via email: [email protected] no later than 19th September 2017.