Background

HortiFresh is a programme supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands which has prioritized commercial agriculture in its strategic plan of moving from aid to trade. The programme’s mission is to establish “a sustainable and internationally competitive fruit and vegetable sector that contributes to inclusive economic growth, food and nutrition security” in Ghana and Ivory Coast.

The objectives include improving productivity in the vegetable sector; facilitating more efficient markets, including linking vegetable producers and other value chain operators with the Dutch private sector; improving the business climate and further professionalizing the value chain for vegetable production and consumption. It also aims to reach 15,000 farmers and increase their productivity by 20% by 2021.

Terms of Reference

Under its ‘Access to Finance’ component HortiFresh is supporting four so-called financial products. The financial products are specific arrangements between financial institutions and Ghanaian SME companies that promote technical or institutional innovations. The first financial products that is being piloted in 2018 is the one on Greenhouse Financing. The pilot consists of:

• A multispan greenhouse with three units of around 1.600 m² each, and a separate tunnel for seedling raising;
• The greenhouse will make use of substrate and drip irrigation, and will focus on the production of tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumber;
• The greenhouse is being financed by Rabobank Foundation, with the objective that four more, similar, greenhouses are purchased in the 2019-2021 period;
• The greenhouse has an experienced farm manager and will supply the high-end domestic market; mainly the supermarket, hotels and restaurants and specialized corner shops.
• Construction of the greenhouse is envisaged for the period November-December 2018, after which the installation of the irrigation system will commence.

HortiFresh is looking for a (team of) consultants that can:

• Advise the company on the production plan for the three greenhouses; including the crop and variety (seed) choice, as well as on record keeping for key indicators;
• Advise on the production of seedlings; e.g. the use of medium and seed trays, and transplant stage;
• Advise on a crop protection strategy, including the identification of the top-5 pests and diseases; looking at both chemical and biological solutions;
• Advise on the fertigation system; including tanks, driplines, fertilizers and possible use of sensors for monitoring humidity, temperature and soil moisture;
• Support in the recruitment of greenhouse staff, including a production manager and other technical staff (where necessary);
• Development of a hygiene protocol for the entire farm, exploring how local materials can be used to implement it;
• A number of trainings and coaching sessions (face-to-face in the country) for the farm’s staff (and other greenhouse farmers) focusing on: production planning, fertigation, pest and disease management, bush management (including pruning), farm hygiene and record keeping. Training and coaching should be more intensive in the first six months, and visits can be reduced in the second six months;
• Remote support through email, phone, WhatsApp on a case by case basis.

Terms and conditions

Proposals should be in line with the following conditions:

Narrative proposal:                         Max. 10 pages (Verdana, 8,5 pt, 1,15 line spacing) excl budget

Budget:                                                                Activity-based QxP budget (quantity times price)

Maximum budget :                         EUR 50,000 (excl. VAT).

Implementation period:               Tentative 1 November 2018 – 31 October 2019 (depending on the start of the construction)

Proposals should include:             – Information about the company and its experience with greenhouse farming in the lowland tropics

– General understanding of the assignment and the proposed approach of the company to implement the assignment

– Detailed activities and work plan for the 2018-2019 period

– Main staff (consultants), their task division and CVs, including relevant experience in similar work in West Africa

Submission to:                                  [email protected]

Deadline:                                             12 October 2018, 17:00 GMT

Evaluation:                                          Proposals will be evaluated on the following three criteria: quality of the proposal (approach and understanding of the assignment), value for money (number of outputs per budgeted cost), and experience (based on the proposed staff / CVs).

More information:                          Contact [email protected]