Business Case Study Development for Rural Women-Led Kale (Cabbage) Production for Climate Adaptation and Resilient Livelihood in Central Ethiopia Regional State.

INTRODUCTION

Solidaridad Network is an international solution-oriented civil society organization working through regional expertise centres to transform markets to make them more sustainable and inclusive. Solidaridad Eastern and Central Africa, one of the regional centres, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya with country offices and programmes in Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda.

We bring together supply chain players and engage them with innovative solutions to improve production, ensuring the transition to a sustainable and inclusive economy that maximizes the benefit for all. We facilitate strengthening of local capacity in developing countries, support the creation of enabling environments for economies to thrive, and improve market access. Solidaridad supports Ethiopia’s transition toward a more inclusive and resilient agricultural sector, addressing key challenges such as climate change,environment, food security and economic instability while focusing on coffee, dairy, fruits and vegetables, leather, cotton and textile value chains.

Purpose

Developing a business case for kale cabbage (Habasha gomen/Brassica carinata) production by analysing the factors that drive or constrain farming strategies in the rural areas to provide valuable insights into production, distribution, marketing, and consumption practices.

 

Background

The “Acting Now for Food Security and Resilient Production Systems” (P2P component) initiative promotes women-led home gardening through various vegetable pilot projects; however, a comprehensive business case study analysing the production of local kale value chain with the existing climate change impacts is yet to be conducted.

Even though local kale production is practiced at the household level in the districts of Central Ethiopia where the Acting now for Food Security project is implemented, it faces multiple challenges. The kale production, planting pattern and cropping calendar is regressive, the harvest and postharvest handling is poor and leads to significant post-harvest losses. There is no pest control mechanism for farmers which remains a challenge for both human and environmental health, and the seed and seedling sources are scattered and lack traceability.

Moreover, there is no sound business model which shows the feasibility of commercializing kale at the household level, which is especially concerning as there are multiple actors in the value chain which affects the quality, traceability and profitability. Therefore in order to address the above problems, this study is an important milestone to promote a woman led home garden for kale cabbage to ensure the availability of nutritious food, alternative income for women, and commercial kale cabbage production that is more resilient and produced in balance with nature. The study will be carried out in the Central Ethiopia Region in Mareko Special District and Misrak Gurage Zone (Meskan district) taking the model of Tora District of the Silte Zone.

 

Note: Mareko Special District and Meskan district are adjacent districts.

 

Expected Outcomes of Business Case Study

The overall outcome of the study will be:

• A comprehensive report that provides a detailed business case for women focused kale production, distribution, marketing, consumption, and profitability.
• A document that shows the major problems in the study area such as pest and diseases on kale production, lack of information on seed and seedling source, unstructured and regressive production patterns, calendar and, lack of sound business model and profitability for household, kitchen garden, home gardens, and commercial kale producers.
• Recommendations on how to improve the farming practices and strengthen climate resilience, by indicating sources for higher quality seeds and seedlings, improve harvesting and post-harvest handling, doing a climate risk analysis, climate smart practices, market accesses and provide traceability and profitability analysis
• Provide an insight on the possibility of scaling up the production to other areas, improving the market channels to reach local and national markets, providing detailed methodologies of implementing climate resilient practices that enhance food security, and sustainable livelihood for women and youth.

 

Objectives (of the service)

• This business case study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the local kale value chain, encompassing its production, distribution, marketing, and consumption practices in the Central Ethiopia Region (Mareko special District, Meskan District of Misrak Gurage and will consider the Tora district of the Silte Zone experience as the best case/model).
• The study will investigate the entire lifecycle of kale, from cultivation methods employed by local farmers to harvesting techniques and post-harvest handling.
• Explore distribution channels, evaluating how kale reaches consumers, including wholesalers, retailers, and direct-to-consumer sales.
• Marketing strategies will be assessed to understand how local producers promote kale, including branding, pricing, and promotional tactics.
• Consumption patterns will be analyzed to identify consumer preferences, seasonal trends, and influences on purchasing decisions.
• The analysis will provide the profitability of the business and recommendation on the best farming system for further scaling up to the local and wider community.
• Gain valuable insights into the operational challenges and opportunities within the kale value chain.

 

Methodology

In order to conduct the study, the following methodologies will be employed through a multistage approach to ensure a thorough analysis of a local kale value chain with the aim to develop a business case for women focused kale production, distribution, marketing and consumption:

• A detailed desk review to gather secondary data on inputs, production, consumption, and marketing of kale in central Ethiopia
• Stakeholder analysis to identify and engage key stakeholders
• Profitability analysis to evaluate the economic viability of kale production by analyzing input costs, yield projections, market prices, and potential profitability. This includes capturing qualitative and quantitative data on standard area for kale profitability in kitchen garden, home gardening commercial production scenarios.
• Field research using key informant interview, field survey, and focus group discussion with farmers, stakeholders, and consumers in the districts of central Ethiopia.
• Observations of farming practices, harvest techniques, and post-harvest handling
• The study approach is a mixed research where we will collect both qualitative and quantitative data from farmers, government stakeholders, market actors, and consumers.

 

Responsibilities of Consultants/Scope of Work

The Consultant will be responsible for:

• Review documents and submit inception report;
• Developing the detailed feasibility study methodology and design;
• Conduct data collection using electronic data collection tools;
• Analysis of data and reporting in a clear format;
• Develop the field work schedule in consultation with Solidaridad staff
• Recruitment of the enumerators (where necessary)
• Conduct training for the data collectors
• Supervise the data collection process, give advice and ensure the quality of the data
• Regular progress reporting to Solidaridad , including responding to any comments or technical inputs wherever reasonable;
• Production of deliverables within agreed timeline and in accordance with quality requirements;
• Deliver the final report containing data against all proposed questions, evidence-based responses to the key questions, and recommendations for future implementation.
• Provide required data and dataset that is completed and labelled in English (variables and values) for both the SPSS and Microsoft file formats.
• Provide daily field briefing to Solidaridad on the progress and any challenges from the field.
• Respect Solidaridad’s code of conduct and adhere to it.

 

Deliverables

• Inception Report: the study team is expected to produce the inception report as per the agreed upon ToR and following the approval of the assignment. The inception report should include, detailed description of the methodology, as well as source of information and data collection procedure. The inception report should also indicate the detailed schedule for the tasks to be undergone (work plan), the activities to be implemented and the deliverables. The role and responsibilities of each member of the evaluation team should be stated as well.
• Periodic progress report: in order to manage expectation, the study team is expected to produce and submit weekly and monthly progress updates.
• Draft feasibility study/business case report: this report should be produced before the validation workshop for technical consultation team/group review for technical inputs before validation workshop of the whole feasibility study and recommendations,
• Collaborate during validation workshop: the consultant should present its findings to a stakeholders’ validation workshop that follows the discussion seminar internally with Solidaridad Ethiopia team as well and incorporate feedback if any.
• Final feasibility study/business case report (in English) in which the feedback of partners has been processed by incorporating all the comments received from concerned parties on the draft report from Solidaridad Ethiopia team team suggestions and validation workshop, the final report of the evaluation should be produced. The business case study report will result in a report, which describes the findings, and recommendations for future interventions and at least two case stories

 

For More Information Please Refer This:-

• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fJV1qqi_sWMG2JQlsj285XRbuO54Ooj4/edit

Expert/Consultant’s Profile:

The consultancy is open to consultancy firms. Selection of suitable candidates will be undertaken in accordance with the evaluation criteria (Annex A). The requirements are as follows:

Eligibility criteria for the Consulting Firm

• A renewed consultancy licenses to engage in similar activities.
• Verified tax payers number (TIN) and VAT registration number
• A minimum of 5 years track record and demonstrated experience regarding feasibility study and business case of horticultural/agriculture related projects in Ethiopia.
• At least two reference letters from donors or other organizations who commissioned project feasibility study and business cases, indicating how they appreciated the quality of project evaluation work done by the consultant/firm.
• Written engagement stating that the consultancy and its team members do not have any conflict of interest in the results of the feasibility study and possible future new projects.

Composition of evaluation team:

• The candidate should have demonstrated experience & expertise in business case/feasibility in agricultural value chain development in Ethiopia.
• The candidate should have a minimum of 5 years’ experience in carrying out any type of business case/feasibility, demonstrable academic and practical experience in qualitative and quantitative research methodology, evaluation design and implementation.
• Usage of qualitative and quantitative data analysis tools such as SPSS, R, Stata, Kobo-ODK, Nivovo, Atlasi and other statistical and qualitative tools.
• Experience in the area of kale cabbage horticulture or horticultural value chain and proven experience in related feasibility studies.
• At least one of the team members should have experience in socioeconomic analysis such as Return on investment (ROI), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) Net-Present Value Analysis (NPV) and other related financial analysis of diversified vegetables (kale, pepper, chili etc).
• At least one of the team members should have experience in gender and youth analysis and inclusion in such development.