The objective of the assignment is to provide an in-depth understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the up and down stream markets for sustainable growth of the selected value chains, provide technically based suggestions for the most appropriate VCs within a particular context as well as identify opportunities for integration of men, women and youth thereby providing improved livelihood opportunities.  Sub-objectives include:A detailed identification of potential project target groups.An overview of VC actors, including service providers, buyers, companies, which are of interest to explore further engagement.Identification of growth trends and growth opportunities for the integration of smallholder farmers, local entrepreneurs, women and youth.Assessment of opportunities to support resilience of households and climate change adaptation and mitigationEstimations of Volumes and values to be traded based upon currently available figures.Differentiation between local, regional and global VCsDetailed descriptions of potential benefits and/or risks of smallholders to take part in particular VCs.A sensitive assessment of potential negative implications of getting involved in particular VCs (distorting already established VCs within a society)Activities to be undertaken under this assignmentActivity 1: Prepare an Inception Report for the implementation of the work. This report will be submitted a few days after signing the contract, and includes amongst others an updated methodology, updated work plan, list of key stakeholders, organizations and projects for consultation, list of questions for different categories of interviewees, list of secondary resources. It will also highlight which ‘good practices’ the consultancy will apply in its assignment. The report will also present collected value chain information, which can be presented at the Inception Workshop. The Inception Report will include an inception workshop programme.Activity 2: Prepare for and implement the VCA Inception Workshop. This will be held in each of the three counties. A PPT presentation will be prepared to explain the purpose and activities, the stakeholders already identified, a tentative programme, etc. It will also include detailed descriptions of proposed VC in each county shall be described in detail in the respective county. The programme should provide workshop participants the opportunity to question, correct, add and suggest. The Inception Workshop report should amongst other highlight which new insights have been gained or how the detailed workplan has been adjusted.Activity 3: Identification of potential productions areas. This will include a list of production areas with rural smallholders, identified farmer groups, cooperatives, including contact details, other relevant characteristics (key crops, women-only group, youth group, etc.). It will also include whether and from which project they have recently received or are still receiving support. They will form the basis for selecting participants for the baseline survey which falls under another RFP.Activity 4: Implement the fieldwork, collect secondary data and analyze the selected VCs following the agreed VCA outline. This will include:Key statistics and synthetic info on end markets for each VC, latest market situation, market dynamics, trends and opportunities. This is not limited to the 3 counties, but includes key markets in South Sudan, major product flows within the country, import and export flows.Interviews with VC actors, including producers, service providers, input suppliers, traders, processors and market operators identifying current status, challenges and opportunities, value chain functioning, flows, etc.Maps of the VCs, generalized VC flowchart, showing physical and financial flows and key actors, including identifying involvement of youth/youth groups and women/women groups, private sector players working in the VCs.Description of the enabling environment for smallholder production, women and youth engagement in the selected VCs. (national policies, regulations and laws; sociocultural elements; physical infrastructural elements; Mechanization, ICT and digital agriculture), with an emphasis on empowering the more vulnerable and marginalized groups.Assessment of VC governance and smallholder, women, youth representation within governance mechanisms; overview of relevant policies and institutions within the agricultural sector and their effectiveness; policy or legislative frameworks that support or impede SMEs/agribusinesses in the selected value chains.Description of the current level of engagement, entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for men, women and youth in each core VC function (production, aggregation, processing and distribution), with attention for the challenges that specific groups (smallholder, women, youth) face, the most common business models/production methods that they adopt and the employment and working conditions that they face (e.g. employment status, type of contracts for wage workers, formality/informality, access to social security, pay levels, application of occupational safety and health measures);Assessment of the supply and demand of VC support services and their capacity to address needs of smallholder producers, women and youth entrepreneurs, disaggregated by sex (e.g. seeds provision, agro-inputs access, financial services, etc.). Support services include a wide range from financial services, BDS services, tractor services, seedling producers, etc. Given the recent challenges of financial service provision, specific emphasis will be put on assessing the current access to finance in the targeted VCs, the supply of adapted financial services (including VSLAs, SACCOs, MFIs) but also other forms of financial arrangements (i.e. contract farming, inputs on credit, etc.).Identification of promising VC business and employment opportunities for men, women and youth in each node of the VC as well as in service provision, taking into account aspects of job quality, migration and environmental sustainability/green jobs.Identification of the companies active in the selected value chains in South Sudan. Including potential and interest to develop partnership with the project that benefit the company and the target groups of the project.Gross Margin Analysis for 4 vegetables, 3 fruits, maize and sorghum.Assessment of opportunities to support household resilience and climate change adaption in the selected VCs.SWOT analysis of each VC in terms of growth opportunities in different VC segments and service provision.Note: The information presented should be gender-sensitive and assess the specific challenges faced by women and youth.Activity 5: Prepare and implement the VCA Validation Workshop in 3 counties. The results of the Value Chain Analyses will be presented through a PPT presentation to validate the insights, conclusions and recommendations, to identify gaps in the analysis and additional challenges and opportunities in the selected Value Chains. The workshop programme should give ample opportunities for interaction with the participants.Activity 6: Synthesizing all information and writing the report. The Table of Content of the report will be agreed in advance. Include small cases to illustrate the analysis. Support descriptions where possible with data. First a complete draft report will be submitted, after which the questions, suggestions and feedback as well as identified gaps can taken into account for the final report. If required, more rounds of consultation might be required.
