Republic of Moldova

International Consultant to Develop the Feasibility Study on Sustainable Organic Fresh Fruit Growing and Exports

Vacancy Number: Pr13/00377

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	27 Sep 2013, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	10 Oct 2013
Reference to the project:	Wider Europe Aid for Trade
Expected Duration of Assignment:	40 working days
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted on-line by pressing the “Apply on-line” link, no later than 27 September, 2013. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: dumitru.vasilescu@undp.org. UNDP will respond by standard electronic mail and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants. This Vacancy Announcement is also placed on http://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?job_id=40357.
Supporting Documents: Terms of Reference Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Contacts:

Mr. Dumitru Vasilescu.

Background

In the past decade the Moldovan agriculture has undergone significant structural and technological changes. Generally, the income levels remain depressed, while the gap between efficient farms and the subsistence-oriented peasants’ households has further widened. Recent reports suggest that the most detrimental impact of the agriculture on environment comes from the improper crops-rotation, drastic reduction in use of organic fertilizers, the improper use of chemical fertilizers, especially in the small farms, overgrazing, and significant cuts in the field-protecting forest strips.

While Moldovan agriculture continuously was faced with emigration of labour force during the last decade, National Report for UN Conference on Sustainable Development 2012 Rio+20 argues that organic agriculture is the best long-term option to provide sustainable job opportunities in rural communities. Furthermore, the low level application of chemical fertilizers in traditional agricultural entities in Moldova can be harnessed as a real opportunity to pursue organic forms of agricultural production. In terms of export opportunities, the global market demand for organic food is steadily growing. The key destination markets for Moldovan produce follow the same global trend: the EU organic market was estimated at 21.5 bln Euro, while in Russia the total consumer market is estimated at $148 million but with strong growth trends and potential. As competitive pressures are poised to grow in the coming years in the aftermath of the DCFTA implementation, sustainable organic agricultural production might provide a proper niche for Moldovan agri-food exporters and producers.

Furthermore, a key characteristic of the sustainable organic agriculture is the replacement of chemical fertilizers with organic ones; from this perspective, the development of sustainable organic agriculture can be significantly supported by the increased use of the biogas installations in rural households and farms, as for instance remnants of converted biomass or biogas can be used as organic fertilizers. The connection of organic agriculture with energy production from biomass in the future could usher in a virtuous sustainable production cycle. For the time being, local producers should definitely focus primarily on possible closed cycles within agricultural field, mainly through combining fruit growing with labor intensive and HVA milk production, for instance.  

CONTEXT:

Overall, the vast majority of the Moldovan producers and, in some cases, also exporters of fresh fruits are small or medium sized enterprises, many of which are members of two active professional associations. For the last two years, UNDP Moldova, via the regional Aid for Trade Project, is implementing a series of specific activities to consolidate the capacities of such associations and their members. The target is enabling primarily fresh fruit producers to further consolidate their collaboration within the existing associations and cooperate for improving their competitiveness both at home and abroad. This is one of the key challenges faced by many producers, which otherwise would not be able to produce sufficiently large and qualitative lots of fresh produce. Besides cooperation for production or sales, producers need to diversify their produce and their target markets. Most probable, focusing more attention on niche markets, including the organic fresh fruit growing, is one way to stay competitive and profitable. Indeed, orientation towards organic production comports certain risks, including, but not limited to: a) expensive productive inputs for many small sized companies, b) high uncertainties related to identifying export opportunities and competitive advantages on potential markets, c) lack of supportive national regulatory framework to promote organic production, d) lack of trust of producers in needed partners along the value chain, particularly because organic fresh fruits require short lead time to market and storage requires sophisticated facilities.

Given the risks described, at present, on the local market there are very few companies, which decided to invest in organic fresh fruits production and invested into Global GAP. Their key constraints are lack of needed infrastructure in terms of sorting, pelleting and labelling technologies, lack of access to some technologies and finance, including at the very end stages of the value chain, lack of tools to promote exports and limited knowledge of foreign market opportunities. Trust between producers and the lax contract enforcement mechanisms are also important variables that sometimes result in unachieved profits and missed opportunities.

In this context, UNDP, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, and being supported by the associations of fresh fruit producers, is seeking to conduct a feasibility study to spot those priority areas and commodities that could or should benefit from more support from State and donors community, so that to encourage substantial cooperation of producers around the idea of organic sustainable fresh fruit production and further consolidate the capacities of the existing associations to support such producers. The organic fresh fruits export promotion is one area in which all key relevant stakeholders shall join efforts to ensure that by the time new investments for organic fresh fruits production are eventually made, needed regulatory and infrastructure frames are already in place. Other important areas and associated benefits and costs shall be identified and analyzed in a participatory and consultative manner.

Scope of work

1. Assessment of the current state of sustainable organic fresh fruit growing and exporting policies and practices; analysis of the current efforts by individual producers and associations to promote organic fresh fruits;
2. Assessment of potential impacts for the sustainable fresh fruit growing and exports in Moldova in areas such as net job creation, net trade balance, income generation, overall sustainability of agricultural production, food security and other;
3. Assessment of the main risks, advantages, costs, benefits based on the identified impact areas; in particular, the analysis should weight the current and prospective costs and benefits of investments in organic sector by Moldovan producers and the potential of these producers to explore niches on the EU market;
4. Set of recommendations (with costing) for advancing sustainable organic fresh fruit growing and exports for public authorities, private sector, development agencies and practitioners;
5. Analysis of the “virtuous cycle” between sustainable organic fresh fruit growing and bio-energy production feasible in Moldovan conditions in long term – recommendations and costs;
6. Conduct final validation workshop and finalize the Feasibility Study.

For detailed information, please refer to Annex 1 – Terms of Reference.

Requirements for experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Advanced university degree in Economics, Agriculture or other relevant fields.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of proven analytical skills and previous experience in policy analysis, development of comprehensive analytical reports in economic and agricultural fields;
• Familiarity with the situation in the organic fresh fruits segment in Moldova and in the region and in-depth knowledge on principles of organic production, and overview of European organic market, its marketing channels, and main EU market stakeholders;
• Knowledge of the EU organic certification requirements and procedures, regulations, including institutional, legal and policy frameworks, in the area of organic fresh produce.

Competencies and Skills:

• Excellent analytical and writing skills,
• Strong communication and teamwork skills;
• Fluency in English is mandatory. Knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian is an advantage.

Documents to be included

1. Cover letter, explaining why he/she is the most suitable for the work;
2. A brief methodology on how he/she will approach and conduct the work;
3. Financial proposal;
4. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references, or dully filled Personal History Form (P11).

Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including daily fee, travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).  

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel (the Consultant is expected to undertake 3 working visits to Moldova).  In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class, he/she should do so using their own resources.

In case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

 

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