HOW TO APPLY

COOPI – Cooperazione Internazionale and Danish Refugee Council (DRC) invites qualified
consultants/contractors to provide quotation for provision of consultancy services as per the attached
Terms of Reference (ToR).

Kindly send us your technical and financial offers via email by 10th October 2017. Submitted bids
should indicate the price per unit and should be valid for a period of 90 days from the date of the bid.

The bids should be delivered electronically to the following address:

COOPI Nairobi Regional Office

Email: coord.nairobi@coopi.org

By 10th October 2017 14:00 (EAT) in Nairobi Offices

Staff Training FFS facilitation training. TOR – Dollow Page 1

TERMS OF REFERENCE TO PROVIDE TRANING ON FARMER FIELD SCHOOL
FACILITATION TRAINING – SOMALIA

Somalia Resilience Program (SomRep)

1.0 Background

The Somalia Resilience Program (SomReP) is an ambitious approach to tackle the challenge of recurrent
droughts—and the chronic vulnerability among pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, and peri-urban households
in one of the poorest countries in the world. SomRep is being implemented through a consortium of 7
INGOs (ACF, ADRA, CARE, COOPI, DRC, Oxfam and WVI) with the Technical Unit housed under
World Vision Somalia for the coordination and provision of technical support/direction to the program.
These seven international organizations have deep experience in Somalia and jointly aim to build resilient
households and communities across Somaliland, Puntland and South-Central Somalia using their own
potential and abilities other than depending hand-outs. This approach was adopted to foster synergies
on approaches and best practices by different members to better support the communities.

This is a five-year multi-sectoral initiative that started in March 2013 targeting over 70,000 households
(agro-pastoral, pastoral and Peri-urban) across 23 districts in Somalia. Currently the districts with on-
going interventions includes: Dollow, Belet-hawa and Luuq in Gedo Region of South Central Somali;
then Odweyne, Badan, Erigavo and Las Anood in Somaliland; Afgoye, Baidoa and El-barde in South
Central Somalia and finally Eyl in Puntland among others with the following overall objective and results:

To increase the resilience of chronically vulnerable people (disaggregated by Age Gender &
Overall Diversity - AGD), HHs, communities and systems in targeted pastoral, agro-pastoral and
Objective peri-urban livelihood zones
1. Improved adaptive capacity of individuals (disaggregated by AGD), HHs and
Expected communities through support to livelihood diversification and improved access to markets,
Results financial services, and basic livelihood services
2. Improved absorptive capacity of HHs and communities through collective action in
support of effective disaster risk management, adoption of positive coping strategies and
improved access to formal and informal safety nets
3. Eco-system health improved through promotion of equitable and sustainable natural
resource management.
4. Transformative capacity improved through support to greater coordination of
community based governance structures in livelihoods, DRR, conflict mitigation and natural
resource management
5. Program learning and research generated and shared among relevant stakeholders
(including communities, NGOs, and government)

In each agency, SomRep staff under the grant is responsible for implementation in close collaboration
with local administration, clan leaders and other stakeholders targeting most vulnerable households and
communities affected by drought and other related shocks in agro-pastoral, pastoral and peri-urban
communities. Each agency has frontline technical officers facilitating the program implementation under
the leadership of program managers in respective agencies.

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In Gedo region, the program is implemented by DRC and COOPI for Dollow district in addition to
Belet-hawa district which is covered by COOPI.

2.0 Program Implementation Approach

For years Somalia has been subjected to emergencies calling for humanitarian emergency response
program. As expected, humanitarian programming is characterized by limited community participation
in assessment, rapid response to serve lives, short term interventions, limited/lack of involvement of
local communities, limited/lack of ability to build on local capacities/opportunities/practices, more top
down, focus on serving than changing lives, inappropriate interventions to community needs, donor
driven, creates dependence, limited governance, no local ownership, and results not sustainable among
other factors. This comes mainly because of emergency nature of interventions. On the other hand
resilience programming is supposed to be the opposite of the foresaid characteristics. It is long term,
context specific, multi-sectoral planning/funding/implementation. It also emphasizes on adaptive
management (revise activities to accommodate emerging issues), deeper analysis which is community
driven assessment to unlock context-specific solutions and strengthens local ability to self-organize and
act inclusively. Finally, resilience programming uses diverse set of approaches like disaster risk reduction
and preparedness, sustainable livelihoods approach, private sector role to drive livelihoods and how to
support social protection and emergency response (Crisis modifier interventions). The consortium
program interventions are now in fourth year of implementation. In line with the resilience program
implementation approach, each grant starts with community entry process and/or Community
Vulnerability Assessment (CVA) that involve creating awareness about the program and needs
assessment using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools. This is followed by development of
community action plans (CAP) and program plans which helps communities to articulate the needs/gaps,
potential activities to address these and what each stakeholder would contribute towards each activity.
It was clear from the CAP & CVA process that poor knowledge on improved farming practices coupled
with recurrent drought and erratic rain in target areas impairs crop and livestock production across
many parts of Somalia. Therefore, need for an enhanced agricultural extension service was prominent
during engagement with target communities. The following factors were also highlighted as some of the
factors limiting crop production: poor irrigation infrastructure, poor/erratic seasonal rainfall, drought,
using unimproved crop seed varieties, lack of access to crop seed, unorganized farmers, poor agronomic
practices and poor soil fertility, crop pests/disease, invasive weeds and lack of appropriate storage
structures.
Therefore, improving crop production for food and income is one of the key interventions supported
across the consortium. The major component of this is in South Central Somalia, which traditionally is
an agriculture area. With funding from Danida, SomReP has supported 1,420 farmers (500 – COOPI
and 920 – DRC) organized in 158 farmer groups with an average of 10 – 15 members per group to
engage in crop production. Farmers were supported with bush clearing on cash for work to reclaim land
to cultivation, crop seed and tools and rehabilitation of irrigation canals to improve water use efficiency
and irrigation pumps. Training on crop specific good agricultural practices (seed rate, row spacing, plant
spacing, weeding, timely harvest and proper storage) was provided to farmers. A total of 6
demonstrations plots were established where farmers had hands on training on the improved practices.
Additionally, a total of 6 Farmer Field schools were established in the target areas to improve
agricultural extension services.

3.0 The need for the Training

Farmer Field Schools is one of the participatory agricultural extension methodology used to train
farmers on how to make choices in methods of production through exploration and discovery based
approach.. This is unlike the long traditional top-down technology transfer systems that does not value
farmers’ ability and capacity to contribute to decisions on technology choices and adaptation.

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The man goal of Farmer Field School (FFS) is to bring farmers together to carry out a collective and
collaborative inquiry with a purpose of initiating community action in solving community problem. This
therefore is expected to empower farmers with knowledge and skills and make farmers to be experts in
their own fields. In addition, the FFS would help to improve farmers’ ability to make critical and
informed decisions that render their farming profitable and sustainable besides helping farmers to learn
how to organize themselves and their communities. Finally, the FFS would help farmers increase
farmers’ expertise to make informed decisions on what works best for them based on their own
observations of experimental plots in their field schools and to explain their reasoning. Therefore,
through this process FFS provides specific technical skills but also organizational skills and practice,
analytical skills and practice, and basic group assets such as trust and confidence required for joint
enterprises. For this to be achieved, there is need to have sharp and effective FFS Facilitator with a new
set of skills. These would help to introduce the FFS in a way that would lead to helping famers
understand on how to have a common vision and common methodology for moving into new areas of
extension and education. One principle inherent in farmer field schools is that trainers/facilitators work
alongside farmers as advisors and facilitators, encouraging independence, analysis and organization.

Therefore, training of community based facilitators and frontline staff on Farmer Field School
Methodology would result in the right application of the FFS extension methodology if the farmers are
to see the benefits that come because of this methodology.

4.0 Objective

The objective of the Farmer field school facilitation training is to equip the staff and FFS facilitators with
skills, capacities and knowledge for effective ion using Farmer Field school extension methodology to
discover, adapt and promote improved agricultural technologies and practices in target communities.

The training will target project staff and the identified FFS facilitators in the area of implementation
whilst gathering information from similar approaches and lessons learnt from previous FFS practices.

5.0 Scope of Work or Specific Tasks expected to be done will include:

 Establish challenges associated with using the FFS as an extension methodology in Dollow
context to guide the training approach
 Establish or identify the challenges and weaknesses that Staff have who were trained in FFS have
in facilitating FFS
 Establish or identify the challenges and weaknesses that FFS Facilitator have who were trained in
FFS have in facilitating FFS
 Train staff and facilitators to understand and apply FFS concepts, principles, process and
applications for building Agro-pastoralists capacities for resilient communities;
 Train facilitator on ways of encouraging collective participation and cohesion building amongst
FFS communities.
 Train staff/community facilitators on Participative learning and facilitation skills of Adult Learning
techniques in FFS.
 Trainer will facilitate to equip participants on team building /FFS group management skills.
 During training, Technical Topics and Cross Cutting Issues should also be covered (Livestock,
crop, and natural resource management, Gender issue etc.). This activity can help COOPI/DRC
Staff.
 Train participants on steps the guide establishment and running of an effective and sustainable
FFS
 Train staff and facilitators to analyze various steps, frameworks and models with special focus on
establishment of sustainable Farmer field schools

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  Train staff and facilitators to identify and analyze different farmers’ challenge and needs in
respect to the context at hand.
 Train staff and facilitators to facilitate the process of farmer field schools oriented to capacity
building and learning
 Train staff and facilitators to document a clear process of FFS facilitation with lessons learnt and
best practices
 Train participants and essentials to guide a sustainable FFS extension methodology
 Conduct evaluation of the training, assess objectives achievements and document lesson learnt.
 Compile a training report for the whole exercise

Expected Results

At the end of the training, participants will be expected to:-

 Knowledge and skills to the project team and the community FFS facilitators have improved
knowledge and skills on effective facilitation using Farmer Field schools extension methodology
to promote agricultural technologies and practices
 Participants are clear on steps that guide the establishment and running of an effective and
sustainable FFS.
 Understand and apply FFS concepts, principles, process and applications for building pastoralists
capacities for resilient communities;
 Analyze various steps, frameworks and models with special focus on establishment of sustainable
Farmer field schools
 Identify and analyze different farmers’ challenge and needs in respect to the context at hand.
 Facilitate the process of farmer field schools oriented to capacity building and learning
 Document a clear process of FFS facilitation with lessons learnt and best practices
 Participants acquire knowledge and skills on effective facilitation that guide the use FFS
Agricultural Extension methodology in a sustainable manner.

6.0 Target participants

Trainees will comprise of 8 COOPI and DRC project staff, and 28 community facilitators who will be
involved in the implementation and facilitation of the Farmer field school component within the project.
This proposed training will therefore, intend to equip staff and community facilitators with the necessary
skills to design and facilitate FFS topics for learning and sharing. The training may accommodate Ministry
of Agriculture staff at the district level.

7.0 Expected Outputs

 Develop inception report outlining methodology/approach, program content before starting the
training
 Provide participants with simplified resource/training material/manual on FFS (adopted from
FAO) which should be given during training sessions
 A Hard and soft copies of the Field guidance on FFS facilitation at community level, translated in
to Somali language.
 A post-evaluation training evaluation conducted after the training.
 A hard and soft copy of the final report on the training including planning, methodology,
delivery and observations/issues made during the training plus recommended action points in 2
weeks after the training
 Clear plan of action by the participants to guide them in facilitation FFS sessions.

8.0 Roles and Responsibilities

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 COOPI/DRC-SomReP will
 Provide materials for desk review
 Schedule meetings with partners or SomReP staff upon request by the consultant.
 Facilitate the consortium member participation in the training.
 Pay the consultancy fee.
 Facilitate the consultant’s travel from base to the field and back after the end of the contract.
 Provide the venue, LCDs, flip charts, note pads, colored paper, felt pens, markers, colored
markers, and stationery for the training of DRC/COOPI staff and handouts.
 Make comments on draft training report to the consultant for incorporation in the final report

The Consultant will;

 Develop the work plan showing: introduction/objective, methodology of training, scoping of the
work, schedule of training& financial plan.
 Undertake desk study of Secondary data on the SomReP including: Project proposal, and
reports strategies plus other work by other players on same sector done in Somalia.
 Facilitate training of COOPI/DRC staff and community FFS facilitators on Farmer Field
School Facilitation.
 Provide a final report of the Farmer Field School Facilitation training which includes comments
from SomReP TU and COOPI management.
 Provide a Field Guide on Farmer Field School Facilitation and other documentation
required
 The consultant will be responsible for their income tax and/or insurance during the assignment.
Also cater for their own visa and travel documents.
 Provide training certificates

9.0 Methodology

The consultant will start with review of secondary data on similar work done on Farmer Field School
approach in Somalia. In addition, field visit will be made to FFS schools/groups in Dollow/Belet-hawa
districts to gather information and appreciate the context and nature of gaps FFS programming before
starting the training. The training shall follow the FFS manual used and developed by FAO. This training
is intended to be participatory and key focus on adult learning methodologies of facilitation.

10.0 Proposed Time Frame for the Training Consultancy

The training consultancy will take approximately 30 days excluding travel days during which the
following will be done:-writing inception report with revised training timetable, visiting 2 FFS
schools/groups, conducting staff training, writing the training report and drafting the Field Guide FFS
facilitation.

Days # of Days Activity

Day 1 1 Entry Meeting

Day 2 2 Develop training inception report

Day 4 1 Travel to Dollow

Day 5 1 Visit FFS schools

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 Training of COOPI/DRC staff and community FFS facilitators
Day 6 - 26 21
on Farmer Field School Facilitation training
Day 27 1 Return by consultant
Drafting Training report and Field Guide for Farmer Field
Day 28 - 30 3
School Facilitation
Day 31 - 32 2 Review the training report & Field Guide

Day 33 1 Incorporate comments from SomReP

11.0 Qualification for the Consultancy

 Masters’ or BSc Degree in Agronomy sciences
 Established Firms with individuals having or Individuals with similar qualification.
 Have more than 3 years’ practical/demonstrated experience as master trainer in FFS facilitation
related programming or consultancy, preferably in arid/semi-arid areas like Somalia
 Proven or demonstrated field experience in training staff/farmers in FFS methodology where;
 Excellent command of Somali language.
 Understands Somalia social dynamics.

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