1. Background and Context
1.1 About the Task
AATF is seeking the services of an individual consultant to conduct a gap analysis on the status of handling of Confidential Business Information (CBI) and identify state of preparedness by the East African Community (EAC) partner states to establish mechanisms for handling the same in reference to conventional and bio pesticides as well as bio control agents.
1.2 Brief Description of AATF
AATF is a not-for-profit organisation that embraces a mission of making available, to smallholder farmers, agricultural technologies that were previously not accessible to them. Founded on the premise of tackling poverty and food insecurity through technological interventions, AATF empowers farmers to transform their livelihoods by equipping them with better tools and inputs that would, without the organisation’s intervention, take a much longer time to reach them and cost a lot more. These efforts, combined with optimal agricultural practices and product value addition, will contribute to agricultural transformation in Africa leading food security and poverty reduction in sub Saharan Africa.
1.3 Background on the Process of Regional Harmonization of Regulations for the Registration and Testing of Pesticides and Bio-Control Agents in the EAC region
The East African Community recently embarked on a process of developing harmonized regulations and guidelines for the registration and testing of conventional and Bio-pesticides and Bio control agents, mainly with the support from USDA-FAS. The process culminated into the adoption of regulatory instruments (i.e. Guidelines on efficacy trials, guidelines on residue trials and Pesticide Registration Requirements) at the EAC secretariat. The 11th Sectoral Council on Agriculture and Food Security (SCAFs) held in June 2018 adopted the three sets of guidelines on efficacy trials, residue trials and registration requirements for conventional pesticides. The SCAFs urged Partner States to pilot implementation of the pesticide efficacy guidelines for the first three years in order to pave way for operationalization of full mutual recognition. At the time, the 11th SCAFs also noted with concern that the Fall Army Worm (FAW) is a formidable threat to food security in the continent and encouraged the Secretariat and Partner States to support joint testing of pesticides and to share information on products that can control the FAW. The 38th Extra-Ordinary Council of Ministers held in January 2019 adopted the guidelines and directed Partner States to domesticate them by 30th May 2020.
Much earlier in 2018, the process of establishing harmonized guidelines for the testing and registration of harmonized guidelines for bio-pesticides and bio-control agents had commenced. These efforts led to the establishment of three sets of guidelines: The EAC guidelines on data requirements for the registration of Bio-Pesticides and Bio control agents for plant protection; EAC guidelines for designating testing centers for pest control products and EAC guidelines for confidential business information (CBI) protection.
The three sets of guidelines were adopted during the 13th meeting of the Sectoral Council on Agriculture and Food Security (SCAFS) held in Arusha on 23-27 September 2019 and are ready for implementation. As the EAC partner states set the path towards full domestication and implementation of these guidelines, they must go through a preparatory phase. Particularly it will be critical for each partner state to set up a mechanism to ensure the protection of Confidential business information (CBI). This will foster the confidence of private companies who submit sensitive business information in their dossiers as they apply for the registration of their pest control products.
2. Purpose and Objectives of the Consultancy
The general objective of the current task is to conduct a Gap analysis on the handling of Confidential Business Information (CBI) during processing of application dossier for registration of pest control products within the East African Community.
Specifically, the task aims at:
(i) Identifying and documenting the existing mechanisms/ practices for handling CBI in all the EAC partner states.
(ii) Conducting a needs assessment and identifying any specific requirements for establishing a system to safeguard CBI for conventional pesticides, Bio-pesticides and Bio-Control agents in each EAC partner state.
(iii) Analyze the needs and existing mechanisms to identify any gaps in the existing mechanisms/ practices in each EAC partner state.
(iv) Propose a country-specific model for establishing a system for protecting CBI in each EAC partner state.
3. Deliverables
Deliverables should include the following:
a) An inception report including planned timeline, methodology / approach, planned stakeholders to be consulted and data collection and analysis tools, qualitative and quantitative protocols for data collection and analysis.
b) Presentation of findings to AATF and stakeholders for comments before preparing a draft report.
c) Submission of the draft report to AATF for written comments before presenting the findings during dissemination workshop and thereafter finalizing the report, to minimize the chance of inaccuracies and to maximize ownership of the findings.
d) Submission of a final report that is jargon free, clear and simply written to AATF. The main body of the report should not exceed 30 pages and should include an executive summary, brief project background and recommendations. Technical information should be included in appendices only. Recommendations should be specific and include relevant details for how they might be implemented. The structure of the report should cover the following:
· Executive summary (approximately 10% of the final report).
· Brief project background (approximately 5%).
· Methodology (approximately 5%).
· Main findings relating to the evaluation questions (At least 40%).
· Recommendations for future action (At least 40%)
· In addition, the final report should contain at least the following annexes:
o Terms of Reference for final evaluation
o List of meetings attended.
o List of persons interviewed
o List of documents reviewed
o Any other relevant material, including data collection tools
4. Indicative Schedule of Activities
The task is expected to be undertaken within two months.
5. Contract and Reporting Details
Type of contract: The consultant will be offered a fixed-price contract to include all the activities and deliverables listed above.
Reporting. The consultant will report to the Senior Manager, Regulatory and Policy Affairs ([email protected] ) for all issues related to the program and fieldwork, including in-country logistics.
6. Qualifications, Experience and Skills.
Preference will be given to applicants with the following:
i. At least a master’s degree, in Agriculture, Crop protection, Agricultural Economics or any other agricultural discipline
ii. Proven experience in handling pesticide registration dossiers.
iii. Demonstrated understanding of the pesticide regulatory environment.
iv. Good understanding of the agricultural context within the East African region.
v. Experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection, conducting of Key Informant Interviews and analysis using statistical software.
vi. High degree of independence, flexibility and ability to meet strict deadlines
7. Remuneration and other benefits
A lump sum consultancy fees shall be paid to suitable candidate for task described. No additional benefits or per diems will be paid to the consultant. The Consultant will also be responsible for his/her own health insurance and accommodation costs.
8. Terms of Payment
The consultants will be in installment as follows:
· 25% at the start of the assignment
· 40% on submission of draft reports and
· 35% after successful completion of the task and submission of all the necessary final reports and documents.
9. Application Criteria
Interested consultants should submit detailed technical and financial proposals (not more than 8 pages) covering:
i. Short overview of how the candidate meets the qualifications, experience and skills requirements (no more than one page)
ii. Demonstrated understanding of the terms of reference
iii. Description of the proposed approach
iv. A detailed work plan (time and activity schedule)
v. Detailed budget
vi. Profile of the consultant and Curriculum Vitae.
vii. Samples of two most recent related works (and/or references for the same with contact details of the referees.
10. Evaluation and Award of the Consultancy
AATF will evaluate the proposals and award the assignment based on technical and financial feasibility. AATF reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal received without giving reasons and is not bound to accept the lowest or the highest bidder. Full project details will be given to selected/shortlisted candidates.
- Deadline for submission of technical and financial proposals: 28th February 2020.
The Expressions of interest must be received by email at the address: [email protected] no later than 28th February 2020 at 17:00 Hrs., East African Time. Clearly indicate EAC Consultancy on CBI on the subject line of the email.
More Information
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