Introduction & Background
Overview of Fairtrade Africa (FTA)
Established in 2005, Fairtrade Africa (FTA) is a member of Fairtrade International and the umbrella network organization representing Fairtrade-certified Producer Organizations in Africa and the Middle East. It has four (4) regional networks – Eastern & Central Africa; Southern Africa; West Africa; and the Middle East & North Africa. Fairtrade Africa currently represents 1,445,265 farmers and workers in 684 Producer Organizations spread across 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East by providing services to them that contribute to the improvement of their livelihoods.
Overview of The DONUTS Programme
Dignified Opportunities Nurtured Through Trade and Sustainability (DONUTS) is a four-year Development program funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA-Finland) with further support from National Fairtrade Organizations (NFOs) and Commercial partners. The goal of the program is to have Farmers and agricultural workers’ rights to sustainable livelihoods realised. The program intends to achieve this goal by enhancing the resilience of communities to risks, strengthening democracy and inclusion of civil society organizations as well as supporting realization of living income and decent work. In addition, DONUTS supports farmers, workers and other stakeholders mitigate climate change and protect nature.
Overview of the Sustainable Chain of Ethiopian Coffee Project
This project seeks to secure coffee farmers’ right to sustainable livelihoods by strengthening their climate resilience and furthering social inclusion. The project supports farmers to generate additional income from carbon credits, adopt good agricultural practices that raise yields, improve quality and earnings, and build producer organizations that actively include women, youth and persons with disabilities. The project’s implementation period runs from January 2022 to December 2025 and targets 22,801 coffee farmers from 15 cooperatives under Sidama Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union (SCFCU), Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union (YCFCU), and Bench Maji Forest Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union LTD (BMFCFU). Additional stakeholders include cooperative management, youth groups, advocacy partners, and government institutions involved in climate adaptation and agricultural policy.
Evaluation Purpose
Fairtrade Africa is recruiting a consultant to conduct an end of project evaluation to:
- Assess the project based on the OECD DAC evaluation criteria, DONUTS cross-cutting objectives and to support learning, adaptation & replication by answering the following questions:
Relevance:
- How well was the project aligned with the needs and priorities of all the targeted rightsholders?
- How well did the project address key challenges related to climate change, sustainable coffee production, and income diversification for smallholder farmers?
Coherence:
- How well does the project align with national and state -level policies on climate change, sustainable agriculture, and rural development?
- To what extent does the project complement or integrate with other Fairtrade initiatives, government programs, or donor-funded projects in the coffee sector?
- Are there any conflicts, redundancies, or synergies between this project and other interventions targeting coffee farmers in the project’s regions?
- What lessons can be drawn from the project’s coordination with key stakeholders, including Fairtrade partners, government agencies, and local organizations?
Effectiveness:
- What progress has been made towards achieving the intended project objectives, outcomes, and indicators?
- To what extent have coffee producers adopted climate-resilient farming practices, such as agroforestry, soil conservation, and energy-efficient cookstoves?
- How effectively have the project’s training and capacity-building initiatives enhanced farmers’ knowledge and skills in climate adaptation and sustainable farming?
- What are the key enablers and barriers that affected the achievement of project objectives?
- How effectively were project strategies adjusted based on real-time feedback and learning?
- How well did project management, governance, and decision-making structures contribute to effectiveness in implementation?
Efficiency:
- How efficiently were financial and human resources allocated to different project activities?
- Are there alternative strategies that could have been selected to achieve similar results with less resources
- Were project activities delivered within the planned timeframe and budget? If not, what were the main delays and their causes?
- How cost-effective were the climate mitigation and adaptation interventions, such as tree nurseries, cookstoves, and agroforestry initiatives?
- Were the implementation approaches (e.g., ToT model, partnerships with stakeholders) effective in delivering project results?
- How well did project management, governance, and decision-making structures contribute to efficiency in implementation?
Impact:
- What measurable changes in economic, social, and environmental conditions have resulted from the project?
- How has the adoption of energy-efficient cookstoves and tree planting contributed to carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation?
- To what extent can changes in yield be attributed to the project?
- To what extent have coffee producers benefited from improved yields, quality, and market opportunities due to good agricultural practices (GAP) and sustainable agricultural land management (SALM)?
- What has been the impact of alternative income-generating activities (e.g., carbon credit trading, tree seedling sales) on farmers’ financial stability?
- Were there unintended positive or negative consequences arising from the project?
- Has the project caused any transformative changes like a broad replication by other SPOs?
Sustainability:
- What mechanisms have been established to ensure the sustainability of project interventions beyond its period of donor support?
- To what extent have producer organizations, local governments, and other stakeholders taken ownership of key project initiatives?
- What are the key risks that could threaten the sustainability of climate adaptation strategies and income diversification efforts?
- How can the sustainability risks, for example the risk of continuation of the process related to carbon credit trading after the project, mitigated?
- How likely are farmers to continue using the skills, knowledge, and technologies promoted by the project after its completion?
- What partnerships and policy linkages have been established to support long-term impact?
vii Cross – cutting objectives: Gender, youth, vulnerable persons
- To what extent did the project influence gender equality, youth participation, and inclusion of vulnerable persons (e.g. persons with disabilities) in the coffee producing communities?
- Did the chosen approaches strengthen the rights and enhance inclusion of women, youth and vulnerable persons affected by the project? How well? Could the approaches be improved? How?
Learning & Adaptation, Scaling Up & Replication:
- What best practices and lessons can inform future program design and implementation?
- How can collaborative learning approaches be enhanced to support continuous improvement?
- What elements of the project have been most effective and scalable?
- What challenges need to be addressed before expanding the intervention to new areas or communities?
- What elements are considered as not very effective and scalable and should therefore rather not be replicated?
To carry out data collection and analysis for each indicator in the results table and determine the outcomes and impact of the project (Please refer to the results table in annex 1).
Deliverables
- Inception Report: This report will outline the evaluation methodology, work plan, and data collection tools.
- Draft Report and data: This report will present the preliminary findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the evaluation together with completed Indicator performance tracking table (IPTT) for project output, outcome and impact indicators. The draft report will be presented to the project stakeholders for feedback.
- Final Report and data: This report will incorporate feedback from project stakeholders and will be the final version of the evaluation report. A summary of the report in MS PowerPoint should also be provided.
- Dissemination Plan: This plan will outline how the evaluation findings will be shared with stakeholders.
Methodology
- The evaluation will use a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative data collection methods that will support an in-depth analysis of the project in accordance with OECD DAC criteria.
- The consultant will select an appropriate sampling method to obtain a representative sample from targeted rightsholders for data collection.
- Desk Review & Comparative Analysis: analysis of project reports, baseline assessments as well as the comparison of the baseline and findings from the evaluation to assess change over time.
- Detailed information on the methods to be used will be developed by the consultant during the Inception period.
Timelines
The expected start date of this consultancy is 15th July 2025, and the consultant is expected to complete the assignment by or before 30th September 2025.
Ethical Considerations
- The evaluation will be conducted in an ethical and transparent manner, and in accordance with FTA policies (including Data protection policy, Anti-Sexual Harassment Policy, Child Protection Policy).
- The evaluation team will obtain informed consent from all participants and will ensure the confidentiality of all data collected.
- The evaluation team will adhere to the highest standards of professional conduct.
Consultant Specifications
Fairtrade Africa seeks an experienced, proactive and dedicated consultant to undertake this assignment. We welcome applications from interested people or groups with:
- A minimum of 5 years’ experience in carrying out evaluations of development programs.
- An evaluation team will be composed of qualified evaluators with experience in agricultural development, carbon finance and climate resilience, human rights and gender equality.
- Demonstrable experience with the OECD DAC approach, in qualitative and quantitative research methodology, evaluation design and implementation.
- Strong analytical, communication and reporting skills.
- The consultant MUST be based in Ethiopia and available to undertake the assignment starting from 15th July 2025.
- Proficiency in English and Amharic.
How to apply
Submission guidelines
Technical and Financial proposals from interested consultants or consultancy firms should include as a minimum the following elements:
- A cover letter introducing the submission.
- Complete CV of the consultant(s) outlining the relevant skills, experience and role on the assignment
- Three references from organizations with whom similar assignments were carried out in the last three (3) years, outlining the consultant’s role, performance and the project deliverables.
- Technical proposal detailing consultants’ proposed methodology and workplan.
- Financial proposal with a detailed budget for the assignment this should include all costs and applicable taxes.
- The financial and technical proposals should be submitted as separate documents.
- Consultant(s) is encouraged to include any additional information they believe demonstrates added value for Fairtrade Africa within the scope of this assignment.
- Business license of the consulting firm.
To apply please submit a technical and financial proposal with the above specifications to [email protected] 30th June 2025. Indicate in the email subject line Ethiopia SCC End-Term Evaluation. Bids are evaluated by assessing both technical and price competitiveness.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. If Fairtrade Africa has not contacted you by July 15th, 2025, consider your proposal unsuccessful.
Fairtrade Africa reserves the right to interview and appoint applicants prior to the closing date of this consultancy.
