Consultants - Assessment of Food Types and their Nutritional Values, Identify Home-Based Balanced Nutritional Options at Oxfam Nigeria

In Nigeria, Oxfam’s focus areas are Economic Justice/Livelihoods, Humanitarian Programming, Gender Justice / Female Leadership and Good Governance, adopting a rights-based approach. The overarching goal is to enable people exercise their rights and manage their own lives. The Livelihoods and Nutritional Empowerment (LINE) Project is a 60-month initiative implemented by Oxfam in the State of Bauchi, Nigeria with funding from Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

LINE Project aims to promote agriculture-driven economic growth and improve living conditions for 10,000 rural farmer households (60% women) with a specific focus on women and youth. LINE will be implemented in six Local Government Areas (LGAs): Gamawa, Shira, Darazo, Ningi, Alkaleri and Tafawa Balewa. As a market-based agricultural initiative, the project will focus on the following value chains: maize, sorghum, sesame, dairy and meat (beef, mutton and goats) and will seek to enhance access to markets through collaboration with relevant stakeholders and key private sector actors. LINE Project is expected to result in:

• Increased yields in selected livestock and crop value chains for 10,000 rural farmer households (60% women)
• Improved agricultural business-enabling environment which is responsive to the needs of women, men, and youth members of farmer households.
• Improved nutrition for vulnerable farmer households, especially women and children.

As a market-based agricultural initiative, LINE Project aims to strengthen the capacity of key private sector players by improving their skills to engage in value chain interventions and support targeted farmers. The Project will also support such partners to improve their institutional capacities, analytical, lobbying and advocacy skills and capacity in monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) systems to document impacts.

The Project is aligned with two United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets: reduce by 30% the number of people living in poverty and promote gender equality and empower women; as well as with Nigeria’s Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP), of which Bauchi State is a part.The Project is also in alignment with GAC development priorities in Nigeria, namely to stimulate sustainable rural economic growth for poverty reduction, enhance food security, and secure the future of youth through employment.

Objective and Scope
The immediate objective of the nutrition activities in the LINE project that directly relates to this consultancy is to improve home-based knowledge and skills of women from vulnerable farmer households in nutritious diets. When women and even girls have the basic knowledge on what types of foods in their locality are made of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and oil, vitamins and minerals, the various functions of these nutrients in the body and the skills on how they can combine them in their diets depending on the resources available to the households, their preferences and their local norms, their consumption of these nutritious diets will improve, impacting positively on their nutrition and health status. Presently, such information is unavailable for most commonly eaten foods in the Northern Nigeria including Bauchi State. For the purpose of this consultancy, food types represent the indigenous food/meals/diets commonly eaten in Bauchi State.

Although, some studies examined the nutrient contents of 7major foods eaten in the north such as Maize, Millet, Sorghum, yam, etc, their studies were limited as the nutrient content of actual local diets such as “Fura da nunu “ for example, were not presented. There is therefore a need to estimate the nutrient contents of local diets, to know what nutrients they are deficient in and then propose what food to add to those diets to prevent such deficiencies.
 
In the other case, some diets which are very rich in nutrients are less eaten due to lack of knowledge on their nutrient density. This study will highlight such diets; provide information on the benefits of such diets for improving the nutrition of women and children and proffer a more balanced diet and recommendations on how to promote those foods/diets. In addition, the consultant will assess the diets commonly fed to infants and young children, their adequacy in terms of nutrients and frequency of consumptions as well as the cultural norms around such practices.

Furthermore, there are studies available8 that certifies that some certain nutrients are lost from the diets due to its processing, preservation or preparation. The consultant will investigate the local diets identified and learn what cooking practices can have a negative effect on their nutrient contents, as well as the agricultural practices including preservation and processing practices that could lead to nutrient losses in the identified diets.

In light of these, LINE Project requires the services of a qualified consultant to assess food types and their nutritional values and identify home-based balanced nutrition options. The consultant will be expected to submit the report on these specific areas of study at the end of the consultancy:

• Identify locally available foods in the target LGAs and determine their nutrient content and/or deficiencies. This should include at least 5 local foods each made from the following food groups: cereals, roots and tubers, nuts and seeds, fruits, legumes and pulses, vegetables, milk and milk products.
• Identify local dietary practices (such as meal frequency pattern, food consumption pattern, distribution of food within the family) including the infant and young child feeding practices and care practices, dietary preferences, evaluate its adequacy and then determine nutritional requirements of the target population-women and children.
• Develop a set of dietary guidelines based on the food groups (cereals, roots and tubers, nuts and seeds, fruits, vegetables, legumes and pulses, milk and milk products).The guidelines should also include the frequencies of consumptions per nutrient needs, and how to enhance the nutrient composition of the identified local foods. Determine to what extend the preservation, cooking and handling of the food types affect their nutrient value and recommend how best to improve food preparation, preservation including processing, storage of seeds and harvest.

This assessment will be conducted in the 6 focus LGAs among a representative sample of poor farmer households. Consultations to validate the finding of the assessment will be carried out with the Nutrition Desk officers at the LGAs, Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health. Information will also be gathered from development partners working specifically in the selected local governments and in the state. The consultant will facilitate workshop with Oxfam and partners to disseminate findings.

Based on these stated objectives and scope, the consultant should develop a clear methodology on how to go about the assignment and present it to Oxfam together with the technical and financial proposal.

Minimum Standard Requirements
For consultants to be eligible for taking on the assignment as set out in this ToR, the following minimum standard requirements must be met:

• Consultant must have a company name
• Consultant must be registered with CAC
• Consultant must be able to provide proof of payment of tax
• Consultant must be in the possession of a valid TIN
• Consultant must have a corporate or enterprise bank account

Assessment of the CV’s
The assessment of the CV’s will be based on appropriateness of the proposed consultants based on the following criteria. The best fitting CV for the assignment will be given the most points. The following competencies should be made clear In the CV’s provided:

Preferred:

• PhD or Masters Degree in Agriculture or related discipline.
• Demonstrable experience in training and capacity building especially in agriculture and within the development, private and public sectors.
• Experience in working with farmer / community based groups
• Have demonstrable skills or competences in training and training organization especially for farmers and civil society groups using adult learning techniques and participatory methodologies
• Experience in using technology and new media for research
• Good writing and communicative skills
• Good command of English and Hausa

Required:

• Experience in training and capacity building
• Experience with international (I)NGO’s
• Good coordination and motivation skills
• Interest in using new media and technology for research
• Good writing and communicative skills
• Good command of English and Hausa

Application Closing Date
11:59 hours; 14th March, 2017.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their applications to the email or address below, the following should be included in applications:

• At least two relevant reference professional service assignment and products previously performed by the supplier that are comparable in content, time and money.
• A proposal for the delivery of the assignment as described in this ToR or expression of interest (EOI), including a time planning (workplan) based on this ToR as well as evidence of experience in setting up and implementing training programs to Community Groups in Bauchi or other Northern states.
• CV(’s) of the proposed consultant(s), proving relevant experience and/or diplomas. See also chapter 3.3.2, award criteria: [a], [b], [c], [d], [e], [f], [g], [etc]. Click here to view
• Total cost of delivery of the assignment. Accompanied with a cost break down in days or hours to spend and the related fee.

Quotations should be submitted by e-mail with the reference “Consult/LINE/002” to: [email protected] Alternatively the quotation can be delivered in hard copy to the following address:
No. 75 Sunday Awoniye Street,
Before Sarouniya Hotel,
Bauchi,
Bauchi State.

Click here for more Information - PDF (Term of Reference "ToR")

Note

• Candidates are adviced to download and read the contents of the Term of Reference for better understanding as the information contained in this post is a summary of the contents found in the Term of Reference (ToR)
• Any questions, remarks or requests for clarification regarding the content of the ToR can be sent to: [email protected] .For questions regarding the procurement procedure please send an email to: [email protected] on or before 07/03/2017, 17:00 hour (Nigerian time). In case you are not able to use email for sending in your questions, you can call the following phone number in case of questions: 0708 446 7104 or 0708 446 7370 .
• The questions will be answered to all applicants not later than 09/03/2017, 17:00 hour (Nigerian time).
• Quotations should reach Oxfam Novib not later than the closing date above.