Request for Proposals (RFP) for an Evaluator to Conduct the Midterm Evaluation of USDA Food for Progress-Funded Traceability and Resilience in Agriculture and Cocoa Ecosystems (TRACE) Project at Lutheran World Relief (LWR)

Lutheran World Relief (LWR) is a member of Corus International. Corus International combines over 150 years of experience of our non-profit and for-profit subsidiary organizations - IMA World Health, Lutheran World Relief, CGA Technologies, Ground Up Investing, and Farmers Market Brands.

Applications are invited for:

Title: Request for Proposals (RFP) for an Evaluator to Conduct the Midterm Evaluation of USDA Food for Progress-Funded Traceability and Resilience in Agriculture and Cocoa Ecosystems (TRACE) Project 

RFP No.: RFQ-LWR-NG01-SEPT23-003
Location: Nigeria
Anticipated Award Date: 16th June, 2025
Anticipated End Date: 27th September, 2025

Background

• Despite its complexity, Nigeria’s cocoa sector has enormous potential to increase its sustainability, traceability and productivity for improved market access and trade. 
• Nigerian cocoa suffers from poor quality and a tarnished market reputation - an issue made more critical by increasing demand for sustainable production. 
• Nigeria’s cocoa production practices underutilize good agricultural practices, limiting productivity on aging farms and incomes of aging farmers, thereby causing the sector to appear unattractive to the next generation. 
• Transparency is crucial to demonstrating acceptable good cocoa production practices. 
• Currently, an estimated 30% of Nigeria’s cocoa is traceable in the value chain the rest is not. 
• Additionally, stakeholders operate in a challenging policy environment. However, the Government of Nigeria (GoN) and cocoa stakeholders are prepared to take advantage of current market conditions, leveraging strategic opportunities to sustainably produce and trace quality cocoa.
• To strengthen and grow Nigeria’s cocoa value chain, Lutheran World Relief (LWR) with funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is implementing the Traceability and Resilience in Agriculture and Cocoa Ecosystems of Nigeria (TRACE) project from October 2022 through September 2027. 
• TRACE leverages local and international technical expertise in cocoa and extensive local, regional and international stakeholder engagement to make lasting contribution to Nigerian cocoa productivity, traceability, enabling environment, and ultimately, expanded trade for farmers and value chain stakeholders.
• TRACE Project was initiated with the primary goal of expanding Nigeria's access to competitive markets for cocoa trade. The project aims to enhance agricultural productivity in the cocoa value chain through good agriculture practices and improve cocoa traceability to boost trade.
• The project contributes to two USDA Food for Progress strategic objectives:
  • Increased agricultural productivity in cocoa by using good- agriculture practices.
  • Expanded trade of cocoa by improving cocoa traceability.
• The TRACE project operates in a sub-set of Nigeria’s approximately 300,000 smallholder farmers who grow cocoa on farms averaging 2.5 hectares in size across 14 of Nigeria’s southern states. 
• More than half of cocoa production comes from the aging farms and farmers of Ondo state and the relatively younger, more productive farms of Cross River state.
• Operating in an unregulated cocoa market, Nigeria’s cocoa farmers benefit from the globally rising farm gate prices. However, they do not benefit from structured support, e.g., for inputs and new skills which are important for increased productivity. Many Nigerian cocoa farmers struggle economically, due to reliance on intermediaries’ financing of production, transport, and storage
• Under Lutheran World Relief (LWR)’s leadership, TRACE is assisting 68,453 people directly and an additional 337,515 indirectly by working with cocoa farmers, farmer groups and cooperatives, input suppliers, traders, Licensed Buying Agents (LBA), buyers, exporters, financial institutions, and government bodies. TRACE is focusing on cocoa production in six of Nigeria’s states namely Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ekiti, Ondo, and Osun.
• TRACE uses a market-systems development approach, building on partnerships, networks and relationships LWR has fostered with Nigerian, regional and global industry, civil society and producer organizations, and government to mobilize change and expand cocoa trade through strategic interventions addressing productivity, traceability, and trade enabling environment.
• TRACE has six activities:
  • Training: Improved agricultural production techniques for cocoa.
  • Inputs: Develop agro-dealers and/or other input suppliers.
  • Capacity Building: Provide business development services.
  • Market Access: Promote Traceability in Buyer-Seller Relationships.
  • Capacity Building: Promote improved policy and regulatory framework.
  • Public Information Campaign: Disperse improved market information.
• The project commenced in October 2022, baseline survey was conducted between February and May 2023. However, due to security, political and administrative challenges in Nigeria, the implementation of the project was delayed. In January 2024, the formal implementation of project activities commenced following the approval received from USDA upon review of the report of the Baseline Survey. It is now the midpoint and 3rd year of project life. 
• There is a need to undertake the Midterm Evaluation of the project to evaluate the progress and effectiveness of activities being implemented from inception to date to ascertain project achievements based on established goals and objectives. 
• The mid-term evaluation will also identify and recommend areas for improvement and recalibration during the remaining period of the project implementation.

Purpose of the Midterm Evaluation

• The purpose of TRACE midterm evaluation includes:
  • To take stock of the project’s implementation of activities and the context in which TRACE is operating in, through a critical and objective approach.
  • To assess whether targeted beneficiaries are benefiting from USDA assistance as expected and determine if the project is on track to meet its performance targets, stated goals, and objectives.
  • To review project-level results framework and assumptions, document lessons learned to date (including both successes and challenges to implementation), and, if necessary, discuss necessary modifications or midcourse corrections.
  • To assess the relevance of interventions, provide an early indication of the effectiveness of interventions, and identify sustainability efforts to date and beyond the project life.
• The output of the midterm evaluation will directly inform the project’s creation of a detailed Management Response Plan, which will guide the achievements of all anticipated results.

Scope of Work
The midterm evaluation will focus on the following key areas:

• Project Progress Review:
• Impact Assessment:
• Stakeholder Feedback:
• Contextual Changes:
• Data Quality and M&E Systems:

Evaluation Criteria and Questions

• The evaluation should use the standard evaluation criteria of Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Sustainability, and Impact as well as coherence. 
• The evaluation questions listed below are only an initial and indicative list of questions which the Evaluation Team should further, improve and prioritize in the Inception Phase.

Deadline for Responses (Date of Receipt)
27th May, 2025 (2.00pm).

Last Receipt Date for Questions
20th May, 2025 (5.00pm).

How to Apply
Evaluators / Evaluating firms interested in providing the required services should submit their technical proposal/expression of interest detailing their understanding of the requirements, detailed methodology to be employed, proposed design of the evaluation and a financial proposal with a detailed budget for the task to: nigeriaprocurement@corusinternational.org using the Title as the subject of the mail.

For the full RFP: CLICK HERE