ABOUT AGA KHAN FOUNDATION (AKF)
The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), established by His Highness the Aga Khan in Switzerland in 1967, is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). In Kenya, since 1974, AKF works with partners to improve the quality of life by promoting and developing innovative solutions to development challenges. AKF responds to local priorities by developing and implementing effective programming, measuring, and documenting results, and sharing its lessons with governments, donors, and development actors to influence policy and practice.
PROGRAMME OVERVIEW
The Aga Khan Foundation is implementing MAENDELEO, a Regenerative Farming Initiative in Kirinyaga County. aimed at improving smallholder farmers livelihoods. The initiative focuses on capacity strengthening of farmers in regenerative farming practices through farmer field schools and on-farm support.
The overall principle is to co-develop with smallholder farmers simple solutions (aka SIIIMs: Small Integrated Innovative & Impactful Modules), that are accessible to farmers easy to adopt regenerative practices. The overall goal is to strengthen climate-resilient livelihoods, sustainable food systems, and improved nutrition among smallholder farming households through regenerative agriculture in target counties in Kenya. The specific objectives of the programme includes:
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Objective 1: Increase smallholder farmers productivity, income, and autonomy
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Objective 2: Reduce smallholder farmers operating costs and labour
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Objective 3: Strengthen smallholder farmers socioeconomic and climate resilience
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Objective 4: Improve smallholder farmer household food security and nutrition
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Objective 5: Restore farm natural capital (soil, water, air, biodiversity)
PURPOSE OF THE CONSULTANCY
The purpose of this consultancy is to assess and quantify the economic benefits, costs, returns, and livelihood impacts associated with the adoption of regenerative farming practices promoted under the initiative in Kirinyaga County. The study will generate robust evidence on the economic viability and sustainability of regenerative agriculture interventions and provide actionable recommendations for programme improvement, scaling, investment prioritization, influence policy and practice.
Specifically, the Foundation intends to assess whether adoption of regenerative farming practices contributes to improved farm productivity, reduced production costs, increased profitability, improved household incomes, enhanced resilience to climate variability, and broader socio-economic benefits for farming households and communities. To support evidence-based programming and scaling of regenerative agriculture approaches, the Foundation seeks to engage a qualified consultant or consulting firm to undertake a comprehensive Economic Benefits Analysis of the initiative among target farmers in Kirinyaga County.
OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTANCY
Overall objective of the consultancy
To conduct a comprehensive economic benefits analysis of the regenerative farming initiative among target farmers in Kirinyaga County. The evaluation will adopt the before and after evaluation design where the adopting farmers will be required to recall the pre-adoption status and compared with non-participating farmers.
Specific objectives of the consultancy.
The consultant shall:
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Assess the extent and level of adoption of regenerative farming practices among participating farmers.
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Analyze changes in:
- Agricultural productivity and yields of the main crops and horticulture produce being grown;
- Farm input costs with breakup in fertilizer, pesticide, seed and labor costs
- Household agricultural net income;
- Farm profitability and gross margins;
- Household food security and dietary diversity;
- Climate resilience and risk reduction.
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Assess farmersā perceptions of economic gains, risks, barriers, and incentives associated with regenerative farming.
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Identify gender, youth, and socio-economic dimensions influencing economic outcomes and adoption patterns.
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Generate lessons, recommendations, and strategic insights for scaling regenerative agriculture programming in Kenya.
SCOPE OF WORK
The consultancy shall cover target farmers participating and non-target farmers in the regenerative farming initiative within selected wards/communities in Kirinyaga County.
The consultant will be expected to:
- Review programme documents, data, training materials, monitoring reports, and existing assessments;
- Design an appropriate analytical framework and methodology;
- Undertake quantitative and qualitative data collection;
- Conduct household economic analysis;
- Analyse production, profitability, labour, and market linkages
- Assess environmental-economic linkages where relevant;
- Produce high-quality analytical report
KEY EVALUATION QUESTIONS
The analysis should respond to the following indicative questions:
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Farm location:
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Total farm size and whether owned or rented
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Household size / number of people live and depend on the farm.
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Five main crops of the farm and current hectarage
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Type and number of livestock (cattle, goats, sheep, poultry, bees, fish, etc)
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When the farmer started the regenerative transition in their farm (month, year).
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Which factors have convinced the farmer to adopt regenerative farming.
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What regenerative farming practices the farmer has adopted.
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Whether the farmer was using synthetic chemical fertilizers before the MAENDELEO Initiative.
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Whether the farmer was using synthetic chemical pesticides before the MAENDELEO Initiative.
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Whether farmer is still using synthetic chemical fertilizers.
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Whether farmer is still using synthetic chemical pesticides.
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Whether the farmer is considering going back to synthetic chemical inputs.
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Ranking in order of importance at least any five main benefits experienced from the transition to regenerative farming.
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Key challenges faced in adopting regenerative farming.
METHODOLOGY
The consultant is expected to propose a rigorous mixed-methods approach, including but not limited to: Desk review, Household surveys, Key informant interviews, Focus group discussions, cost-benefit analysis, gross margin analysis, enterprise budgeting, comparative analysis, case studies, and farmer success stories.
The methodology should incorporate:
- Gender-sensitive and inclusive approaches;
- Participatory methods;
- Appropriate sampling strategies;
- Ethical data collection standards;
- Data quality assurance mechanisms.
The consultant should clearly indicate:
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Sample size determination
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Sampling procedures;
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Analytical tools and software;
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Limitations and mitigation measures.
EXPECTED DELIVERABLES
The consultant shall provide the following deliverables within the specified timelines:
No Deliverable Description Timeline
1 Inception Report Detailed methodology, work plan, sampling framework, tools, and 1 week
analytical approach
2 Data Collection Tools Survey questionnaires, interview guides, and data collection protocols 2 weeks
3 Draft Report Preliminary findings, analysis, and recommendations 6 weeks
4 Validation Workshop Presentation of findings to stakeholders 7 weeks
5 Final Report with power Revised final report incorporating stakeholder feedback 8 weeks
point presentation
6. Clean Dataset and Raw and cleaned data, codebooks, analytical models Upon completion
Analysis Files
EXPECTED CONTENTS OF THE FINAL REPORT
The structure of the final report should include:
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Executive summary
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Introduction and background
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Design and Methodology
- Study objectives
- Study sample and sample determination.
- Data collection procedures
- Data Analysis procedures
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Findings
- Socio-economic profile of farmers
- Adoption of regenerative farming practices
- Economic and livelihood analysis
- Gender and inclusion analysis
- Resilience and sustainability outcomes
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Summary of key findings and lessons learned
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Conclusions
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Recommendations
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Annexes
DURATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The assignment is expected to be completed within a period of eight (8) weeks from the date of contract signing.
CONSULTANT QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
The consultant or consulting firm should possess the following qualifications:
Lead Consultant
- Advanced degree in Agricultural Economics, Development Economics, Agribusiness, Rural Development, Environmental Economics, or related field;
- At least 7 years of demonstrated experience conducting agricultural economic analyses, impact evaluations, or cost-benefit studies;
- Strong expertise in regenerative agriculture, climate-smart agriculture, agroecology, or rural livelihoods;
- Proven experience in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies;
- Experience working with donor-funded agricultural programmes;
- Strong analytical, report writing, and presentation skills;
- Experience working in Kenya, preferably in smallholder agricultural systems.
Additional desirable attributes
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Knowledge of Kirinyaga County agricultural systems;
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Gender-responsive research expertise;
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Data analysis proficiency using software such as STATA, SPSS, R, or similar;
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Excellent stakeholder engagement and facilitation skills.
REPORTING AND MANAGEMENT
The consultant will report to the Programme Director at the Aga Khan Foundation, Kenya.
The Foundation will:
- Provide relevant programme documentation;
- Facilitate introductions to stakeholders and communities;
- Recruitment and management of enumerators;
- Support logistical coordination where necessary.
The consultant will be responsible for:
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Training of enumerators
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Field data collection logistics;
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Data quality assurance;
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Ethical compliance;
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Timely delivery of outputs.
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Interested consultants/firms are requested to submit:
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Technical proposal including:
- Understanding of the assignment by articulating the proposed methodology and approaches that will be adopted.
- Qualifications and experience of the composition of team members who will be involved in the assignment and their roles, their CVs and relevant experience.
- Company/Consultant Profile - at least three professional references for similar assignments undertaken.
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Financial proposal: Detailed budget with daily rates and level of effort (days) for each activity in the form of professional fees and field operational costs, and applicable taxes.
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Contact details of the lead consultant (email, telephone and physical address)
EVALUATION CRITERIA
No Criteria Weight
1 Understanding of the TOR and methodology 35%
2 Relevant experience and technical capacity 30%
3 Qualifications of key personnel 20%
4 Financial proposal and value for money 15%
Total 100%
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
All data, reports, tools, and materials produced under this consultancy shall remain the property of the Aga Khan Foundation and may not be shared or reproduced without prior written authorization.
SAFEGUARDING, ETHICS, AND INCLUSION
AKF is committed to advancing gender equality and inclusion through our programming and operations. AKF requires all employees to review and abide by the AKF Gender Equality Policy. AKF recognizes the importance of safeguarding and is committed to ensuring it manages a wide range of risks such that beneficiaries, staff, other associates, and the organization are kept safe from harm. In this regard, the Consultant is expected to:
The consultant shall adhere to:
- Research ethics and informed consent procedures;
- Confidentiality and data protection requirements;
- Child and vulnerable persons safeguarding standards where applicable;
- Relevant Kenyan legal and institutional requirements.
To learn more about us, please visithttps://the.akdn