ation: Remote Base
Application Deadline: 23 April 2021 or until filled
Type of contract: Consultant
Language(s) required: English (native/fluent writing and oral skills)
Background
WorldFish Myanmar, Fish for Livelihoods project has initiated a five-year project in Myanmar from 2019 to 2024. The project focus on improving the nutrition status in Central and Northern Myanmar by promoting an inclusive and sustainable aquaculture growth of small-scale farmers and associated market actors. The activity is being implemented in five geographical region/states including Mandalay, Magway, Sagaing, Kachin, and Shan. WorldFish is leading this activity, but, the field level activities are operated in partnership with several development and private sector partners; BRAC, IWMI, KMSS, PACT Myanmar, Department of Fisheries (DoF) and Myanmar Fisheries Federation (MFF). The activity will lead towards three major results: increased small-scale aquaculture production, market system approach to increase access of farmers to food and safe fish, and enhanced nutrition and WASH practices behavior adoption. Fish for Livelihoods will target more than 10,000 aquaculture farmers, train them for better aquaculture practices, link them with major market actors, and provide them information through social behavior change communication (SBCC) strategy on the importance of diet-diverse nutritious food. The main approaches to achieve the above mentioned results would include improved land and water use, increased access to high quality inputs (feed, seed and equipment), capacity development and research into production, and access to credit, market-based system approaches to increase access to food-safe fish and fish products, enhanced nutrition and WASH practices via social behavior change communication activities, and develop capacities for improved production, processing and consumption of food-safe aquaculture and other fish-based products.
The strengthening of the capacity of CBOs/CSOs is one of the objectives of the project. By doing so, the locally registered CBOs/CSOs will have strengthened their capacity in the area of institutional and organizational development, improve financial literacy, market linkages, and easy access to credit and promote the aquaculture sector, which is crucial to improving nutritional status of the family in the rural area.
Objectives and activities to conduct
Based on the above background, the Fish for Livelihoods project seeks the services of a national consultant or consultant team to conduct a capacity assessment to the existing CBOs/CSOs in the project area and find the capacity gap, which will be directly related to their organizational development, including organizational structure, financial management, aquaculture market linkages and improve aquaculture supply chain and collaboration action with other stakeholders in the implementing area, and then contribute to the small-scale aquaculture production improvement and involve in the aquaculture supply chain, like seed, feed, and other inputs supply required by the farmers.
After conducting a capacity assessment of the existing CBOs, according to the finding, the consultant/s has to prepare required training modules and materials and submit them to the Fish for Livelihoods project, WorldFish and get approval.
The consultant/s team will have approved training modules and materials to conduct capacity building training to the target CBOs/CSOs and continue providing training to them.
Ultimately, the trained CBOs/CSOs will gain enough knowledge to promote Aquaculture activities in the area by working together with the farmers and providing assistance to them in the various types of livelihood interventions independently with their own capacity and contribute to promoting the market linkages of the Aquaculture supply chain in the local area for the long run.
Target Area and Number of CBOs/CSOs
In the project area, according to the data available, there are 114 CBOs/CSOs currently existed. Among them, 69 CBOs/CSOs are registered, and 49 CBOs/CSOs are not. They are providing services for the community in their respective areas with various aspects. Out of 114 CBOs/CSOs, 28% is focusing on the Livelihoods activities while the rest is working on social services activities. As the project is providing assistance on several types of Livelihoods and Nutrition promotion intervention, the main focus is on Aquaculture promotion activities, the project would like to focus on promoting the capacity of the existing CBOs/CSOs (28%) who are working for the Livelihoods and Nutrition promotion activities in their area. The target area will be in the five states and regions of Myanmar, Mandalay, Magway, Sagaing, Kach