Technical Assistance Crops Training - Tongogara Refugee Camp

Deadline: 7 December 2020

About the organisation

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is primarily mandated to provide international protection and humanitarian assistance, and to seek permanent solutions for persons within its core mandate responsibilities.

About the position of the Individual Contractor (Consultancy)

The UNHCR Representation Office in Zimbabwe in collaboration with the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) and partners are currently providing protection services to Persons of Concern (PoCs) in Tongogara Refugee Camp, Zimbabwe. The refugee situation in Zimbabwe is considered protracted. UNHCR defines a protracted refugee situation as ‘one in which refugees find themselves in a long-lasting and intractable state of limbo. Their lives may not be at risk, but their basic rights and essential economic, social and psychological needs remain unfulfilled after years in exile. A refugee in this situation is often unable to break free from enforced reliance on external assistance ’Through the support from the GoZ, UNHCR and partners, the PoCs have been getting support in the form of cash, food and other non-food items as a means of social protection to enhance their lives and protect livelihoods. The partnership has been ensuring that PoCs also get a range of social protection interventions which include Health, Education, Food security, Shelter, cooking energy and support to crop and livestock production The PoCs have been exposed to natural disasters such as cyclone IDAI that hit the region in early 2019. UNHCR and World Vision Zimbabwe are currently supporting the livelihoods of targeted PoCs among other things. There is also a need to support resilience building and transformative livelihoods. UNHCR and World Vision are supporting PoCs to increase sustainable crop Productivity in the camp.

The livelihoods and self-reliance activities directly target 1500 refugee households focusing on interventions that support improved agricultural productivity and diversification of on- and off-farm activities, including crop and livestock production. Producer groups in Tongogara Refugee Camp (TRC) engagement with the market is a key precondition for increased income to farmer households and for agriculture based interventions. Producer groups in TRC remain at the fringes of the market as they are not included in the value chain for their commodities. To this end UNHCR is seeking the services of a consultant to provide support to crop value chains Production in Tongogara Refugee Camp.

Tongogara Refugee Camp

Tongogara refugee camp (TRC) is located in Chipangayi area of Chipinge District, Manicaland Province, some 550 kilometres south-east from Harare and approximately, 80 km west of Chipinge town. The camp area falls under the agro-ecological zone five that normally experiences low amounts of rainfall, on average 200 to 400 mm per year. The camp is mostly a dry, hot and dusty area for the better part of the year. The camp is mostly accessible during dry periods; however, access becomes difficult during rains and floods as a result of the clay sands.

The camp occupies an area of approximately 800 hectares. A game park, whose fence was vandalised at the onset of the Land Reform and continues to be vandalised by local community poachers, borders the camp. However, due to prolonged lack of power on the electric fence and frequent vandalising of the fencing wire resulting in human-wildlife conflict. Wild animals such as lions, buffalos and elephants encroach in refugee residential areas especially at night, posing security threats to camp residents, causing destruction to water supply systems and vandalising irrigation schemes which are a major source of livelihoods to refugees and asylum seekers.

The partnership between UNHCR and the Government of Zimbabwe plays a fundamental role in the camp. The Government of Zimbabwe has provided land designated for refugee use. The Government, through the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) and in close cooperation with other line ministries oversees the management of the camp with funding support from UNHCR. The Department of Social Welfare ensures profiling and initial registration of new arrivals, status determination, civil status documentation for refugees, education, medical referrals and community services. The government contributes to the project by extending services from various government entities involved in refugee management. These include teachers, medical staff in referral institutions outside the camp, Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), immigration officials and members of the Zimbabwe Refugee Committee (ZRC) responsible for Refugee Status Determination.

Most refugees of Congolese origin are involved in petty trading and other business-like enterprises for their livelihoods while other populations from Burundi and Mozambique are involved in agricultural activities. Since the onset of Covid 19 early this year there have been disruptions of livelihoods due to restricted movements associated with the management of the epidemic. The socio economic and cultural differences of the population in the camp thus provide a rich base social safety nets that can be harnessed for the improvement of the lives of many vulnerable groups in the camp. To this end UNHCR seeks the services of a consultant to profile and document the current social safety, analyse the gaps and find opportunities beneficial to the PoCs that can be replicated

Deliverables

Inception report, detailed methodology and Workplan; Camp Based Crops report in agreed format and annexes; Validation workshop.

Timing and location

The Consultancy is for 45 days and includes travel to Tongogara Refugee Camp

Reporting

The Consultant will work closely with the UNHCR Country office in Harare, UNHCR Field Office in Tongogara and will be reporting to Head of Field Office or his designate

Scope of training

The training will enhance high crop productivity and generate income for the beneficiaries with special focus on all marginalized socio-economic groups. The training will also enhance improvement of harvesting and post-harvest practices of agricultural crops, building the capacity of producer groups in processing of the agricultural products and assisting beneficiaries to market their products by connecting them to the market. Training will address and meet the needs of beneficiaries regarding the targeted crops of onion, tomato, leaf vegetables and other crops grown in the camp. The training shall be technical and specialized to introduce the modern agricultural practices in growing, harvesting, processing, packaging and marketing of both fresh produces and processed ones considering safety and quality concepts with a bias towards climate smart agriculture (CSA)

Objectives of the training

The training is aimed at: Delivering the technical skills and expertise needed for the on-farm activities including the best practices in agricultural production for selected crop value chains; Enhancing the understanding of the participants regarding food safety, hygiene and related regulations to ensure production of safe and quality processed products; Delivering the technical skills and know-how needed in order to enable the participants in food processing and packaging activities; Enabling participants to control the quality of their produce; Ensuring PoCS adopt the farming as a business technique and provide basic training in market linkages and value addition.

Learning outcomes

After completing this course, the participants should be able: To adapt and carry out the agricultural skills and techniques learned; To participate in production and growing of targeted crops using climate smart agriculture; To carry out post-harvest techniques and marketing for targeted commodities; To establish the hygienic environment suitable for food processing; To process fresh produce into different products; To practice in vegetable processing, drying, packaging and marketing; To implement the quality control measures during the entire process to achieve the highest operational efficiency; To produce a shelf stable marketable product that complies with standards and regulations; To determine the marketing and legislative requirements regarding their products.

Training topics

Please find the detailed training topics here.

Expected deliverables

All written documentation is to be submitted in English using Microsoft Word in soft copy. The main body of all reports should be written in simple language, with any technical material being presented in annexes.

The consultant will provide the following deliverables: Submit a training plan embedded in a technical proposal covering 3 months; Share harmonized training materials; Conduct training of participants; Submit a comprehensive training report for review and approval; All Presentations and support training material to be copied on memory stick or hardcopies for distribution to participants as handouts

Qualifications and Experience

The incumbent should possess a Bachelor’s Degree in Crop Science, Crop Studies from an Accredited University. A Master’s Degree in a similar field will have an added advantage. He/She should have experience in lecturing or teaching at a higher level or tertiary Level. The successful candidate should have excellent communication and data presentation skills. He/She should have excellent reporting skills as well as experience working with vulnerable communities as this would be an asset.