Training Facilitator for Agriculture Extension Officers on EU Export

SCOPE OF WORK (SOW)

Position: Local Consultant (Training of Agricultural Extension Officers on revised dossiers and SOP for the production of vegetables and fruits for the EU export market (STTA)

Period of Performance: June 1 – July 31, 2024

Total Level of Effort: LOE 10 days

Activity Background:

Feed the Future Ghana Trade and Investment Activity (GTI) aims to grow and diversify exports to boost national GDP and household income for Ghanaian citizens through the adoption and enforcement of internationally recognized standards along agricultural value chains, the reduction in time and cost to move goods across borders, and increased investment, especially among small and medium-sized enterprises.

Consultancy Background:

A significant component of GTI is to improve the quality of high-value agricultural goods and products by improving Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary (SPS) compliance at the farm level, strengthening traceability systems, incentivizing SME awareness and use of these systems, and ensuring that the enforcement of SPS standards aligns at the national and international levels. To do this, the project is collaborating with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) through the Directorate of Agricultural Extension Services (DAES) to organize a trainer of trainers (TOT) program for national, regional, and district extension officers on the revised dossier and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for producing vegetables and fruits for the EU export market.

In 2021, the European Union (EU) notified exporting countries, including Ghana, of its new Commission Implementation (EU) 2021/2285. This communication amended Annex VII to “Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072”. The introduction of the amended regulation indicates that special measures have been instituted for commodities that are a known pathway for the introduction of pests into the EU. The regulation includes new stringent requirements covering the export of vegetables (e.g., capsicum and fruits like mango) to prevent the introduction of False Codling Moth (Thaumatotibia leucotreta), Tomato Fruit Borer (Neoleucinodes elegantalis), Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) and all fruit fly species (Tephritidae) into EU.

The new law indicated strict requirements that exporting countries such as Ghana must meet before exports of these commodities are allowed through a strategic collaboration with PPRSD/MOFA, the current standard operating procedures (SOPs) submitted in 2019 to the EU have been revised. The Feed the Future Ghana Trade and Investment Activity (GTI), in collaboration with the DAES/MOFA, has determined a number of gaps in the knowledge of extension officers concerning the revised dossier and SOP.

Consultancy Overview:

GTI in partnership with DAES/MOFA is organizing a training of trainers (TOT) program on the updated dossier and standard operating procedure manual to bridge the skills gap of extension officers.

This TOT is expected to help the agricultural extension officers develop the requisite knowledge and skills to train farmers and exporters to meet the required international quality standards at the farm level. The local consultant will train about 30 agricultural extension officers through a Trainer of Trainers (ToT) module on the revised EU requirements (Dossier) and the Standard Operating Manual produced by PPRSD. The revised dossier and the SOP serve as a guide for farmers and exporters producing vegetables and fruits for the EU market.

Ultimately, the training will ensure that extension officers have the knowledge to train farmers to observe all production protocols in exports leading to a reduction in border rejections through the farmer's adoption of improved management practices.

Objective:

The objective of this consultancy is to train 30 selected national, regional, and district agricultural extension officers in the adoption of relevant standards for the production of fruits and vegetables for the export market.

This assignment is scheduled to commence in June 2024 and is to be completed by July 2024.

Responsibilities and Tasks:

The tasks for the consultant are:

· Hold an initial inception meeting with GTI to present a draft plan for the commencement and delivery of the proposed assignment.

· Develop a comprehensive training manual (covering topics such as compliance with phytosanitary measures, ISPMs, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), food safety requirements, detection, and traceability) for training the 30 agricultural extension officers.

· Develop PowerPoint slides to be used in training the national, regional, and district agricultural extension officers.

· Develop and present pre- and post-evaluation tests in collaboration with the GTI MEL team to be used to evaluate the trainees on the percentage of knowledge gained as per GTI requirements.

· Train 30 agricultural extension officers on relevant topics such as the need for traceability, compliance with phytosanitary measures, ISPMs, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), food safety requirements, and pest detection.

· Submit a final report to GTI from the training program with lessons learned and pictures.

Deliverables

· A comprehensive training manual on the relevant training topics as jointly determined by GTI and DAES.

· Inception report with agreed timelines and sign off on the final training manual.

· A training schedule as determined in collaboration with GTI Staff.

· 30 extension officers trained on the agreed materials jointly determined by GTI and DAES.

· Training report and list of trainees and pictures that undertook the TOT training program (at least 30 trainees).

· Pre-test and post-test questionnaire and analysis of pre-test and post-test.

· End of Assignment report, including a summary of tasks undertaken and suggested next steps for the project.

Qualifications

· Must have experience working in the horticulture sector and export commodities in Ghana.

· Educational requirement: a degree in agribusiness, agriculture, crop science, or a related field.

· Must have at least 10 years of practical experience in quarantine and ISPMs, production of horticultural crops, and delivering training for farmers and agricultural officers in Ghana.

· Must have in-depth practical knowledge of Sanitary Phyto Sanitary (SPS) SPS and entomological pest issues and challenges facing agricultural exporters in Ghana.

· Must know about Integrated Pest Management (IPM), pest and disease identification, and management.

· Experience developing materials and delivering training on SPS Compliance at the farm level through simple, human-centered training modules.

· Experience working on USAID-funded programs is preferred.

Location and Reporting:

This activity will take place in Accra. The local consultant will collaborate closely with the Traceability Technical Advisor and report to the GTI Quality Standards Director. The expected Level of Effort (LOE) of this assignment is 10 days for all tasks, including developing training materials and delivering training for 30 extension officers of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) from 1 June to July 31, 2024.