Country: Kenya
Closing date: 12 Feb 2018
Overview
Coffee production in Kenya has seen a significant decline in the last decade. The decline has adversely affected many of the 700,000 smallholder coffee farmers in the country who largely depend on coffee production for their livelihoods. It is believed that the inefficient flow of timely information to farmers and a general limited access to critical information are contributing to this decline. Studies have shown that farmers are unable to access important production and market-related information when they need it, including information on topics such as climate and weather, research findings, farm inputs and good agricultural practices (GAPs).
At the same time, Sub-Saharan Africa has been identified as the ‘new frontier’ in technological advancements and has the highest mobile broadband growth rate in the world. Developments in mobile technology, coupled with increased access to mobile devices and improved electricity coverage, have stimulated innovation in knowledge transfer technologies—particularly in Kenya. These technologies are bridging the knowledge gap in the agricultural sector by providing mobile platforms that enable immediate access to information, as well as peer-to-peer learning and knowledge sharing. Available both online and offline for smart as well as basic phones, these platforms share critical information with farmers and enable them to communicate directly with other farmers and technical assistants (TAs). Farmers’ use of these technologies has shown to have a positive impact on the productivity.
While Rainforest Alliance (RA) provides trainings through UTZ Academy (UA) and UTZ Academy online (UAO), RA has not yet embraced mobile technology fully and does not share information directly with farmers on their mobile devices, nor does it provide a platform for farmers to communicate with TAs or each other. RA is interested in exploring whether it can enrich its toolkit of learning interventions by utilizing mobile technology to better understand and possibly meet the learning and communication needs of Farmers and Technical Assistants.
Currently, UA uses a Train the Trainers approach, in which field representatives in each country provide training to local NGOs and technical assistants working either independently, for traders or for companies. Through UAO (the online learning platform) UA uses a blended learning strategy that combines these in-person trainings with webinars, e-courses and face-to-face training courses. The trainers in turn train farmers, giving them the knowledge and skills necessary to comply with the UTZ program's Code of Conduct, adopt good agricultural practices (GAPs) and (amongst other areas) increase productivity.
In addition, as part of the Sector Partnerships Program, RA strives to influence the sector agenda towards sustainability. As part of this approach, RA believes that if it improves its own tools and trainings (including those of UTZ Academy) that this will lead to improved service delivery for (male and female) smallholders, farmers, and farm workers based on their needs and interests. Providing a mobile platform to farmers to easily communicate on, voice their needs and participate in knowledge-sharing is an approach to realizing this ambition. The use of such a platform by farmers could provide evidence of the key issues that farmers are facing and can be used to support advocacy for improved service delivery.
RA is commissioning a scoping study to gain a better understanding of how mobile technology could benefit UTZ certified farmers in Kenya. This study will ideally follow the Design Thinking approach. The Design Thinking approach is a methodology used for solving complex problems; it provides a structured framework for utilizing elements like empathy and experimentation to arrive at innovative solutions. Using this approach, the consultant will be tasked with completing the initial phases of the Design Thinking process in order to define the situation as it is experienced by farmers and technical assistants, explore possible solutions and provide recommendations for future interventions. The ‘situation’ refers to current knowledge gaps, current technology that is being used to address these gaps or share information, or any other relevant scenarios as they relate to access to knowledge and current opinions or practices regarding mobile technology for access to information.
Objectiveof the study:
The study will carry out customer journey mapping[1] to capture the current way in which farmers and technical assistants (TAs) experience access to valuable market and production related information, the ability to share this information, current practices used to receive or share information, as well as, thoughts on how this may affects sustainable productivity or other aspects of sustainable farming (particularly to the following thematic areas of the Sector Partnerships program: Farmer Group Strengthening, Gender Equality, Climate Change Adaptation and Water Management)
This will provide RA with the farmers’ and technical assistants valuable perspective, shedding light on the challenges they experience as well as what changes they would like to see in the future. The study will also explore the farmers’ current access to mobile technology (and describe the relevant technical specifications) or use thereof and will provide a brief overview of existing mobile platforms. This information will be used to inform the ideation phase which will produce recommendations for using mobile technology to address the challenges raised.
The objective of this study is therefore to provide RA with a clear understanding of:
A problem statement based on UTZ certified coffee farmers’ and technical assistants’ experiences in Kenya
The farmers’ (female and male) and technical assistants’ experiences and challenges relating to access to knowledge and technology through Customer Journey Mapping (i.e. a needs assessment and analysis.
Current practices that are used by farmers and TAs to share and receive information and remaining gaps.
The future state that farmers’ and technical assistants would like to see and the potential use of mobile technology for improved access to information
An overview of existing major mobile platforms that are available both in Kenya and globally. Including, their capabilities, relevant technical description, services, reach (national and international), and key areas of alignment with UTZ Academy’s strategy. Platforms to be explored include: iCow, Rural eMarket, Esoko, Farm Connect, Mshamba and WeFarm.
Recommended scenarios for integrated solutions that address key challenges and have positive impact on farmers and TAs. These recommendations can include suggestions for the use of existing services or development of new platforms and should highlight the farmers and TAs needs/challenges and possible interventions that could address those challenges.
Approach:
We foresee the following activities:
Interviews with UTZ Academy didactic team, Utz regional team in Kenya, Technical Assistants (differentiating between independent TAs and TAs that are employed by a company or trader), UTZ certified farmers (including females, males and youth) and RA tech department.
Desk research of existing mobile technology services and their capabilities.
Expected Expertise:
We seek the following qualification and knowledge:
A university qualification in a related field
English fluency and sufficient knowledge of Swahili or other local languages
Experience working with Design Thinking or Human Centred Design approaches is a must
A sufficient understanding of IT and mobile technology capabilities in Sub-Saharan Africa
Exposure to coffee farming in Kenya and Africa in general—more specifically smallholder farming systems is preferred
Deliverables:
We expect the following deliverables:
- Report (max. 20 pages excluding annexes) in English including
o Executive summary
o Clearly defined problem statement
o Description of needs assessment and analysis based on Customer Journey Maps from a diverse group of farmers (including females, males, youth) and technical assistants
o Future state vision of farmers and technical assistants
o Overview of existing mobile platforms
o Recommendations for future approaches
- On-going feedback to the RA contact person on the progress with research and interviews (feedback meetings to be scheduled jointly )
UTZ will provide:
Access to interview subjects where needed within the Kenyan coffee community
Format for Customer Journey Mapping tools and co-development of other tools used for the study
Budget and time allocation:
Proposals should include a work plan and specified budget outline, including travel costs, and other costs associated with carrying out interviews in-field. CVs of participating researchers should be annexed to the proposal, if possible with reference to similar assignments.
Total budget should not exceed EUR 10,000
Up to 3 months will be allocated for the completion of this study
[1] Customer journey maps form part of the Design thinking approach. The Customer journey maps will be designed by UTZ Academy staff, those applicants who aren’t familiar with Customer Journey mapping, will be briefly oriented.
How to apply:
Please send your applications to sarah.reckson@utz.org and mark.muriithi@utz.org by February 12th, 2018.