Back USAID Afghanistan Value Chains - High Value Crops - Agro-Processing Consultant

SCOPE OF WORK

Afghanistan Value Chains – High Value Crops (AVC-HVC)

Position

Agro-Processing Consultant

Period of Performance *On/About (From – To)*

March 1, 2020

May 31, 2020

Base of Operations

Kabul, with travel to Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, Kandahar and Herat.

position reports to

Chief of Party

Project Background:

The AVC-HVC project works with anchor firms nationwide to reverse market failures, strengthen backward and forward linkages, drive growth, and create jobs for men, women, and youth along the fruit and nuts, high-value horticulture, spices, and medicinal crops value chains. The Project contributes positive and measurable impacts to the sectors and will ensure that local market actors are involved at every stage of the value chain.

As part of the support provided to anchor firms partnering with the project, AVC-HVC will co-invest in the procurement of agro-processing machinery on a 50/50 basis, with a maximum contribution of $50,000 by the project. The implementation of this activity has suffered numerous delays, mainly resulting from the firms’ misguided perceptions of their current throughput and potential growth rates, resulting in flawed machinery specifications. This underscores the need for a more prescriptive approach aimed at progressively upgrading the processing capacity of the firms without overestimating their throughput and financial capacity.

Role’s Purpose:

The agro-processing consultant will visit the firms located in the five economic hubs of the country, conduct an assessment of their current production capacity, agro-processing technologies, and potential increases in throughput. Based on that information, the consultant will produce the specifications for equipment that will enable the firms to follow a stepwise approach to the expansion of their installed capacity, consistent with reasonable growth expectations and their financial capacity.

Objectives and Duties

• Assess the current and potential throughput of the firms
• Agree with the owners on a reasonable growth path for the next 3-5 years
• Provide expert opinion regarding the specifications of the machinery that will allow the firm to follow a stepwise approach to growth
• Achieve an agreement with the firms on the technical specifications
• Assist the project’s team to identify suppliers, and provide input to the procurement process

Qualifications

• Fifteen years of experience in the design, operation and maintenance of agro-processing lines
• Knowledge of the Asian market for agro-processing equipment
• Knowledge of Afghanistan’s agriculture would be a plus
• Ability and willingness to travel to Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, Kandahar and Herat provinces, visit firms and adopt a hands-on approach to the provision of technical assistance to assess the efficiency of current operations, walk entrepreneurs through growth options and get their buy-in on reasonable technical specifications.
• Experience working in multicultural environment.

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Conditions of Work Requirements:

Work and living facilities are in high security zones with frequent security drills and protocols and limited access to medical facilities. General work environment and living quarters requires ability to walk numerous flights of stairs on a daily basis. Security protocols require the individual in this position to be able to quickly climb multiple flights of stairs while wearing 30 lbs. of personal protective equipment, walk swiftly or run across uneven terrain without assistance, and enter and exit project vehicles without assistance.