Job title: RFP – Farmer-Level Surveys for Programme Interventions
Company: The Palladium Group
Job description: A. PROGRAMME BACKGROUNDPropcom+ is an eight-year (2023-2030) rural and agricultural market development programme supporting climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture and forestry that benefits people, climate and nature. The programme, implemented by The Palladium Group, aims to transform Nigeria’s rural economy by addressing environmental, social, and economic challenges in the country’s food and land-use system. It will do this by (i) increasing productivity, improving nutrition and food security, (ii) enhancing climate resilience, pursuing lower emissions, and protecting and restoring nature, and (iii) helping tackle some of Nigeria’s underlying drivers of conflict and insecurity.The programme seeks to stimulate sustainable pro-poor climate-resilient growth in selected rural markets. It does this by working as a ‘market facilitator’, identifying constraints in market systems and facilitating changes to enable rural markets to work better for the benefit of poor and climate-vulnerable smallholder farmers and rural small-scale entrepreneurs. Propcom+ aims to increase the incomes and climate resilience of 3.79 million poor and vulnerable men and women in Nigeria, 50% of whom will be women, through a “3Ps” approach of interlinked components:P1: Scaling up a focused basket of Proven climate-smart interventions around agricultural and primary processing/storage practices and models to get these adopted by millions of poor and vulnerable smallholder farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs.P2: Building markets by developing and Piloting new business models that improve productivity, enhance resilience to climate change, reduce emissions, and improve nutrition outcomes.P3: Enabling Policies that support a strengthened enabling environment for sustainable food and land-use system.B. PURPOSEPropcom+ is seeking the services of firms or individual consultants to conduct farmer-level surveys (scoping, market, baselines, outcome surveys/studies, etc) the various programme interventions (see table below). Some of these interventions are still under design, while implementation for others is in full swing.Portfolio Interventions
Livestock & Poultry Vaccination Scaling last-mile delivery of vaccines through the CAHW/VPP modelClimate Smart Seeds and Seedlings Increase certified CS seeds availability through scaling of the community seed multiplication (CSM) model
Promote the adoption and utilisation of certified CS seeds by scaling the rural seed promoter (RSP) model.
Nutrient-dense Crops and Fortified Foods Expand production, aggregation and off-take of biofortified crop varieties.
Large-scale commodity sourcing. Supporting (and piloting as applicable) large-scale production, aggregation, and supply of commodities (barley, sorghum, etc) with food and beverage companies
Innovative Digital Services Scale fee for service farm innovation & other Agtech platforms: bundling with financial services
Sustainable Commodities and Agroforestry Assist businesses in strengthening the sustainable production and supply chain of forest-linked commodities.
AgFinance and Insurance Facilitate access to finance (loan and equity) for businesses and groups through training for FIs, BDS support, investment deal making, financial readiness advisory, credit brokerage, etc.Study Focus Areas
Some of the key areas of focus include:
- Socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, including disability classification using the WGSS questionnaire and poverty level classification using the Poverty Probability Index (PPI).
- Nature and scope of agricultural activities undertaken by the farmers in a current and/or previous farming cycle
- Farmers’ climate adaptation and resilience levels
- Gross income from agricultural activities – from at least one production cycle.
- Extent to which SHFs have adopted the inputs, services and technologies introduced by the programme.
- GESI-related barriers and constraints that affect actors, especially female smallholder farmers.
C. DESIGN AND SAMPLE SIZE CONSIDERATIONS
The survey will mostly follow a quasi-experimental design featuring comparison groups. Qualitative approaches (Key Informant Interviews and Focus Group Discussions) will also be included to provide more depth and context to the quantitative results. For respondents, assume a total sample size (including the comparison groups) of 2,100 smallholder farmers (across 7 Northern Nigeria states, 3 LGAs per state).D. SCOPE
The consultant is expected to carry out the following tasks:Review programme information, including intervention decks and implementation updates.Review related MERL information – intervention results chains, indicators, and indicator reference guidelines.Prepare an inception report which includes:
- Methodology – research design (quasi-experimental design), method, sampling strategy, survey work plan.
- Survey questionnaire (soft copy MS Excel file – coded for KoboToolbox and KII/FGD question guide/checklists)
- Data analysis plan for target indicators in each focus area.
- Survey reporting template.
Recruit and train a team of experienced data collectors.Carry out quantitative data collection and analysisPresent the quantitative analysis to the programme teamCarry out qualitative data collection based on leads from the quantitative analysisDevelop and submit the study report (with quant and qual analysis) for programme review.Update and resubmit the study report, addressing all the review feedback received.Additional Method/Compliance Notes:
- The methodology and tools developed must align with the programme indicator measurement guidelines and the key focus areas of the study.
- The programme’s approval is required before the commencement of field data collection. The following process is needed; Pre-enumerator training, each enumerator should be asked to complete five full interviews; The consultant should analyse the data generated and present it to the programme for validation and approval; More enumerators (than needed) should be invited for the enumerator training to ensure competition and selection of only quality enumerators for the study.
- The consultant will mobilise the study respondents through the programme partners and their agents only;
- The consultants or enumerators should not contact farmers directly.
- Protocol for tracking or replacing the comparison group members should be developed and agreed upon with the MERL team.
- The consultants should review the collected data daily, share it with the MERL team, and hold daily meetings with the enumerators to provide feedback.
- Senior team members of the consulting team must remain in each state for the duration of the data collection.
- The consultant is expected to update each deliverable using comments from the programme team and the donor. Reviews on draft and final reports will be in stages – first from the programme team and next from the client. The consultant is expected to implement the changes flagged by the programme team first before the report is sent to the client. All comments from the client must be implemented satisfactorily and within the required timeline (hence, early submission is encouraged) before the final report is approved.
- Payments will be made after each deliverable is approved.
E. MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS
The consultant will report to a MERL Manager, who will be closely supported by the MERL Specialists. Close collaboration is expected with the Intervention Managers and other members of the Technical Team.F. REQUIREMENTS
- Advanced degree in social sciences and related fields
- Demonstrate strong research, analytical and technical writing skills:
- Evidence of at least one completed farmer-level baseline or outcome survey in agricultural settings in Northern Nigeria.
- Evidence of at least two other socio-economic or livelihood surveys in agricultural settings in Northern Nigeria.
G. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Interested individuals and firms can respond to this call by submitting the following:Capacity statement, which includes:
- Details of previous surveys (see above) conducted. Annex the reports where possible.
- References (contact phone numbers and emails) for each of the previous surveys.
- CVs of the specific individuals who will lead the assignment.
Technical proposal, containing the following:
- Proposed methodology – research design (quasi-experimental design using Difference-in-Difference), method, sampling strategy, and complementary qualitative approaches.
- Assume a sample size of 2,100 smallholder farmers (across 7 Northern Nigeria states, 3 LGAs per state).
- Questionnaire for measuring rice farmers’ costs and returns.
- Proposed survey work plan indicating the detailed activities and the overall timeline.
Financial proposal (in Microsoft Excel, amounts in Nigerian Naira), noting the following:
- The budget should align with the work plan provided. Each work plan item should have the LoE (in days). Again, assume a sample size of 2,100 smallholder farmers (across 7 Northern Nigeria states, 3 LGAs per state).
- Both the number of days for the assignment and the consultant’s daily rate should be specified.
- The consultant is expected to execute the assignment completely; hence, all related costs must be included and aligned with the work plan.
- Include narrative explanations for each budget item.
- Each budget item should indicate the unit cost and the total cost.
- For Firms – Specify Certificate of Registration and Tax Identification Number
- For Individuals – Include Individual Tax Identification Number
Please send your response to procurement.propcomplus@thepalladiumgroup.com on 12 September 2025 by 5pm with the subject “Quotation for Farmer-Level Survey”. The quotation should be sent with a cover letter addressed to:The Programme Officer
FCDO Propcom+ Programme
20 Port Harcourt Crescent, off Gimbiya Street, Area 11, AbujaH. EVALUATION CRITERIA
The overall rating of each submission will be based on the available score of 1-100 marks, using the assessment criteria below. Specifically, each criterion is to be rated against the weight assigned to it. The overall rating shall be as follows: 0 – 40 (unsatisfactory); 41 – 50 (satisfactory); 51 – 60 (average); 61 – 80 (above average) and 81 – 100 (exceptional)
Criteria Weighting
Consultant’s capacity statement (evidence and references of previous studies) 30%
Quality of the technical proposal (methodology, gross margin questionnaire, work plan) 40%
Financial proposal (clarity of budget and competitiveness – number of assignment days, daily rate and overall cost quoted) 30%I. POST EVALUATION
Successful consultants will be invited to update their budget and work plan to align with the assigned intervention. Depending on the assigned intervention and study type, the sample size may be increased or decreased to match the realities of the intervention implementation.
Expected salary:
Location: Nigeria
Job date: Thu, 28 Aug 2025 22:05:46 GMT