Call for consultancies: Development of a comprehensive business model for establishing a quinoa value chain in Rehamna region, Morocco

Working in support and under the guidance of the project leader and national coordinator, selected consultants will be required to:

• Collaborate with other consultants on all tasks and project implementation issues.
• Contribute to the preparation of the work plan for the implementation of the various activities of the project.
• Contribute to the preparation of a methodology for research and identification of pilotes areas in order to undertake studies and surveys as well as help in activity planning.
• Provide a social assessment of the food uses and habits in the targeted areas.
• Study and evaluate the family food basket of local communities where the introduction of quinoa will be evaluated in comparison with the regional / national food basket.
• Help in assessing the potential rate for quinoa adoption by conducting interviews with representative with the local small holder’s farmers.
• Explore partnership opportunities between quinoa producers and food processing industry (couscous, pasta, ..).
• Contribute to the preparation and delivery of training and workshops and assist in the production of training materials in Arabic language on harvesting, processing, valorization and different uses of quinoa.
• Assist in the formulation of a project document for the promotion of quinoa crop in Morocco on a large scale for quinoa introduction, identification, management, use and processing in collaboration with the project team
• Develop factual mission reports and a final report at the end of the mission.

Outputs and activities

Output 1: Gaps and weaknesses in the existing value chain identified and taken into account in the formulation of business model implementation plans  

Activity 1.1: Assess the existing value chain in Rehamna, in which the local quinoa association Chabab M’Khalif Bouchane participates, to identify gaps and weaknesses at all stages, including in production, extension services, provision of inputs, post-harvest processing and value addition, and marketing.

Activity.1.2: Develop a plan to address the identified gaps/weaknesses and enhance the existing value chain business model in Rehamna.

Output 2: Value chain actors identified and engaged

Activity 2.1: Establish linkages between local extension services and farmers participating in the pilot project. 

Activity.2.2: Establish new or engage existing women’s cooperatives that will be responsible for the processing of quinoa and/or production of quinoa-based food products.

Activity 2.3: Identify input suppliers who would be willing and capable of providing the necessary inputs (seeds, equipment, fertilizer, etc.).

Activity 2.4: Identify traders who would be willing to purchase the produce of smallholder farmers and womens’ cooperatives involved in the pilot phase.

Output 4: Demand for quinoa assessed and marketing and pricing strategy developed   

Activity 4.1: Analyze consumer demand for quinoa and quinoa-based products available in local markets (including consumer willingness to pay for different food attributes)

Activity 4.2: Analyze the competitiveness of quinoa and quinoa-based products vis-à-vis alternative foods in local markets,

Activity 4.3: Develop a marketing and pricing strategy for the quinoa-based food products on the basis of the aforementioned analyses.

Output 5: Develop a scaling up strategy for the business model

Output 6: Develop a training package on the value chain of Quinoa indicating gap and weaknesses and marketing of the Quinoa at national and international level

Activity 6.1: Develop appropriate training packages to build the necessary capacity along the quinoa value chain, including that of farmers (in production), extension workers (in provision of extension services to farmers), input suppliers (in provision of seeds and equipment), women’s cooperatives (in post-harvest processing and value addition) and traders (in marketing).

Output 7: contribute in the training sessions of the project