Organization: World Resources Institute

Project: Food Loss and Waste: 10x20kx30 Initiative

Location: Ethiopia

 

1. About World Resources Institute

The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global non-profit research organization established in 1982. The organization has been working in Africa for more than 30 years, supporting local partners and African governments to advance forest protection, landscape restoration and sustainable cities. Our vision for Africa is an inclusive transformation so that Africa’s people and landscapes flourish. WRI Africa generates actionable knowledge across three strategic pillars: Vital Landscapes, Thriving and Resilient Cities, and Institutional and Economic Transformation. The goal of the Vital Landscapes pillar is to revitalize and protect landscapes for people and the planet working in four programmatic areas: Food, Restoration, Water and Forests. WRI’s Strategy aims to catalyse transformation of African food systems, so that the way we produce, distribute and consume food is done in a manner that protects the environment and guarantees human health and well-being.

1. Background and Context of Assignment

An estimated one-third of food is lost or wasted between the farm and fork. This loss and waste have huge economic, social, and environmental consequences. It deprives farmers of much-needed income, drains households of hard-earned wages and contributes to food insecurity. It is estimated that food loss and waste consume one-quarter of all water used by agriculture, requires a land area the size of China to be grown (but then not eaten), and annually emits 10-12% of global greenhouse gases—fueling climate change. Reducing food losses and waste is therefore critical than at any time in recent history.

It is in this context that WRI, is implementing the 10x20kx30 – an initiative that is working with 10 major farmgate-facing agriculture companies, each engaging 20,000 (20k) of their supplying farmers to follow the “Target-Measure-Act” approach to reduce on-farm and near-farm (harvesting, transportation and storage) food losses by 50% by 2030. The “Target-Measure-Act” approach has been proven to work because (1) targets set ambition, and ambition motivates action, (2) what gets measured, gets managed, and (3) what ultimately matters is action. WRI believes that farmgate-facing agribusinesses (companies which source raw materials from smallholder farmers) are well positioned to engage farmers via outgrower programs that deliver farmer training, capacity-building, finance, and access to technology (e.g., processing, storage) and markets to reduce FLW.

1. The Assignment

WRI Africa is seeking a highly qualified expert consultant to support companies/businesses to implement the Target-Measure-Act approach. In particular, the consultant will support companies/businesses to measure their food loss and identify hotspots in their priority value chains with the aim of creating baselines and identifying interventions to address the losses. The consultant will be required to train company staff on how to conduct farm loss assessment using a direct measurement approach and provide backstopping to the process to ensure accurate data is collected. The qualified candidate will have a strong interest in food systems transformation, and a grasp of the big picture, and the systemic implications of food loss and waste on people’s social and economic conditions as well as the environment. The person must demonstrate deep understanding of the principles underpinning effective FLW assessment, and the emerging issues around FLW measurement, prevention and reduction in Africa. The candidate is expected to be proactive and able to deliver autonomously, taking ownership of the delivery of the work program.

1. Scope of Work

WRI is already engaging three companies (cooperative unions) in Ethiopia to commit to reducing food losses and waste along their supply chains. These companies operate within the maize, fruits and vegetable value chains. More companies will be recruited based on the interest and response from the three.

The consultant will work closely with the WRI-Africa team to execute the following tasks over the consultancy period:

1. Engage and obtain commitment from companies: The consultant will initiate and maintain regular communication with companies to ensure continued engagement with the initiative, and obtain commitment from companies to measure, target, and take action towards FLW reduction, while effectively managing their expectations.
2. Support pre-baseline assessments with companies: To enhance our understanding of company activities, priority value chains, sourcing practices, and the current magnitude of losses and waste across their supply chain stages, causes and drivers of FLW, the consultant will support in the assessments with the participating companies. A tool has already been developed to support this process.
3. Customization of FLW data collection tools and templates: WRI-Africa team has developed tools for FLW data collection in Kenya for a number of value chains including fruits, potatoes, fish and maize value chains. These are currently under piloting as a means of validation. The consultant will work with WRI-Africa team to adapt these tools to make them relevant geographically and fit for use by companies in the interest value chains.
4. Support delivery of training and piloting of FLW measurement: This task will involve customizing availed training resources to the local context and train the companies’ staff on food loss and waste measurement including preparation for data collection and practical demonstration for direct measurement at farm level. This will be followed by pilots in the priority value chains to ensure company staff have sufficient understanding to undertake subsequent measurements.

 

1. Expected Deliverables

The consultant is expected to work in collaboration with WRI Africa team on the following deliverables on dates that will be agreed on during the inception meeting.

Activity	Deliverable	Period after signing contract
Engagement of companies	Signed voluntary agreements by companies.	1-2 months
Supporting pre-baseline assessments	Assessment reports for each company detailing practices within their agribusiness and FLW magnitudes and hotspots in priority value chains.	3 months
Customization of data collection tools and templates	Reviewed and contextualized FLW data collection tools for prioritized value chains.	4 months
Supporting the delivery of training and piloting of FLW measurement	A report (written feedback) on FLW measurement training and detailing the piloting procedure, methodology and results for the priority value chain of the company.	6 months

 

1. Duration of the Assignment

This assignment is scheduled to take place between April and September2025 for a duration of 45 direct engagement days spread acrosssix (6) months.

1. Required Qualifications

• A master’s degree or above in development studies, food Science/technology postharvest technology, agriculture or a related field.
• Extensive experience in conducting research in the agricultural sector, specifically on food loss and waste.
• Strong analytical skills (qualitative and quantitative) and ability to synthesize large amount of data to produce desired outputs.
• Knowledge of Africa’s agri-food sector, food systems and how they are linked to issues of food loss and waste, food and nutrition security in Africa.
• In-depth understanding of the Ethiopian agricultural sector and food value chains
• Experienced researcher and mobiliser with ability to work with private sector.
• Proven track record of producing high-quality publications.
• Excellent English writing and oral communication skills.
• A great team leader and team player.
• Good work ethics.
• Preferably Ethiopian resident.

1. Expression of Interest

Expression of Interest should contain:

– A brief (Max. 2 pages) document outlining your approach. This should explain why you are qualified for this assignment. It should also illustrate your grasp of the concepts involved, methodologies you intend to apply and timelines.

– An indicative work plan and budget proposal. The budget should provide a breakdown of the consultant fee and the costs of field activities.

– CV(s)

– All these documents should be in one pdf file.

 

We invite qualified persons to submit their Expressions of Interest by March 14, 2025 to christopher.mutungi@wri.org for the attention of Christopher Mutungi, with cc to [email protected] for the attention of Shiferaw Tafesse, Program Manager, Regenerative Agriculture Transition Project, FOLU-Ethiopia; beryl.ajwang @wri.org for the attention of Beryl Ajwang, Food Loss and Waste Associate-Food Program at WRI Africa; and samuel.gaturu@wri.org for the attention of Samuel Gaturu, Project Specialist, Food program at WRA Africa.