Strengthening the smallholder-based maize supply chain in Rwanda project

TORS of Reference for Hiring consultancy to conduct endline Evaluation

1. Introduction

Currently, 90% of Rwanda's maize contains unsafe levels of aflatoxin, posing a threat to public health. Aflatoxins are highly toxic, carcinogenic and cause severe contamination of food sources. The spread of aflatoxin fungi is exacerbated by a lack of knowledge of good harvesting and post-harvest practices, inadequate post-harvest facilities, a short drying season with favourable conditions for the growth of aflatoxin fungi. 

In response to the above challenge, African Improved foods in partnership with Sight and Life Rwanda, World Vision Rwanda and Afla Kiosk are implementing a 3-year project called “Strengthening the smallholder-based maize supply chain in Rwanda for increased farm income and food safety” since February 2023. Through training and the provision of services and facilities, the project will increase smallholder incomes from maize and improve availability of safe and healthy in Rwanda by increasing the availability and affordability of fortified maize-based foods. Further the project contributes to responsible policy formation and enforcement of food safety standards, regulations, and procedures concerning aflatoxins. 

2. Project objectives 

The project aims to raise awareness of aflatoxin and provide training on mitigation measures for quality maize production through the introduction of the cob model and various services and tests to improve maize quality. AIF will promote food safety standards throughout the Rwandan maize sector. The project targets 5000 farmers, giving them access to structured markets and post-harvest services and reducing their post-harvest losses. Further, 100 local maize traders received capacity building in post-harvest management practices. 

3. Objectives of Endline

The overall objective of this is to measure changes, outcomes, and impact of the project interventions by comparing final evaluation findings with baseline findings. Specifically, the objectives of this assignment are to: 

• Assess project progress in achieving its intended objectives 
• Analyze the implementation strategies and how they helped achieve intended objectives taking into external context and adaptations made.   
• Document and analyze challenges, unintended consequences and best practices in project implementation 
• Provide clear, realistic, and practical recommendations for improved future programming

4. Evaluation Questions 

The final evaluations seek to answer the following questions in line with the OECD-DAC evaluation criteria:

Relevance 

• To what extent did the project design and interventions address the needs, priorities, and vulnerabilities of smallholder farmers, women, youth, and vulnerable households in the target communities? 
• How well did the project design address the key constraints affecting post-harvest losses, market access, and farmers’ incomes
•  To what extent did the project adapt to the changing context, new challenges, and opportunities encountered during its implementation? 

Coherence 

• To what extent was the project aligned and coordinated with relevant Government of Rwanda policies, strategies, and District Development Plans
• To what extent did collaboration with government institutions, private sector actors, and other stakeholders enhance the achievement of project results? 

Effectiveness 

• To what extent did the project achieve its intended outcomes related to improving farmers’ incomes
• What extent did the project improve knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPS) on post-harvest management practices among farmer and local traders
• What extent did the project improve knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPS) of farmers on the cob model. 
• What were the main factors and constraints that influenced the achievement of the project results? 

Impact 

• What evidence exists that the project contributed to increase in income for maize farmers on account of the increased yields, reduced post-harvest losses, and higher prices paid at the farmgate
• What evidence exists that contributed to improved food safety for consumers because of greater awareness about aflatoxins, improved detection of aflatoxin, and removal of aflatoxin from maize.
• What evidence exists that the project increased employment in the upgraded maize value chain as field- and quality- agents, and operators of maize shelling and drying equipment
• Were there any unintended positive or negative effects resulting from the project interventions? 

Sustainability 

• To what extent are the benefits generated by the project, likely to continue after project completion?
• What institutional, financial, social, environmental, and political factors promote or threaten the sustainability of the project's outcomes?
• What factors are likely to support or hinder the sustainability and scaling of project What is the current post

5. Methodology 

The final evaluation will use a mixed-methods approach including: 

• Desk review. 
• Quantitative tools. The consultant/firm will conduct a quantitative survey at farmer level and local traders level using electronic tools to collect data.
• Qualitative tools. Participatory qualitative exercises such as Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Interviews (KII). The consultant is expected to carry out KIIs with stakeholders at both national and local level.

6. Data analysis 

The assessment shall triangulate results and interpret them before formulating (a) findings, (b) conclusions, and (c) programmatic recommendations, each of which should show how they relate to each other. Data analysis must ensure it provides demographics of population sampled, disaggregated where required and give statistical relationships (i.e., tests of significance, predictive analyses, etc.) between variables where applicable. The consultant(s) is expected to share an objective data analysis plan, considering data quality, coding, and analysis procedures (both qualitative and quantitative). 

7. Ethical approaches & Data disclosure 

The approach to the final evaluation must consider the safety of participants at all stages of the survey. The bidder will need to demonstrate how they through the different data collection stages, including recruitment and training of research staff, data collection and data analysis and report writing. Bidders are required to set out their approach to ensuring complete compliance with international good practice with regards to research ethics and protocols. 

8. Expected Tasks and roles 

Responsibility of the consultant/firm 

The consultant(s) will be responsible for setting up procedures and guidelines to:

• Develop and present an inception report and tools for Sight and Life team for input and feedback.
• Finalize and submit the final inception report. 
• Train enumerators for the data collection exercise.
• Conduct data collection. 
• Provide the itinerary plan of the data collection
• Ensure that datasets are clean, complete, and consistent.
• Analyze data and write final evaluation survey report. 
• The consultant/firm will be liable to secure any prior visa or approvals that might be required to conduct the survey. 
• The consultant shall be liable for ethical procedures including obtaining informed consent from respondents. 
• All documents and data collected will be treated as confidential and used solely to facilitate analysis.
• The production of the final evaluation survey report will be the responsibility of the consultant, covering all the aspects as outlined in this ToR. 
• All training and logistics costs for the enumerators, including transport and data collection materials before or during data collection will be covered by the consultant including logistical support for participants to participant in the evaluation. Logistical support for participants might include transport to access interview venues

Responsibility of Sight and Life Rwanda

• Assume all the responsibilities pertaining to the consultant hiring process. 
• Ensure that all necessary documentation is availed of the consultant.
• Facilitate initial connections with the consultant with different stakeholders.
• Overall data quality control and technical review report 
• Provide any other technical or operational support to the consultant as needed, for example review of the questionnaires and participate in the selection and training of enumerators. 
• Inception report review.
• Approved draft and final report. 

9. Supervision 

The Task Manager for this work will be the M&E Specialist. The Consultant is also expected to liaise closely at the design stage and subsequently with other key personnel in Sight and Life, World Vision and Africa Improved Foods

10. Expectations and Deliverables

The consultant (s) is expected to provide the following: 

• Inception report including Research methodology including the sampling methodology, and the analysis framework; Draft data collection tools and protocols, enumerator training plan, detailed work plan and ethical approach, quality control plan, limitations to the study design and mitigation strategies
• Upload data collection tools Kobo collect or any other online data collection platform and share with Sight and Life for approval before commencement of actual fieldwork. 
• A complete set of raw and clean datasets, including complete codebooks for quantitative files generated and analyzed for the report. For the qualitative data, this includes the audio recording files, original transcripts, and translated transcripts of the full verbatim. 
• SPSS / Stata syntax and output files reflecting the analysis conducted. 
• Draft and final report. The consultant will submit two rounds of reports for review and comments, before submitting the report as final. 
• The consultants will submit a complete final editable (MS Word) soft copy of the report in English after incorporating comments and feedback from the validation meeting. The final report must strictly follow this logical structure: 
• Updated Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Accountability and Learning framework (MEAL)framework with all the final evaluation value for the indicators 

11. Evaluation Timelines 

The evaluation will take place between 16th and 30th June 2026 for 12 days.

12. Professional Skills and Qualifications

Qualifications: bidders are required to clearly identify and provide Curriculum Vitae (CVs) for all those proposed in the Evaluation Team, clearly stating their roles and responsibilities for this final evaluation. The lead consultant should have a master’s degree demonstrating thematic and/or research qualifications and a minimum of five years of experience in delivering rigorous program evaluations. The consultants’ proposed evaluation team should include the technical expertise and practical experience required to deliver the scope of work and final evaluation outputs with regards to: 

• Study design: the team should include skills and expertise required to design, plan and conduct mixed-methods impact evaluation. 
• Skills in quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis (including merging datasets), drawing findings from multiple sources and handling potential contradictions between data sets; using justified approaches for analysis of qualitative data.
• Relevant subject matter knowledge and experience: knowledge and experience required on conducting research with small-holder farmers and research methods are as relevant and meaningful as possible given the aims and objectives of the project and the context in which it is being delivered. 
• Evaluation management: manage a medium-scale and complex research process from end-to-end including final evaluation studies. 
• Primary research: gender-sensitive design, management, and implementation of primary quantitative and qualitative research – this could include the design of longitudinal household panel surveys, in-depth interviews, focus groups, participatory qualitative exercises with youth, etc. 
• Country experience: it is particularly important that the team has the appropriate country knowledge /experience and ability to interpret findings from a contextual perspective, as required to conduct the research. 
• Statistical analysis: a range of statistical modelling and analysis of impact data; highly proficient user of: SPSS or STATA; and qualitative data analysis techniques. 
• Data management and data cleaning. Ability to supervise the collection, entry (if required), cleaning and management of large data sets. Digital data collection processes are preferred. 

13. Application procedure

Please submit your technical and financial proposals (separate) not later than June 16, 2026, 5:00pm at SAL_Rwanda@sightandlife.org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.