Company Information: About HarvestPlus

At HarvestPlus, we believe that hidden hunger should not be inevitable for the people most at risk. We break down silos between agriculture and nutrition to develop creative solutions to combat hidden hunger. Our food-based approach targets some of the most vulnerable populations around the world. HarvestPlus, and its CGIAR partners, breed crops with naturally higher levels of key micronutrients, using a process called biofortification, as well as other beneficial agricultural traits, such as climate resilience, higher yields, disease resistance, and pest tolerance. This approach complements other nutrition interventions, and is evidence-based, cost-effective, and sustainable. We work across the entire value chain to develop and deliver nutrient-enriched seeds, grains, and foods to the people who need it most, via a large collection of innovative and traditional supply chain activities. HarvestPlus is a program of the International Food Policy Research Institute, a research center of the CGIAR, a global agricultural research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by its 15 research centers in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. To learn more about HarvestPlus, visit our home page here.

Biofortification Program in Indonesia

Micronutrient deficiency is one of the major challenges in Indonesia, where almost 30% of the population is stunted–of which a major factor is inadequate zinc intake. The Government of the Republic of Indonesia is dedicated to promoting human capital development, including the reduction of physical and cognitive stunting through several programs to improve food security and nutrition in Indonesia. This includes the biofortification of rice, the staple food of most of 273 million Indonesian people. Its popularity makes rice an excellent vehicle to improve micronutrient status across all socioeconomic strata of the population.

Biofortified high zinc rice is proven globally as the most cost-effective approach to combat micronutrient deficiency. In 2016, HarvestPlus, together with the Indonesian Center for Rice Research (ICRR) or Balai Besar Penelitian Padi (BB Padi), jointly developed a new rice variety with a higher level of naturally occurring zinc. As a result of the partnership, a new variety of high zinc rice, Inpari IR Nutrizinc (NZ), was officially released by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2019. The Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas) and HarvestPlus agreed to work together in scaling up of NZ planting and distribution in Indonesia, especially in areas with a high stunting rate. This scale up program is officially planned under the Medium-Term National Development Plan (RPJMN) 2020-2024 which is legally bound in Presidential Regulation number 18/2020. The NZ planting program is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, and the distribution program by the Ministry of Social Affairs.

HarvestPlus seeks to scale the use and reach of biofortified zinc rice seeds, grains, and foods using a tried and tested delivery model and scaling strategy. An essential part of this market-led and commercial work is to understand the drivers of demand from businesses, procurement organizations, and consumers.

Details of this Request for Proposals

For scaling and commercialization, it is fundamental to understand the local regulatory framework for the sales and marketing of biofortified foods. The main objective of this RFP is to contract the services of an expert who will provide food labeling advice for biofortified and fortified foods in Indonesia. This could be an expert individual or organization.

Key information the brief will provide:

• overview of the existing regulations of Indonesia that cover fortification, biofortification, food labeling nutrition, and health claims regulations
• identification of how biofortified foods (zinc rice) should be labeled and promoted to consumers in line with local food labeling nutrition and health claims regulations
• understanding of existing frameworks for post-harvest fortification and how they can support and integrate biofortification, specifically relating to National Food Agency No 2, 2023
• identification any existing systems that could accelerate the promotion of biofortified foods (for example, the F+ logo schemes in India)

This information will be used to:

• review proposed systems and logos to promote zinc rice in business-to-business campaigns and consumer campaigns
• incentivize food businesses to adopt biofortification
• equip food businesses with information for the marketing of biofortified foods
• equip marketing and creative agencies with information to drive consumer marketing campaigns promoting the purchase and consumption of biofortified foods
• demonstrate to farmers that consumer and manufacturer demand exists for biofortified crops

More specifically, the expert will:

• provide an overview of food labeling regulations in Indonesia, covering laws, guidelines, media, and other documents that may exist
• map the government and standards agencies responsible for these writing these documents and planning for new food labeling regulations
• compare regulations in Indonesia to those in other countries, such as the UK (and EU more broadly), US, and CODEX
• provide an overview of food fortification regulations in Indonesia, focusing on their inclusion of biofortification and/or opportunities to include biofortification, and on the new regulation National Food Agency No 2, 2023
• provide an overview of nutrition and health claims or publications in Indonesia, especially relating to the benefits of zinc (e.g. recommended daily amounts, nutrient function claims, and use of the term “natural source of vitamins and minerals”)
• provide the following information specific to the Indonesian context:
  • What are the parameters to make nutrition content claims on zinc?
  • What are the parameters to make nutrition comparison claims on zinc? (e.g. 30% more Zinc than standard rice)
  • What are the permissible health claims for zinc?
  • What are the parameters for ‘natural source’ claims? Is it possible to claim natural the natural source of zinc?
• create an easy-to-use guide (approx. 10 pages) e-book to help businesses label their products
• suggest a credible endorsement from either the government or a regulatory body

Please note, this work has been carried out in several other countries by HarvestPlus and consultant experts. HarvestPlus has the basic food labeling provisions and in depth understanding of the global regulatory framework. Our in-house experts will work hand in hand with the contractor in the analysis and dissemination event. Templates, previous HarvestPlus learnings, and training on biofortification will be provided to complete the work.

Specific Final Deliverables

• Word document report
• Completion of pre-defined template which will be used to create the guidebook for manufacturers

Candidate Requirements

• Prior experience in food/labeling in Indonesia
• Good understanding of language and translation from Bahasa to English
• Practical experience in food labeling commercial food products
• Ability to start project in August and complete by end of September
• Travel is not necessary, and any meetings could be held virtually

Submission Requirements

• Technical proposal including team organization requirements and skill
• Financial proposal, broken down into staff and employee costs

Please note that applications will be judged on value for money – low overheads and expenses. Travel and face-to-face interviews are not required, as this is a desk research project.

Timeline

Please apply via the IFPRI website. In the event of any questions, contact Katie Foley at [email protected].