Background

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 works across CGIAR as a part of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). To learn more about HarvestPlus, visit our home page here.

Details of this Request for Proposals

In partnership with SVT College of Home Science (Empowered Autonomous Status), SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai University in India, HarvestPlus plans to implement a household and market level survey to estimate consumption and market dynamics driving off farm consumption of iron pearl millet in Maharashtra and Rajasthan states of India. We are requesting an expression of interest and budget estimate from prospective partners who can provide this service in an efficient and cost-effective way.

Pearl millet is an important food in arid and semi arid regions of India. Over 9 million tons are produced annually for food and other uses, on more than 10 million hectares (Umanath et al, 2018). Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh are the major pearl millet-producing states of India, and among those most affected by iron deficiency (Louhar et al., 2018; Kumara et al., 2017; NFHS-4, 2015-16). To make pearl millet more nutritious, HarvestPlus, working with ICRISAT and India Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) scientists, developed eleven (11) Hybrid and Open Pollinated, iron pearl millet (IPM) varieties between 2014 and 2023. These are varieties with higher iron and zinc content than the conventional pearl millet varieties. By their nature, iron and zinc, no matter how high their levels in crop grain and foods, are not visible to a naked eye. In 2015, acitve seed multiplication/production and marketing/promotional/dissemination work started, to ensure that farmers access IPM seed which was marketed as truthfully labelled seed by public and private commercial seed companies like Nirmal Seeds and Maharashtra State Seed Company (MSSC), to name a few. HarvestPlus plays a catalytic role in creating demand for the IPM. As of December 2022, a cumulative total of 2500 tons of IPM seed had been produced, resulting in 360,000 farmers growing IPM across 4 different states of India. As such, nearly 1.8 million people from farming households in India are estimated to be consuming IPM foods (HarvestPlus data, 2023). In an outcome monitoring survey carried in 2018, 5% of the IPM production was sold to the market by 7% of the IPM growers. It is anticipated that this IPM or its products, are purchased by people who do not grow it, for consumption (HarvestPlus, 2018).

The Key Research Questions

The planned survey will try to answer the following high-level research questions:

1. How widespread is IPM grown in Maharashtra and Rajasthan states?
2. How widespread is IPM food eaten by farm and non-farm households in Maharashtra and Rajasthan states?
3. In what forms is IPM available on the market in Maharashtra and Rajasthan states?
4. To what extent and in what stages of the IPM value chains are women and men involved and how does the decision-making role vary by stage and by state?
5. What are the barriers and promoters of adoption for IPM in Maharashtra and Rajasthan states?
6. To what extent does the nutrient content of IPM grain and food reflect the expected micronutrient (Zn and Fe) levels in Maharashtra and Rajasthan states – as determined by the Publically Available Specification for Iron?
7. What are the current IPM marketing practices, what are the types of market linkages, and to what extent have they prevented/stimulated farm level IPM production?
8. How do different IPM processing methods affect the availability of iron and zinc in IPM food?
9. To what extent does labeling IPM foods with nutrition and health claims about iron and zinc content increase sales/demand compared to standard millets?
10. How do people in Maharashtra and Rajasthan states prepare IPM food and how does this differ by state?
11. What is the IPM coverage in Maharashtra and Rajasthan states?

Workplan Details

1. Sample size: This is study will be representative at state level. The selected firm or individual consultant will review and advise on the most suitable sampling procedure/methodology, working closely with HarvestPlus, SVT College of Home Science (Empowered Autonomous Status) and SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai University. Ideally, the sampling procedure should reflect the step-by-step selection of study geographies and farm and market level respondents. There are 68 districts and 608 Talukas in the states of Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The two states account for 15% of India’s poulation. We estimate the sample size to be 3844 for household level study which will be distributed between rural and urban/peri-uban and 60 market players each (possibly aggregators, millers, retailers of IPM products) along the IPM value chain.
2. Sample selection and sampling plan: This will be done in close collaboration with researchers from HarvestPlus, SVT College of Home Science (Empowered Autonomous Status) and SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai University. The expectation is to idetnfiy study districts, talukas, villages, and finally the respondent households.
3. Time frame: Harvesting of pearl millet is expected to be complete by the end of September 2023. The surveys will be implemented after the harvest of the crops is finished in order to allow farmers to allocate and move the IPM grain as they see fit (allocation to household consumption, market, and gifts, etc.). The survey firm should provide an estimate of how long data collection will last.
4. Questionnaire(s): HarvestPlus, SVT College of Home Science (Empowered Autonomous Status) and SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai University will be responsible for preparing the survey instrument(s) needed for data collection, in English. It is envisaged that 3 questionnaires (1) the farm household level, (2) the value chain players, and (3) consumers that buy from the market. The survey firm will be responsible for translating the questionnaires into the respective local languages for Maharashtra and Rajasthan. It is expected that the survey firm will make suggestions (e.g., colloquial terms or words, improvements to wording of questions) to improve the questionnaire(s) before and after training of enumerators and pilot testing the questionnaire(s).
5. Collection of samples: In order to answer research question number 6, the survey team will be expected to collect and transport grain and product samples to HarvestPlus’ lab in Hyderabad, Patancheruvu, ICRISAT campus, as follows:
   1. Collect, package, and transport a total of 1600 pearl millet grain samples (200 samples of 100 grams each per each of the 8 clusters). HarvestPlus will provide the sample bags to the survey team.
   2. Take a standard clear picture for each sample showing details of the contents and label.
   3. Collect, package, and transport a total of 160 soil samples from the fields of respondent farmers (20 soil samples from each of the 8 clusters). Note: the soil samples must be labelled in a manner that allows for easy matching of grain and soil samples.
   4. Collect, package, and transport to HarvestPlus, a total of 160 samples of IPM products (grain/flour) that are 100g each, from the millers and retailers.
   5. Collect, package, and trasnport to HarvestPlus, a total of 160 samples of soil from selected fields where IPM was grown in the most recent past cropping season. Each sample will be 250g.
   6. HarvestPlus will prepare and provide samples of IPM grain (for all varieties that are being promoted/marketed) in transparent plastic pockets so that each enumerator will carry samples to show respondents during the interviews. The plastic must be a self-clipping transparent plastic pocket easy-to-see the shape, size, and color of the IPM grain.
   7. The survey firm will identify seed companies and retail shops that market IPM seed from which they will collect and transport to HarvestPlus, samples of the IPM seed that they sell.
6. Enumerator selection and training: The survey firm will be responsible for the recruitment of enumerators, their training and provision of all the logistical support for the survey field work and meeting any legal and insurance requirements to carry out the work. The training of enumerators should last five working days (in an appropriate space) and include a pilot testing of questionnaires in day 4. Only enumerators who understand the questionnaire well and who have good interview skills should be hired for data collection (thus, the survey firm should train more enumerators than actually needed, to select the best ones). HarvestPlus, SVT College of Home Science (Empowered Autonomous Status) and SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai University researchers will participate in the training of enumerators.
7. Mode of data collection: They survey(s) will be conducted using electronic forms programmed on tablets. We are looking for the most cost-effective method, which takes less time and delivers high-quality data. The survey firm will be responsible for the programming of the questionnaire(s), in close consultation with HarvestPlus team of programmers. Interviews will be conducted face-to-face, following bio-security protocols to reduce the risk of infection with COVID-19. Please detail the bio-security protocol you will follow (or attach a copy if your firm has one in place).

Specific Deliverables

1. Plan for field data collection.
2. A clean data set (one for each crop) in a format compatible with STATA or SPSS (Excel or CSV formats will work).
3. Properly packed and labelled samples of IPM seed, IPM grain, IPM flour, soils from fields on which IPM was grown.

Required Qualifications

• Experience conducting large (>1000 households) farmer/rural household surveys
• Experience assembling and coordinating data collection teams, and guaranteeing data quality
• Good English writing and verbal communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience conducting farmer/rural household surveys in India or any other similar environment
• Experience carrying out consumption/micronutrient coverage assessments/studies, dietary assessments
• Experience in and ability to develop a criteria for identifying crops and foods with invisible traits like iron pearl millet grain and foods

Instructions to Apply

Application materials should be submitted ot the IFPRI website by close of business (East Africa Time) on October 10, 2023. If you have any questions you may contact [email protected] and copy [email protected], and please include the position code 2023-H44-017 in the email.

The submissions must include the following:

• Expression of interest and technical proposal: Include a brief capability statement on your experience conducting farmer/rural household surveys and any specific examples of this experience in India or any other similar environment. Experience in carrying out consumption/micronutrient coverage assessments/studies, dietary assessments, and the ability to develop a criterion for identifying crops and foods with invisible traits like iron in iron pearl millet grain and foods. Please detail your capabilities/proposed activities against the scope of the survey above. This should not exceed three pages.
• Budget estimate and narrative: Include a detailed budget estimate in Excel that shows the cost estimates by line items. Include a budget narrative for each budget line (as an additional column in within the Excel table). If your organization has a policy of charging overheads or indirect costs, please include them as a separate line item. IFPRI will require documentation of such a policy.
• References: Provide contact information (email, phone, company) of two references who know about your capabilities implementing similar/related types of surveys.