1. BACKGROUND/INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

Trócaire is an Irish organisation that works in partnership with communities in over 20 countries to

• Defend human rights,
• Achieve climate and environmental justice,
• women’s girls’ protection, voice, and influence,
• Save lives, protect human dignity, and
• Mobilise the public to achieve global justice.

Trócaire has been working in Somalia for 30 years and established offices in the districts in Gedo in 1991. In Somalia, we work in collaboration with local communities and partnership with local organisations, implementing projects in the following sectors:

• Resilience
• Health
• Nutrition
• Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Promotion
• Education in Emergencies
• Protection

1.2 Contextual Background

Somalia has been one of the countries affected by conflict and drought with widespread humanitarian needs. These calamities have left many without income sources and struggling to meet their basic needs; as a result, they are forced to resort to negative coping mechanisms, e.g., withdrawing children from school, reducing non-food expenses on health (including drugs) and education, borrowing money from a formal lender/bank, and spending savings, amongst others. In some cases, drought and conflict have led to loss of life due to poor health, nutrition, and insecurity. The 2023 October/November flash floods have further exacerbated the situation – livelihoods have been affected adversely and markets disrupted. Trócaire has been implementing projects to respond to humanitarian needs in Somalia, which have saved, empowered, and transformed many people’s lives. However, conflict and drought continue to cause massive internal displacement of people who migrate to areas where they can access humanitarian assistance. Among the programmes implemented in response to these challenges is the five-year programme funded by Irish Aid, which has a component of integrated livelihoods to enhance people’s resilience to shocks.

Given the overview above, Trócaire wants to commission a market analysis and livelihoods adaptation options study. The market systems analysis will assess, among others, the damages caused to the markets by flash floods, market performance (in terms of actors, volumes of products/commodities, prices, and seasonality fluctuations), market behaviour (for example, competition, integration, bottlenecks), and the external factors affecting markets. Whilst the livelihood adaptation options will explore current practices across the Gedo region, particularly in Balad Hawa, Dollow, and Luuq districts, bearing in mind the impact of climate change on the livelihoods of pastoralists, small-scale businesses, agro-pastoralists, and crop farming communities. The study will detail mitigation and adaptation strategies suitable for different groups (particularly pastoralists, women and the most vulnerable) in Somalia and an in-depth analysis of the service providers, for example, other I/NGOs, government, private sector (e.g., livestock insurance services), etc., across Somalia while adopting a gender lens.

1.3 Specific Objectives

The specific objectives of this study are:

• Conduct a thorough market analysis:
  • To assess the impact of crises/ shocks to the markets,
  • To determine the market performance on various dimensions, including the actors present and the products they provide, volumes of commodities, and pricing.
  • To establish the seasonality trends of products afforded to the markets,
  • To assess the market behaviour by scrutinising competition, integration, and bottlenecks therein,
  • To determine the factors that affect the markets,
  • To identify the target products’ value chain (market) gaps and provide actionable recommendations on how the programme can bridge them.
  • To assess market functionality including availability of key commodities, market actors, central markets, safe access to women and men etc.
  • To identify key challenges and barriers to successfully engage and access markets for different groups
• Explore the livelihood adaption options:
  • To identify the livelihood options in the three districts, the saturated ones, the existing ones that pastoralists, women agripreneurs and entrepreneurs can harness, and the potential ones for exploitation,
  • Determine assets and capacities of households with better focus on women and youth.
  • Identify and analyze viable on-farm and off farm livelihoods activities for youth, men, and women, IDPs and host communities.
  • Determine what assets are needed to ensure sustainability of livelihoods activities.
  • Assess the most market driven skills in high demand for employment and business opportunities for youth and women; determine the materials/tools needs in setting up such vocations/trades.
  • To unearth the linkages between climate change and livelihood activities, exploring existing intersectionality, including women and climate change,
  • To identify the mitigation and livelihood activities’ adaptation options,
  • Provide practical and feasible linkages of the identified livelihood adaptation options to advise programmatic and advocacy strategies
  • Identify the barriers (including gender, disability, and age) and enablers influencing the adoption of livelihood adaptation options for vulnerable individuals, households, and communities

1.4 Scope of the Research

This study will be conducted in Luuq, Balad Hawa, and Dollow districts, Gedo Region, Somalia. Trócaire expects it to generate relevant and useful data/information about market systems analysis and livelihood adaptation options. The target stakeholders will include but not be limited to community members, local/district/regional/national leadership, relevant ministries, the business community (including small-scale traders, existing agripreneurs, and innovative businesses in the markets), and relevant I/NGOs.

2. METHODOLOGY

This research will employ a mixed methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative techniques.

(a) Desk research: a comprehensive review of relevant documents on market systems analysis/value chains analysis and livelihood adaptation in Somalia and other similar contexts.

(b) Data collection: gather primary data through In-depth interviews (IDIs), key Informant Interviews (KIIs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and direct observation with relevant stakeholders and different community groups.

(c) Comparative analysis: compare and contrast findings from the Gedo region with existing studies or best practices in other regions

(d) Stakeholder findings validation workshop – this will bring various stakeholders together to share their views about the study findings; their feedback will be used to optimise the report.

3. OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES

• Inception report containing a detailed methodology with accompanying work plan and data collection tools.
• Conduct training for the data collection team.
• Conduct the data collection.
• Comprehensive report responding to all the research objectives and providing actionable recommendations and including an analysis on livelihoods options prioritization of the different targeted districts in Gedo.

The report should be 30 pages max, excluding the cover page, table of contents, list of tables and figures, acronyms/annexures, and bibliography.

• Presentation of the research findings and recommendations in a validation workshop.
• Raw and cleaned datasets and transcripts.

Ethical considerations shall include data protection, including informed consent from participants/ beneficiaries and maintaining confidentiality.

3.1 Trócaire Responsibilities

• Provision of Trócaire-specific organisational and programme documents – for instance, evaluation report and proposal, if need be. Note: this is not exhaustive; it will need to be supplemented with information from credible external sources.
• Support the consultant in mobilization of KII and FGD respondents from the various targeted districts.

3.2 Consultant Responsibilities

• Prepare and submit the inception report, data collection tools, and research report.
• Train the data collection team.
• Collect data from both primary and secondary sources, making necessary arrangements independently for the field data collection process.
• Incorporate the comments and suggestions from Trócaire into the tools and reports.
• Advise on the robustness and feasibility of the methodology and make proposals where necessary.

4. DURATION AND WORKING SCHEDULE

The study is anticipated to take an LoE of 25 days.

5. BUDGET AND PAYMENT

The Consultant shall specify their proposed assignment fee, including professional fees, reimbursable, and statutory taxes. The proposed budget should also include accommodation, travel/ transportation and data collection/ fieldwork costs associated with the delivery of the assignment.

5.1 Invoicing and Payment Procedures

An initial payment of 40% of the total costs will be settled as soon as Trócaire approves the inception report and tools. The final 60% will only be paid once Trócaire approves the final report. It is worth noting that each payment tranche will require a submission of an invoice.

6. CONSULTANT QUALIFICATIONS

This consultancy is open to individual National/ International or a team of National and expert consultants with specialist knowledge and research expertise in Market Systems Analysis and Livelihoods in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Countries. The Consultant is expected to have the following experience and qualifications:

• A master’s degree in rural development, Development Studies, Agriculture, business, economics, social sciences, or a related field.
• Experience of not less than 10 years conducting market systems analysis and livelihood programming/studies.
• Sound knowledge of humanitarian and development programming and/or experience in project management for an I/NGO(s).
• Previous experiences in practicing participatory methods for planning and conducting research.
• Considerable professional experience working in Somalia at the community, village, and district levels, with a clear understanding of traditional forms of social organisation and systems of local governance, as well as official systems of local administration.
• High level of competence in English, particularly in writing, and fluent in both local Somali languages in the region where this research will take place.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to communicate detailed concepts clearly and concisely in writing and orally.