Germany – Technical assistance services – 10019362-Appui à l'adaptation de la chaîne d'approvisionnement de cacao en Côte d'Ivoire aux défis de durabilité

Under this assignment, the contractor will deliver technical assistance to the PRO-PLANTEURS project to adapt Côte d'Ivoire's cocoa supply chain to economic, regulatory, environmental and social sustainability challenges, assuming responsibility for defined outputs, indicators and milestones. The contractor will establish and manage an expert team, ensure quality assurance and backstopping, administer finances and reporting, contribute inputs for BMZ/MINADER reports as required, and comply with data protection obligations when processing personal data. Under Output 1, the contractor will enable cocoa producers to implement good agricultural practices (GAP) and agroforestry in line with ARS 1000. This includes designing ten agroforestry models for cocoa based on nationally compatible species lists and research, complemented by socio economic and financial analyses; sensitizing 6,000 producers (at least 30% women) on agroforestry; and advising farms to reach at least 5,000 ARS 1000 compliant agroforestry plots. The contractor will train 6,000 producers (?30% women) through Farmer Field Schools on GAP aligned with ARS 1000 and support implementation of individual Cocoa Farm Development Plans (PDCs). In cooperation with cooperatives, the contractor will assist internal inspections and corrective actions to bring 6,000 farms into ARS 1000 compliance. Milestones include submission of ten model packages with analyses within nine months, agroforestry sensitization within 12 months, completion of producer trainings by month nine, PDC support by month 12, and internal inspection support by month 15. The contractor contributes to targets such as 5,000 farms maintaining trees per ARS 1000 and at least 500 women managed farms applying GAP. Under Output 2, the contractor will strengthen cooperative service provision for sustainable, economically viable production. It will test, together with CNRA, harmonized Côte d'Ivoire-Ghana protocols for early detection, monitoring and prevention of cocoa swollen shoot virus via demonstration plots, train staff from 12 cooperatives, CCC delegations and ANADER on these protocols, and support member sensitization. The contractor will establish and professionalize cooperative service units by training teams in agricultural operations (e.g. pruning, weeding), phytosanitary and fertilizer application, tree planting for agroforestry, and eradication of infected trees; and train and coach managers in financial management and governance. It will support digitalization of cooperative operations and accompany internal audits and corrective actions towards ARS 1000 certification in 12 cooperatives. Milestones include completion of protocol testing within nine months, completed trainings by month 12 and continuous sensitization; service team training by month six, business models by month nine, management training by month 12 and coaching by month 15. The contractor contributes to each cooperative implementing two swollen shoot measures and four priority ARS 1000/EUDR measures. Under Output 3, the contractor will reinforce sustainable procurement between cooperatives and buyers by training 12 cooperatives on legal aspects of