OXFAM CONSULTANCY ON ANALYSIS OF FOOD SECURITY AND RESILIENCE OF RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN PROACT COMMUNITIES OF ADAMAWA AND KEBBI STATES, NORTHERN NIGERIA

Objective of the Study

The overarching objective of this study is to assess food security situations among project participants in rural areas of Adamawa and Kebbi States where implementation has been ongoing. The assessment will also consider how well the resilience of vulnerable households in those project locations has been strengthened. The assignment will help in doing the following:

i. Analyse the socio-economic characteristics of the sampled participants

ii. Carry out food security assessment among rural households in PROACT communities of Adamawa and Kebbi States;

iii. Determine the extent to which rural resilience has been deepened among project participants and their communities;

iv. Determine the extent to which resilience strengthening systems created by the project at the community levels are appropriate in helping rural households to cope with COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts;

v. Investigate the status of wealth group transitioning among project participants who have received various interventions from the project;

vi. Determine moderate and severe acute malnutrition among under five children in both Adamawa and Taraba states;

vii. Check if there are improvement in Laws, Policies and Practices of the government at different levels in supporting communities to become more resilient as a result of Learning from PROACT project.

viii. Check improvement or otherwise of dietary intake of the households.

ix. Assess some underlying risks and gaps of community members in the face of food insecurity.

x. Determine factors responsible for improvement, or otherwise, in food security situations of rural households and their coping strategies;

xi. Make appropriate recommendations for different stakeholder categories towards ensuring sustainability of project results.

This assessment will support Oxfam’s, and Partners’, efforts at providing evidences that food security and resilience issues, relevant to the objectives of the project, are being adequately addressed with verifiable improvements. The study will be also help in strengthening our monitoring and result measurement systems by validating previous internal indicator performance tracking exercises. The following outcome indicators of the project will be among those that should be captured in the assessment:

a) Percentage increase in household assets.

b) Percentage increase in food security of beneficiaries.

c) Percentage reduction of moderate and severe acute malnutrition in children aged under five.

Audience and Use of Findings

The research findings will be used for quality improvement, evidence-based programming, and advocacy targeted at government, community leaders, traditional institutions, community based organizations (CBOs), development agencies, and the donor communities. The research findings will also contribute to existing knowledge on food and nutrition security, rural resilience, and adaptive social protection. They will constitute a strong framework for widespread advocacy works for the promotion of interventions towards addressing major developmental challenges.

Outcome of this assessment will help Oxfam and its partners to enrich their livelihoods programming works to deepen resilience among vulnerable populations across contexts. It will also embolden us in facts-based arguments to convince stakeholders on the need for developing comprehensive package of intervention that can enhance peoples’ capacities to assume their rights in the face of shocks and stresses.

Suggested Methodologies

This study will be conducted among project participants in four LGAs in Adamawa State namely Fufore, Guyuk, Song, and Mubi-South; and three LGAs in Kebbi State namely Birnin-Kebbi, Danko-Wasagu, and Jega. It will be expected that appropriate sampling technique be applied to the study population to arrive at sample sizes that will be used for the study. List of project participants who have been targeted and treated with relevant interventions will be presented to for use by the Consultants.

Individuals or firms engaged for this assignment will propose their own methodologies that are consistent with the standard framework for reporting methodology. The methodology should include primary and secondary data collection tools for both quantitative and qualitative data to be collected. Furthermore, it should adopt some participatory rural appraisal approaches and as much as possible, there must be some form of counterfactual analysis in the methodology to be adopted to provide evidence for the project’s contribution .

The consultant is expected to adopt standard statistical procedures in achieving the required sample size for the study. Appropriate sampling of project participants (consistent with an optimal power of study) will be expected to be carried out to produce statistically significant sample size to be engaged using structured questionnaire, key informant interviews (KII), and focus group discussions (FGD). The methodology to be used for this study will have to be relevant in collecting appropriate quantitative and qualitative data, mostly of primary origin, to capture and analyse the following important food security and resilience outcome indicators:

i. Food Consumption Score (FSC)

ii. Coping Strategy Index (CSI)

iii. Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS)

iv. Community Access to Food – Systems and Structure

v. Self-Help Group Functionality and Coverage

Qualification and Experience of Consultant

· An advanced degree in Development Studies, Sociology/Rural Sociology, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Sustainable and Inclusive Development or other related fields.

· Cognate and requisite experience in food security, livelihoods, resilience, and market systems programming approaches such as Food Security and Livelihoods Assessment Missions, Household Economy Approach (HEA), Participatory Vulnerability analysis (PVA), Value Chain analysis (VCA), and Monitoring & Result Measurement (MRM) among others etc.

· Demonstrated capacity in integrating gender equity and diversity concerns in programming, advocacy, monitoring and evaluation.

· Extensive experience in livelihood programmes and projects, preferably in northern Nigeria.

· Significant experience working with the Federal, State and Local Government Areas in Nigeria including those in conflict areas.

· Sound knowledge of resilience programming, rural development, rural livelihoods enterprise, family farming, agricultural markets and agricultural private sector actors.

· Sound knowledge of policy issues related to food security, social protection, disaster risk reduction, inclusive markets, and climate change.

· Excellent research, writing, and analytical skills.

vi. Early Warning System’s Coverage and Effectiveness

vii. Community-led Disaster Risk Management

Digital data collection tools will be used as much as possible while appropriate data analytical procedures and software will be expected to be used for data analysis.