Call for Concept Notes: Sustainable agriculture, food security and livelihood opportunities in Niassa, Mozambique

1. Background
Sweden’s development cooperation in Mozambique is guided by the strategy for Sweden’s Development Cooperation with Mozambique, 2022 – 2026 (“the Strategy”). The overall objective of the strategy is to contribute to creating opportunities for better living conditions for people living in poverty and under oppression, particularly the most vulnerable.

The Strategy consists of four support areas: Environment, climate, and sustainable use of natural resources; Human Rights, Democracy, Rule of Law and Gender Equality; Inclusive Economic Development; and Peaceful and inclusive societies. Sweden also supports capacity building within research and higher education in Mozambique.

The operationalization of the Sweden’s development cooperation strategy in Mozambique (2022-2026) defined Niassa as a geographic priority. Sweden has a long experience of working in Niassa, which remains a very poor province and with generally extremely low values of development indicators. Low levels of investments and private sector engagement, coupled with a reduced presence of development partners gives Sweden development cooperation a strong added value. Furthermore, the already vulnerable population risks suffering from a spread of the violent conflict inthe neighbouring province of Cabo Delgado with both direct and indirect effects.

For Niassa, the Embassy intends to develop a programme approach. For this programme approach Sweden is supporting and plans to support several provincial and national programmes that are expected to contribute to development indicators in the province, in the following areas of support: biodiversity and conservation, access to energy, strengthened formal and informal civil society, social protection, job creation, sexual reproductive and health rights, access to basic services and spatial planning and housing.

A list of Swedish funded programmes will be provided to ensure synergies and complementarity. This agriculture and livelihoods programme should seek synergies and complementarities with those programmes. To design and operationalize this programme approach, Sweden has been conducting scoping missions and coordinating with the Niassa Provincial Government and Secretary of State, and liaising with some district authorities. Several private sector actors and local civil society organizations have also been consulted.

This new programme should be aligned with government planning, namely o Plano Quinquenal do Governo, Programa de Resiliência e Desenvolvimento Integrado do Norte (PREDIN), o Plano Estratégico da Província do Niassa 2018-2029 and any relevant district plans.

Sweden’s development cooperation is guided by two perspectives, poor people’s perspective on development and the rights perspective, and three cross-cutting themes environment and climate, gender equality and conflict prevention. These perspectives and cross-cutting themes should be integrated in all programming areas. Sweden also seeks to prioritise complementarity and synergies between the result areas and within the portfolio wherever possible. More information on Sida’s priority perspectives and cross-cutting themes can be found here: Methods and materials 

2. Context and rational for the new programme

Mozambique is among the ten poorest countries in the world. Following COVID-19, Mozambique’s poverty rate increased and it remains one of the highest in the world according to the World Bank. Preliminary estimates based on the National Bureau of Statistics 2019/20 Household Budget Survey (IOF 2019/20) point to a marked increase in the national poverty rate: from 48.4 percent in 2015 to 62.8 in 2020, or from 63.7 percent to 74.4 percent using the international poverty line. This corresponds to approximately 18.9 million people living in poverty according to national standards in 2020. It represents a reversal of the poverty reduction trend that persisted through to the mid-2010s, after which declining growth rates and high population growth resulted in very low or negative per capita income growth. The impact of COVID-19 on households has been felt primarily through the loss of earnings and employment, especially for those working in the informal sector and in urban areas. The World Bank estimates that over 3 million people slipped into extreme poverty in 2020.

Mozambique is also among the most inequal countries in the world. Data from Household Budget Survey 2019/20202 (IOF 2019/20) points for an average national monthly expenditure per capita of
1.695 MZN (26,8 USD), with only 224 MZN (3,5 USD) spent by the lowest quintile and 5.022 (79,4 USD) by the highest quintile (22,7x more) (Inquerito Sobre Orcamento Familiar 2019/20, September 2021). According to the same source, 73.6% of the Mozambican population (15 years and above) work in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sector. Individuals (in particular women) in rural areas, largely dependent on subsistence agriculture, are particularly vulnerable, displaying higher levels of poverty than their peers.

The majority of the 73.6% of the population engaged in the sector are small-scale farmers, with plots smaller than 2 hectares. The majority of them lack access to productive assets (mechanisation, irrigation), technical and market information, agricultural finance, sustainable agriculture practices, new technologies and markets (input and output), which could help them improve productivity and incomes. Infrastructure, namely roads and electricity, in rural areas is also a major obstacle to the development of the sector. The country scores poorly on the INFORM risk index, which places Mozambique in the “very high” risk class due to exposure to hazards (natural as well as man-made), level of socio-economic vulnerability and presence of vulnerable groups, and low institutional and infrastructural coping capacities.

Climate change is having a negative impact on agriculture and livelihoods, water availability and food security in different ways in different parts of Mozambique. For instance, taken cumulatively over the entire growing season, the combination of reduced rainfall and increased temperature is likely to reduce agricultural production, either because of decreased yield or outright crop failure, particularly in the case of heat- and drought-sensitive crops such as maize. Even though 73% of total withdrawn water is used for agriculture, only 2% of the land is equipped with irrigation. In addition to the high vulnerability of domestic food production to climate shocks and climate change, traditional agricultural practices and weak food systems, trap farmers in small scale, low productivity, subsistence agriculture. In most cases, small commercial farmers are also trapped selling their meagre production at unfair market prices, due to value chain inefficiencies and power relations imbalances, while also bearing the risk of the agriculture activity.

Agriculture and rural livelihoods can have a significant impact on natural resource management (either positive or negative). For example, agriculture in Mozambique contributes with 27% of greenhouse gas emissions, of which 73.1% derives from slash and burning practices. Analyses indicate that 220,000 hectares of Mozambique’s natural forests are lost annually, with deforestation being largely driven by reliance on fuelwood for domestic energy, as well as expansion of land for agriculture.

Niassa province

Niassa is Mozambique’s largest province, with an area of 129,056 km²3 and an estimated population for 2020 of 2.002.706 (Inquérito sobre Orçamento Familiar 2019/20, September 2021).

It is the most sparsely populated province in the country, which adds to thechallenges of accessing basic infrastructure and social services. Although chronic malnutrition is a national concern, it is more pronounced amongst children living in Niassa and the other northern provinces of Nampula, Cabo Delgado and Zambézia, where the prevalence is double that of the southern province of Maputo (UN Common country analysis 2021) The prevalence of children under with chronic malnutrition was higher in Niassa (43%) than at national level in 2019/2020 (38%) (UN Common country analysis 2021)).

Deforestation and forest degradation, caused by population growth, family farming, expansion of housing areas, exploitation of wood fuels and forest fires is diminishing ecosystem services and contributing to increased livelihoods efforts. The time to fetch wood, honey, wild game, and bamboo has increased 10-fold, which decreases the available time to farm and household activities, increasing children engagement in livelihood activities and thus school absence (OMR, 2022, Destaque Rural Nº 197 - Como a degradação das florestas está a afectar a rotina dos chefes de família em algumas comunidades na província do Niassa).

Civil registration is one of the key determinants for access to public life in Mozambique (2017 Mozambique Population Census Thematic Studies UNFPA Mozambique). Niassa has the highest percentage of unregistered population between 0 and 17 years old out of all provinces in the country. Along with Niassa it is only Tete (31.1 %) province where over 30 % of the population is not registered. The prevalence of illiteracy in Niassa is higher than both the national level and compared to neighbouring provinces. While the illiteracy rate is at 53.1% in Niassa (40% M/66% F), the national share is at 39.2% (27% M/51% F). While the percentage of illiteracy is higher in Niassa than at national level, the difference in percentage between men and women is similar at both levels, which reveals the generalized gender inequalities at the national level (Inquérito sobre Orçamento Familiar 2019/20, September 2021).

Despite the good agroecological conditions of the province, the lack of investments and private sector engagement means that smallholder farmers lack opportunities to sell their products. Once those
market opportunities appear, smallholder farmers usually lack the capacity to negotiate better prices for their production, and for moving up the value chains.

3. Parameters for the New Programme

3.1. Primary Development Objectives
The main objective of this programme is to increase livelihood opportunities for people living in poverty, particularly the most vulnerable, in selected districts of Niassa.
The programme should include three interlinked and synergetic subgoals:

i. increased agricultural production, productivity, and resilience through regenerative
agriculture and sustainable agriculture practices. (Regenerative agriculture is considered as a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming
systems, focused on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting biosequestration, increasing resilience to climate change, and strengthening
the health and vitality of farm soil from an agroecology perspective.) (Sustainable agriculture practices include intercropping, crop rotation, agroforestry, mulching, planting cover
and perennial crops, minimum tillage, integrated pest management, among others.) Both food and cash crops should be considered. Some pre-identified cash crops include cotton, soya, sesame, maize and beans, but the programme is not limited to those.

ii. improved food security, specially reducing malnutrition among children under 5 and women. Food security includes the availability and accessibility to nutritious food, which is directly linked to
the previous objective. The drivers of malnutrition should be investigated and a multisectoral approach can be considered.

iii. increased income opportunities for vulnerable people. Increased income opportunities should include both increased income for smallholder farmers and
off-farm job creation. The programme should capitalize on local existing conditions and opportunities, such as local produced crops, private sector actors and networks, and government plans and
initiatives. Several value chain opportunities can be considered, from seeds production to products’ aggregation, processing, transformation and/or trade. Non-farm activities can also be considered, if
having a significant potential to create sustainable income and/or jobs, specially to women and the youth. At the request of the provincial Niassa government and considering the possibility of creating synergies and complementarities with other programmes, this programme should focus on the Cuamba, Metarica, Maúa, and Nipepe districts. The district of Marrupa is also eligible.

3.2. Development Objectives and Cross-Cutting Priorities
Within the overall aim of the programme to strengthen productive, resilient, regenerative, and sustainable agriculture, to improve food security and livelihood, targeting poor households, a special
emphasis should be placed on women and youth. Given the Swedish development cooperation strategy with Mozambique 2022 – 2026 under which the programme will operate, a number of cross-cutting priorities and perspectives will need to be considered. Gender should be fully integrated in the programme and there should be a specific focus on economic empowerment of women and young people living in poverty. Opportunities should be sought to improve environmental outcomes and contribute positively to a shift towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate resilient development, including the development of livelihood opportunities that consider the protection of ecosystems and biodiversity.

As mentioned in the background, Sweden’s development cooperation should always be informed by a human-rights perspective and the perspective of the poor, and integrate the cross-cutting themes
gender, environment, and conflict. Furthermore, Sweden’s development cooperation should be risk informed and build on a thorough analysis to ensure conflict prevention, long term development and
peace building, and work to reduce future dependency on humanitarian aid.

As an example, land rights and civil registration (ID cards) have been identified as cross thematic issues
that have the capacity to connect some of these priorities.

3.3. Target Groups and proposed approach
The target group of this programme are the most vulnerable individuals and communities, which includes for instance, women and young people.

Other target groups can include rural entrepreneurs, SMEs and private sector companies, considering their capacity to create economic opportunities for the most vulnerable. Member-based organizations and cooperatives can also be addressed, considering their capacity to target vulnerable farmers, their presence in the territory, their aggregation capacity and their representativeness to negotiate fair terms of trade (such as prices).

Collaboration with the private sector and with local governmentsis considered key to a more effective and sustainable development. The programme approach should seek to collaborate with those actors within relevant programme areas of intervention capitalizing relevant existing initiatives and development plans.

The proposed Theory of Change should clearly describe how the ultimate beneficiaries will benefit from proposed interventions in a sustainable manner. The programme should contribute to addressing key constraints hindering people in poverty to fully participate and benefit from the local agricultural market. For the sustainability of the programme results it is essential to understand the relevant systems’ incentives and to work with the different actors to achieve large-scale and long-term impacts. As such, there is a need for a vision on how relevant systems can work in the future for the vulnerable individuals and communities. This requires taking stock of current work and developing a realistic picture of how this will translate in the future once the programme ends. The programme should strive to support individuals, communities, enterprises, and local governments in finding sustainable solutions to problems they face.

Innovative forms of finance to support the investment and business environment with the aim of creating sustainable economic opportunities for vulnerable people can be considered.

3.4. Tentative Timeframe and budget

Indicatively, the programme (inception and implementation) will run for approximately 5 years (2023- 2028). The maximum budget to be considered for the programme is 75 million Swedish Krona, SEK, (subject to Swedish parliamentary approval).

3.5. Eligible applicants
For this programme, the Embassy of Sweden in Maputo will conduct an open call for Expressions of Interest for non-profit organizations.

Proposals should be submitted in consortia and be led by a non-profit organization. The lead organization should be registered in Mozambique, have demonstrable experience in working in remote areas of Mozambique, of having managed agricultural projects and of forwarding of funds. Niassa-based organizations are strongly recommended to be included in the consortia. Member-based organizations may also be included in the consortia. Private sector organizations can be integrated in the consortia, even though they are not eligible for direct financial support. They can, however, benefit from innovative financing mechanisms, such as result-based finance or a public-private-development partnership.

Lead organizations can only be part of one proposal. Non-lead non-profit organizations can be part of up to a maximum of two proposals.

4. Submission and Selection Process Concept Notes
Interested organisations should submit a concept note to the Swedish Embassy in Maputo for consideration as an implementing partner to deliver on the programme outlined here. The concept
note should be a maximum of 10 pages in length. It should not, at this stage, require research and reproduction of statistics about the region.

There is also no need to reiterate the information contained in this call for proposals, instead concept notes should contain:

• An introduction to the organisation/consortium
• Approach to operationalising the programme
o What will the team look like in terms of structure and positions? What will be the responsibilities of each organization?
o What expertise and competencies will be in the team? How will you recruit and when?
o Where will the programme team be based?
• Technical approach to delivery
o If selected, what process will be followed?
o In a generic sense, what would a programme workplan look like for year 1? What analysis/studies would be deemed necessary to conduct?
o The above includes how perspectives of environment/climate change, gender, youth/women’s economic empowerment and conflict sensitivity will be addressed.
• A proposed Theory of Change and an initial sketch of outcomes and outputs that will be addressed in the full 5-year programme.
• Brief description and/or remarks of any methodological aspects regarding the implementation of the programme, describing and quantifying how the different target groups will benefit from the programme including aspects of sustainability of the programme.
• Proposed coordination mechanisms with local authorities, private sector, and other programmes, to ensure capacity building of local authorities and the creation of synergies and scale for impact.
• Alignment of the proposed programme with public policies and/or interventions and the harmonization with other donor interventions.
• Estimation of the number of people targeted with the programme and how they will benefit from the programme.
• Financial estimation breakdown per the following cost categories: project management costs, HQ/regional backstopping costs, cost estimation per programme subgoal, in-country central office costs, overheads. An estimation of the funds to be forwarded, per consortium member, should also be included.

4.1.Assessment criteria:

The selected organization/consortia will be assessed based on the following criteria:

- Eligibility of the proponents;
- Theory and change and overall project design (coherence, structure and alignment with Sweden
country strategy for Mozambique 2022-26 and this ToR);
- Technical and financial experience of lead organization, including that of forwarding of funds;
- Technical and geographical experience of the proposed team/consortia;
- Financial efficiency;
- Aid effectiveness.

The Embassy may request that interested organisations submit additional information and may also
request a meeting to discuss the concept note.

4.2. Process for Submission of Concept Notes
Concept notes (deadline 26th of June 2023) should be drafted in English and sent to joao.neto@gov.se and hanna.marsk@gov.se

4.3. Next steps and tentative timeline
6/6/2023, from 10:00 am to 12:00 am: Session to clarify any eventual doubts on this ToR. Virtual and in-person (Embassy of Sweden in Maputo, Av. Julius Nyerere, 1128) attendance will be possible. Interested attendees should confirm their in-person or virtual presence by the 5th of June 2023, COB, to the emails mentioned in section 4.2. Questions can be sent before by email but will not be answered before this day.

6/6/2023: The list of Swedish funded programmes in the province of Niassa will be shared with
prospective proponents.

26/6/2023: Deadline for submission of Concept notes to the Embassy

11/7/2023: Communication of the selected organization/consortia and invitation to develop a
programme full proposal.

Based on the concept note appraisal, the Embassy will invite a consortium of applicants to submit a full proposal. Applicants should be available during this period to clarify any doubts that the Embassy
might have. The communication of the selected organization/consortia may be delayed, in case the Embassy considers the received concept note proposals to lack the adequate contents to make an
informed decision.

4/9/2023: Deadline to the submission of a draft full proposal.

19/9/2023: Deadline to the submission of comments by the Embassy to the draft full proposal.

03/10/2023: Deadline to the submission of the final full proposal.

October 2023 – January 2024: Agreement signature between the Embassy and the implementation
partner. Starting of inception/implementation phase.

At any point of this application process the Embassy may decide to halt the process without accepting any Concept Note and/or without awarding any contract agreement. The final budget of the
programme will be decided by the Embassy. As this is not a procurement process the selection and decision process is governed by Sida’s rules and regulations for grant funding. The final decision cannot
be appealed.