Marketing Consultant

• To generate a review of existing policies and guidelines and other initiatives on RTC trading and industrialization, exports and imports, successes, opportunities, challenges and recommendations for future consideration
  
• To develop a strategy for RTC (potato, sweetpotato and cassava) commercialization in Malawi
  

• An evaluation of irrigation requirements and methods (may include stakeholder consultations) including ex-ante cost-benefit analysis for various irrigation technologies that can support smallholder farmer production systems to ensure year-round production to sustain marketing and industrialization
  
• A review of various approaches to support farmer groups and cooperatives (e.g. farmer business school, capacity building in different areas) and identify suitable approaches for RTC in Malawi
  
• Develop an inventory of RTC value chain studies and reports and assess possible knowledge gaps to be addressed in future studies.
  
• A review of stakeholder consultations on approaches to support value chain development and commercialization (e.g. Participatory Market Chain Development, Innovation Platforms).
  
• An analysis of options for use of electronic/digital approach for technology delivery
  

• Approaches to support farmer groups and cooperatives (e.g. farmer business school, capacity building in different areas) and identify suitable approaches for RTC in Malawi.
  
• Market segmentation and their values for RTCs fresh produce and their products
  
• An evaluation of the effectiveness, constraints and opportunities of (medium and large scale) businesses that are or have tried processing RTC into viable and less viable products
  
• An assessment on the level of interest and the capacity gaps by entrepreneurs in Malawi to venture into processing and marketing of RTCs (e.g bakeries, confectionary industry).
  
• Gross margins for actors in the RTC value chains to allow processors to develop fair pricing mechanism for sustainable sourcing of RTC, both for peak season and off-season irrigated crops.
  
• An analysis on the private sector and lobby for investments in processing of RTC
  
• Lessons learnt in supporting farmer groups and assess opportunities and constraints for collective production, storage and marketing options.
  
• Identification of capacity gaps in RTC producing farmer groups/cooperatives to be addressed in future project interventions (e.g. storage, cropping calendar planning, irrigation, entrepreneurship, marketing, identifying and accessing input- and output markets).
  
• An evaluation of potential partners and/or programs that can support RTC producing groups/cooperatives (with focus on youth and women groups or sub-groups).
  
• Conduct a needs assessment with different value chain actors (e.g. farmers, consumers, transporters, processors) for traits (e.g. yield, size, color, shape, pest and disease tolerance, drought and/or heat tolerance, texture, cooking and/or organoleptic quality, nutrient-content, shelf life, processing suitability for varying products) of RTC varieties to be included in future breeding programs.
  
• Engage stakeholders in designing an interactive online national market trading platform for RTC commercialization.
  
• An analysis of the capacity of existing RTC seed systems (strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities from early generation to certified and quality declared planting material) to support RTC commercialization
  
• An estimate of national demand for quality planting material of RTC, willingness to pay by individual farmers and institutional buyers, and gross margins for producers of different classes of planting material
  

Requirements

• Master's degree in Agricultural Marketing, agricultural economics or related developmental studies
  
• 8 years and above of post-qualification experience.
  
• Good experience in conducting quantitative and qualitative studies.
  
• Excellent report writing skills