EOI: Consultancy: Support for Agroecology Value Chain Development, Value Addition, and Market Linkages in Jigawa and Ebonyi States

ActionAid (AA) Nigeria is an affiliate of ActionAid International, which is a global alliance of organizations working towards achieving a world without poverty and injustice in which every person enjoys the right to a life with dignity. As a large and visible development organization, we work in over 45 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and America. Our expertise lies in community-led approaches to development and working through partnerships with the poor and other grassroot organizations.

Background

The Strategic Partnerships for Agroecology and Climate Justice in West Africa (SPAC-West Africa) Nigeria Project, funded by ActionAid International’s Transformative Impact Fund (3-year project), aims to improve food and nutrition security and enhance agroecological skills of 120,000 Smallholder Women Farmers (SHWFs) and young people. This is to be achieved by facilitating access to early maturing seeds, seedlings, livestock, and poultry, thus supporting agroecological practices, indigenous seeds, and agrobiodiversity preservation for increased yields.

Through agroecology budget monitoring, tracking, and advocacy to expand fiscal spaces, rightsholders will benefit from budget increases and allocations in agriculture. The project will also establish and scale 26 model agroecological farms led by SHWFs to increase the adoption of agroecological practices. Implementation is ongoing in Jigawa, Delta, Ebonyi, Ondo, Taraba, the FCT, and at the national level.

The project aims to improve food and nutrition security and enhance agroecological skills of smallholder women farmers (SHWFs) and young people through sustainable agriculture practices, increased production, and strengthened livelihoods.

While significant progress has been made in building agroecological production capacities, there remains a critical gap in value addition, processing, packaging, and structured market access. Many smallholder farmers continue to sell raw produce with limited value capture, thereby limiting income potential and economic resilience.

A needs assessment conducted by ActionAid Nigeria across selected communities in Jigawa and Ebonyi States identified priority value chains with strong potential for value addition, income generation, and women's economic empowerment. The assessment findings identified Rice and Groundnut as the priority value chains in Jigawa State, while Cassava and Yam emerged as the priority value chains in Ebonyi State.

The assessment further highlighted critical gaps related to processing infrastructure, packaging and branding, enterprise management, access to finance, market linkages, and compliance with regulatory requirements. Women were found to play significant roles in processing and marketing activities, particularly within the cassava value chain in Ebonyi State and rice processing activities in Jigawa State.

To address these identified gaps, ActionAid Nigeria seeks to engage a consultant to support the implementation of value addition interventions through capacity building, cooperative strengthening, processing equipment operationalization, business development support, market linkage facilitation, and engagement with relevant regulatory and enterprise development institutions.

The consultancy shall focus primarily on the following value chains identified through the needs assessment:

Jigawa State:

• Rice
• Groundnut

Ebonyi State:

• Cassava
• Yam

Secondary value chains may be considered where opportunities exist, including Wheat and Cowpea in Jigawa State and Maize in Ebonyi State.

Rationale

The needs assessment revealed that while farmers and cooperatives already engage in varying levels of value addition activities, these efforts remain largely informal, labour-intensive, and constrained by limited access to processing equipment, finance, technical skills, and structured markets.

In Jigawa State, rice emerged as the most commercially viable value chain, followed by groundnut, with farmers identifying rice milling and grinding equipment as critical requirements for improving productivity and profitability. In Ebonyi State, women farmers prioritized cassava and yam value chains due to their significant role in household income generation and the existing opportunities for processing into products such as garri, fufu, yam flour, and pounded yam flour.

The assessment also highlighted weak cooperative business systems, low awareness of regulatory standards, inadequate product branding and packaging, and limited access to buyers and off-takers. These constraints significantly reduce farmers' ability to participate competitively in higher-value markets.

This consultancy therefore seeks to support the transition from primary production to value-added agribusiness through a cooperative-led approach that combines skills development, equipment utilization, enterprise strengthening, market access, and regulatory compliance.

Objectives

The overall objective of the consultancy is to strengthen agroecology value chains through cooperative-led value addition, enterprise development, and market access for smallholder women farmers in Jigawa and Ebonyi States.

Specific objectives include:

• Build the capacity of SHWFs and cooperatives on value addition, processing, packaging, branding, business management, and marketing.
• Strengthen cooperative systems and support the sustainable management and utilization of processing equipment.
• Facilitate engagement with NAFDAC, SON, SMEDAN, financial institutions, and other relevant actors to support enterprise formalization and growth.
• Develop market linkages, aggregation systems, and buyer relationships for value-added products.

Methodology

The consultancy will adopt a practical and participatory implementation approach involving hands-on training, cooperative mentoring, equipment operationalization support, stakeholder engagement, business coaching, and market facilitation.

The methodology will include:

• Stakeholder engagement with cooperatives, private sector actors, financial institutions, NAFDAC, SON, and SMEDAN. 
• Practical demonstration-based training on processing, value addition, packaging, branding, food safety, business management, and marketing. 
• Technical support for the operationalization and management of processing equipment provided to beneficiary cooperatives. 
• Development of cooperative governance and business management systems to ensure sustainability of processing enterprises. 
• Facilitation of buyer-seller engagements and market linkage platforms. 
• Documentation of lessons learned and good practices.
• Market Analysis to Analyse demand trends, pricing structures, value chain actors, and potential off takers to inform intervention design
• Stakeholder Engagement: Engage cooperatives, farmer groups, private sector actors, and regulatory agencies (NAFDAC, SON, SMEDAN)
• Capacity Building and Training: Facilitate hands-on, practical training sessions for farmers and cooperatives on value addition, processing techniques, food safety, branding, and packaging
• Cooperative Strengthening: Support the structuring and governance of cooperatives/existing cooperatives to manage processing equipment and collective marketing

Scope of Work

The consultant will undertake the following tasks:

1. Develop training modules and facilitate practical training on Rice value addition and processing, Groundnut value addition and processing, Cassava value addition and processing, Yam value addition and processing, Packaging and branding, Food safety and quality standards, Enterprise development, financial literacy and Cooperative business management
2. Provide technical guidance on the selection, installation, operation, and maintenance of processing equipment.
3. Perform a comprehensive market analysis to identify demand, pricing, and potential bulk buyers
4. Develop a value chain development plan for each state
5. Support beneficiary cooperatives to establish governance structures and equipment management systems.
6. Facilitate the organization and strengthening of cooperatives for ownership and sustainability of processing interventions
7. Develop sustainability and cost-recovery mechanisms for equipment management.
8. Facilitate engagement with NAFDAC, SON, SMEDAN, and other relevant institutions to support product registration, certification, quality assurance, enterprise formalization, and business development.
9. Collaborate with SMEDAN and other relevant institutions to support enterprise development
10. Facilitate linkages with financial institutions, buyers, aggregators, and off-takers, including the development of aggregation systems and bulk-buying arrangements for value-added products.
11. Document lessons learned, best practices, and success stories.

Contract Period

The consultancy will last for a period of 2 months, covering training delivery, cooperative strengthening, equipment operationalization support, regulatory engagement, market linkage facilitation, and reporting.

Required profile for consultant:

The consultant (she/he) to be recruited should have the following qualifications and experience:

• Advanced degree in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, Rural Development, or related fields
• Proven experience in agricultural value chain development, agro-processing, and market systems
• Strong experience in training and capacity building for farmer groups and cooperatives
• Demonstrated experience in conducting market analysis and facilitating market linkages
• Experience working with regulatory agencies such as NAFDAC, SON, and enterprise support institutions like SMEDAN
• Strong understanding of agroecology and sustainable agriculture systems
• Excellent facilitation, communication, and report writing skills
• Ability to speak and communicate effectively in Hausa (mandatory requirement)
• Experience working in Northern Nigeria and/or Ebonyi State will be an added advantage
• Demonstrated experience in agro-processing equipment management, cooperative enterprise development, and agribusiness incubation.
• Experience supporting NAFDAC registration processes, SON quality standards, and market linkage facilitation will be a strong advantage.
• Evidence of similar assignments conducted in Nigeria or West Africa (to be provided/attached in the expression of interest).

Reporting Lines

The consultant will report to the Food Systems Specialist, ActionAid Nigeria, who will confirm satisfactory completion of the assignment before final payment.

Ownership of Output

Outputs of the work done as stipulated in the call expression of interest belongs to ActionAid Nigeria

Submission of expression of interest

Please send your expression of interest (detailing your approach to the assignment), financial budget and profile/CV in one Microsoft Word document to: procurement.nigeria@actionaid.org on or before 25th of June 2026. Females are advised to apply.

Applications should be titled:

(Name ……) Consultancy – Agroecology Value Chain Development and Value Addition (Jigawa & Ebonyi)

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.