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ANIMAL BREEDING CONSULTANT

Request For Expressions of Interest

General Information
Country:   Afghanistan
City/Locality:   Kabul
Notice/Contract Number:   MAIL/WB/HLP/IC-2207
Publication Date:   Sep 3, 2010
Deadline:   Sep 18, 2010
Funding Agency:   World Bank
Buyer:   AF: Hort. & Livestock Project
Original Language:   English

Contact Information
Address:   Asif J. Rishi
Emergency Horticulture and Livestock Project
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Jamal Mina
Kabul
Afghanistan
Telephone:   +93-797-623-508
Email:   Click here

Assignments

 

Original Text

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Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL)
Emergency Horticulture and Livestock Project
(Grant Number ARTF-TF-091885)

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (REoI)
For
ANIMAL BREEDING CONSULTANT
(Reference # MAIL/WB/HLP/IC-2207(Re-advertised 2nd time)

Country: Afghanistan
Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL)
Type: Individual (International) Consultant
Grant #: TF-091885
Issue Date: August 29, 2010
Closing Date: September 20, 2010


The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has received a Grant from the International Development Association toward the cost of Emergency Horticulture and Livestock Project and intends to apply part of the proceeds of this Grant to cover eligible payments under the contract for hiring an international Animal Breeding Consultant to support the implementation of project.

The Project Director HLP, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock invites applications from suitably qualified professionals who are interested to work with the MAIL in the above said position.

The Consultant will be selected in accordance with Section V Selection of Individual Consultants procedures set out in the World Bank’s Guidelines: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PROJECTS/PROCUREMENT/0,,contentMDK:20060656~menuPK:93977~pagePK:84269~piPK:60001558~theSitePK:84266~isCURL:Y,00.html (current edition)..


Terms of Reference


1. Introduction.
Agriculture dominates the Afghan economy and society: the sector contributes an estimated 53% to the Afghan GDP. Agriculture also provides employment for 67% of the labor force. Nearly 85% of the Afghan population lives in rural areas. Agricultural performance is therefore pivotal for overall economic growth and poverty reduction and offers the only significant prospect for raising farmers’ incomes, contributing to food security, providing rural employment, and reducing the vulnerability of resource poor rural people. Development of the agriculture sector is a central pillar of the Government’s strategy for economic growth and poverty reduction.

Horticulture and Livestock Project (HLP) is the first phase of a long term program in the agricultural sector to support the MAIL’s Master Plan. The focus of the present phase of HLP is to stimulate and promote the marketable output of the two most important sub-sectors: horticulture and livestock. Objective of the extension phase would be of: for producer households to adopt improved practices to increase horticulture and livestock productivity and production in focus areas. Livestock component will continue to work in the three major livestock production sub-components: animal health, dairy development and semi-intensive poultry production. Present phase will be finished by December 31, 2011

2. Livestock sector.
Livestock plays an important role in the national economy of Afghanistan. Out of the 53% of GDP from agriculture sector; about half of it comes from livestock. This shows the importance of livestock in the economy of the country. Cattle, sheep, goats are the major livestock in the country. Poultry keeping is common through out the country. Livestock is the source of meat, milk, wool and cashmere. Animals also provide manure for crop production and most of the draft power. Mixed farming is practiced all over the country and livestock is raised in mixed small farms. So, crop/ horticulture and livestock are highly interdependent and integrated in the farming system.

Livestock, particularly sheep and goats, use vast areas of natural pasture and convert it into high value products like meat, milk, wool and cashmere. Livestock is also an important source of employment to the rural people. Despite the decrease in the number of animals in recent years mainly due to the security situation of the country and frequent droughts, the total value of all the livestock products is estimated to be about US$ 800 million per year (Agriculture Master Plan 2005).

Cattle are the main source of milk which produces 945, 000 metric tons (68.0%) of the total. Milk productions of native breed of cows are estimated to be 750 liters/ lactation. Milk production is seasonal with peak production in the spring which coincides with the main calving season and good supply of green forage.

4. Scope of the work.
The objective of this consultancy is to conduct an assessment of the cattle resource base, purebred exotics, purebred native breeds and crossbred cattle held in small numbers by individual households in different regions. The assessment will lead to a clear formulation of national breeding policy for dairy cattle development in Afghanistan. This study will come up with clear policy guidelines and activities in dairy cattle development and its implementation plan in Afghanistan. If recommendations for the breeding of native cattle can be made, the policy will provide the technical and legal basis for preserving the breeds and/or upgrading them for dairy of different level.
Consultant will work in overall guidance of HLP Livestock Component. Consultant also will work closely with Policy Department, Department of Livestock Production and Department of Animal Health of MAIL, and other relevant projects, NGOs, INGOs, Dairy Cooperatives and Livestock Farmer Groups. Consultant will make field visits to different parts of the country for acquiring information. Organize workshops /meetings with the participation of related institutions and organizations. At the end of 3 months of work, consultant will present an interim report. Based on the consultation and feed backs from relevant MAIL Departments, organizations and individuals, consultant will prepare a Draft Breeding Policy Document which will be submitted for approval to MAIL.
Specifically the consultant will:
• Conduct a preliminary survey of cattle holdings in a representative sample of households in different areas as to breed, age and sex, and to the extent possible create an indicative resource map showing the main locations of different cattle breeds/types in Afghanistan.
• Determine approximate existing performance parameters with respect to milk production per lactation day, lactation length, growth rates, age and weight at first calving, calving intervals, number of lactations in lifetime and other productive characters appropriate to dairy production, of the representative breeds and cattle types in Afghanistan.
• Using data from neighboring countries and Afghanistan if any, assess the probable levels of performance under improved conditions of such breeds as can be identified, and advise on the probable improvements in performance likely to be obtainable by crossbreeding them with the milk producing breeds available currently through AI under optimum and sub-optimum conditions.
• Evaluate the extent to which such characters are heritable and confer genetic advantage under a milk production breeding regime, particularly in respect of temperament, lactation performance, draft capability, disease resistance and survivability under (i) suboptimal smallholder conditions in Afghanistan and (ii) optimal conditions of management and feeding,
• Review the production and productivity of the existing breeds and breeding activities in the country.
• On the basis of the above, recommend as to the most suitable uses to which such cattle should be put, with emphasis on which breeds and combinations of breeds should be used for breeding purposes, bearing in mind the need to preserve the productive characters of native breeds where possible.
• On the basis of the study / assessment, recommend the blood level of exotic dairy breeds for a suboptimal and optimal management and feeding conditions in Afghanistan.
• Prepare a document for presentation to the Director of Livestock Production of MAIL providing (i) a cattle resource map of the country and (ii) recommendations for the breeds and breed combinations to be used for breeding using AI, including the optimum degree of crossbreeding to be attained for dairy production,
• Prepare a breeding plan, implementation plan of the breeding policy including human resource development, data recording system etc.
• Recommend the sources or the production and processing of semen of those breeds to be used for wide scale crossbreeding in Afghanistan.
Qualifications and experience
The consultant will be an animal breeder or livestock geneticist with at least Master Degree in animal breeding and 10 years of demonstrated experience in the evaluation and classification of native breeds for productive performance characters. It is highly desirable that he/she has the previous experience in preparation of breeding policy preferably in the developing countries.

Preparation of report.
Consultant will prepare a detailed work plan of his/her assignment within two weeks of the joining of the project. At the end of 4 months an interim report should be prepared and presented to MAIL. At the end of the assignment the consultant will prepare an acceptable breeding policy document, organize a workshop and finalize the breeding policy document.

Duty station
Kabul, with travel throughout Afghanistan as necessary.

Reporting Requirements:
The Consultant reports to the Project Director, Horticulture and Livestock Project, MAIL

Duration
6 months in 2 visits.

Other Requirements:

Proven oral and written communication skills, fluency in English and comprehensive computer skills.

Request for TOR:

Interested candidates can obtain copy of detailed terms of reference together with Qualifications requirements by writting e-mail to the following address:

Expressions of interest must be delivered to the address below or sent by e-mail to the address below no later than 12:00 Hours on September 18, 2010.

Address of Focal Person for Enquiries and Submission of EoIs:

Asif J. Rishi
Chief Procurement Specialist
Emergency Horticulture and Livestock Project
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock
Jamal Mina, Kabul, Afghanistan

Email: asif.rishi@gtz.de and CC to zahid.gtz@hotmail.com
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