CONSULTANT, CAPACITY STRENGTHENING

CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF A CONSULTANT TO CONDUCT THE CAPACITY STRENGTHENING OF 02 COCOA PRODUCERS’ COOPERATIVES AND 01 NTFP COLLECTORS’ COOPERATIVE IN YOKADOUMA AREA IN THE EAST CAMEROON REGION. TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR)Contracting Authority: WWF CamerounProject: RESPONSEContract duration: 120 days (ideally between February 15th and September 15th) Contract type: Service provisionLocation: Yokadouma municipality (around Ngatto village)Scope: 3 cooperatives (2 cocoa cooperatives and 1 NTFP cooperative) Confidentiality: The full information contained in the terms of reference described herein is strictly confidential and must not be disclosed outside your organization.1. CONTEXT AND JUSTIFICATIONGrowing demand for cocoa products, favourable agro-climatic conditions in the region, and declining productivity in West Africa are driving the expansion of cocoa farming in the Congo Basin. While this expansion may create new income streams for LP & Ips. It can also lead to accelerated biodiversity loss. The search for new income sources is driving producers to convert forests to expand their farms. This conversion of forest ecosystems is exacerbated by climate change, which affects the capacity of forests to provide ecosystem products and services, ultimately impacting the livelihoods and well-being of local communities and threatening the survival of forest wildlife. Furthermore, volatile cocoa market prices, a lack of infrastructure, technical knowledge, and management capacity can keep producers in poverty despite the expansion of their farms, which comes at the expense of forests.To prevent the expansion of this deforestation front and strengthen the region's resilience to climate change, it is crucial to rehabilitate cocoa farms into more diversified and higher-quality farming systems; to access economically responsible markets that comply with global regulations such as EUDR and CSDDD; and to strengthen the voice and rights of local and community-based producers (LBPs) to ensure equitable market access.It is in this context that the RESPONSE project was developed by WWF Cameroon. One of its key components is improving the living conditions of local populations and indigenous peoples (IPs).Improving the living conditions of the target populations is envisioned in this project through: (i) support and capacity building for two (2) cocoa producer cooperatives, and (ii) strengthening the technical and deployment capacities of one non-timber forest product (NTFP) cooperative, as well as facilitating access for indigenous people (IPs) and women to collect NTFP in concessions companies.However, these cooperatives are generally very weak structurally and poorly organized, which significantly limits their optimal functioning and financial viability. Therefore, the project aims to strengthen their technical, organizational, and institutional capacities.Based on the selection previously made by the project team on the basis of knowledge of the Yokadouma environment, according to the past existence of other WWF projects such as MoMo4C, the targeted cooperatives whose potential is recognized and whose consent is obtained, the firm selected to conduct this process will have the following responsibility based on the experience conducted and capitalized at MINTOM with the SOCOCAM cooperative.11. DETAILS OF THE MISSIONThe recruited structure will be mainly in charge of:I. DIAGNOSTIC OF THE COOPERATIVESConcerning technical aspects:i. Are the mission and objectives clear and precise?ii. Identify and analyze its responsibilities towards its members iii. Regarding the replacement of young plants in existing fieldsb. In terms of the condu