Recruitment: Survey experts and GIS experts

TERMS OF REFERENCE

SUSTAINABLE COFFEE DEVELOPMENT IN NORTHWEST REGION

THE CASE STUDY IN THUAN CHAU DISTRICT - SON LA PROVINCE

1        Background and rationale

Over the world, coffee is the most traded commodity and is the significant source of income for many people. Sixty countries around the globe are producing coffee and it is a billion-dollar industry in many coffee-producing countries, mostly developing countries (Ho 2018). There are four major coffee-producing countries globally, accounting 70% of total global coffee. Brazil is the world’s leading coffee producer followed by Vietnam; Columbia and Indonesia; and Ethiopia, a number of Central American countries, Mexico and India (ICO 2017).

As the second largest coffee-producing country and the world’s largest Robusta producer, Vietnam exports large amounts of coffee to the European and American markets. In the European market, coffee in Vietnam makes up 22% of market share, just behind Brazil (29%) while in the American market, it accounts for 15% of market share, after Brazil (29%) and Colombia (22%). The revenue of export coffee was 3% of the Gross Domestic Product of Vietnam, and 2.6 people make a living by producing coffee (Giang and Sarker 2018). Roughly more than half million jobs have been created by the coffee industry and thousands of people are making coffee as their main livelihood.

Due to its critically important role, coffee production in Vietnam has received special attention from government, enterprises, and farmers. In 1908 Vietnam only had 22.5 thousand hectares of coffee, mostly in the Central Highland. Up to now, coffee area has been expanded to 653,2 thousand hectare (GSO 2021), not only in provinces belonging to the Central Highland but also in northwest provinces like Son La, Dien Bien. With a rapid expansion of coffee plantations, there is a great concern about how to develop coffee sustainably while maintaining forest landscape- a very unique and diverse tropical forest ecosystem in Vietnam. In addition, at COP26’s in Glasgow (11/2021), the Prime Minister has committed that from now to 2050 Vietnam will be a zero-emission country. In order to contribute to this goal, controlling forest loss and forest degradation has been set by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in which limiting agricultural production causing forest loss is a key measure. Even though some studies have examined sustainable coffee development in Vietnam but mainly in the Central highland, very few studies have been conducted in the Northwest region.

Thuan Chau district, Son La province has been selected for conducting this study because Thuan Chau is one of the biggest coffee- plantation districts in Son La province, coffee area increases from 3.116 hectares in 2015 to 3.880 hectares in 2019. The characteristics of geology, land, and cultivated systems in Thuan Chau district can represent the general characteristics of coffee farming of Son La province. Lastly, there is a diversity of ethnic minorities living here and most of them are extremely vulnerable to stresses and shocks.

2        Specific objectives

The study has three specific objectives

- To examine coffee development in the correlation with land use change and forest.

- To identify the gaps in financial systems as well as the way to make small farmers more accessible to finance for their sustainable investment.

- To propose solutions that contribute to sustainable coffee development, protecting forest, conserving biodiversity and habitat, and restoring landscape.

3        Scope of the assignment

- To identify the correlation between coffee expansion and land use change;

- To better understand about current coffee system and land coffee allocation, and the main drivers of coffee expansion;

- To identify the actors along coffee chain and weakness in the chain;

- To find potential coffee systems show more resilience and improve income for coffee growers;

- To map credit institutions, intermediary associations and available credit solutions;

- To identify potential gaps in available credit products and financing needs for sustainable coffee cultivation;

- To obtain solutions tailored to coffee farmers’ needs to practice sustainable coffee farming practices;

- To make recommendations for effectively controlling deforestation caused by coffee expansion and suggest financial models that are accessible to the poor and ethnic minorities.

4        Key deliverables

- Maps show the correlation between land use change and coffee expansion through two periods from 200-2010 and 2010 to 2022. Moreover, it also presents the possible extreme effects of these areas on the environmental issues, such as soil degradation, water storage, biodiversity.

- One report details a variety of drivers of coffee expansion in northwest regions, coffee value chain and the current involvement of financial institutions in supporting coffee development. In addition, figure out potential coffee systems that are environmentally friendly while improving income, contributing to controlling deforestation in the northwest region as well.

- One policy brief summarises main findings and policy implication as well as recommendations on sustainable coffee development in the region for related stakeholders, including policy makers, enterprises, and coffee growers.

5        Approach

This study will simultaneously conduct interviews while making a map of coffee expansion. The team prepares survey tools to obtain information from a number of relevant stakeholders, consisting of small-holder coffee growers, local forest rangers, management officers, agricultural extension officers, coffee enterprises, and financial institutions. Moreover, focus group discussion is also a great way to get comprehensive information.

In terms of GIS, the study applies spatial analysis technologies, such as GIS, remote sensing image by Sentinel 2 over periods between 2000 and 2010, and 2010-2022. Msake a map of forest and forest variation with the scale of 1/50.000 in Son La province. In addition, the team also uses GIS technology to overlay maps for analysing forest changes and causes of it.

6        Organize the study

In order to carry out the study, a study team needs to be established, including two survey experts and three GIS experts. Each team will have a team-leader, a deputy, and three members.

7        Requirement on expertise and experience of the study team

Team-leader

• Have at least 7 years’ experience on natural resource management under development projects;
• Have a master degree in environmental management, applied social and economic sciences, social development, environmental sciences or in a related discipline;
• Ability to work well with Government officials and community personnel;
• Ability to work in a team, develop synergies and establish effective working relations with various stakeholders;
• Strong and demonstrated capacity for organisation, management with excellent reporting and coordination skills, and timely delivery of the result
• Excellent command in English language and Vietnamese (both spoken and written)
• Have a good knowledge of coffee development, value chain analysis, coffee policies and forest management regulations.

Deputy team-leader

• Have a university degree in GIS, forestry management or in a related discipline;
• Have a good knowledge of land and forest management regulations, and policies of coffee development;
• Have at least 5 years’ experience on making different types of maps, especially land use change map;
• Ability to work in a team, develop synergies and establish effective working relations with various stakeholders;
• Strong and demonstrated capacity for organisation, management with excellent reporting and coordination skills, and timely delivery of the result
• Excellent command in English language and Vietnamese (both spoken and written)

Team members

• Have a university degree in remote sensing (GIS members) or social development (Survey members) or in a related discipline.
• At least 5 year working in the field of assessment or research study
• Have good knowledge of cost-benefit analysis, coffee plantation and business,
• Ability to work in a team and write reports

Interested consultants, please kindly send your curriculum vitae to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before June 25, 2022.