Organization: World Resources Institute

Project: Food Loss and Waste: 10x20kx30 Initiative

Location: Rwanda

The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global non-profit research organization established in 1982. The organization has been working in Africa for more than 30 years, supporting local partners and African governments to advance forest protection, landscape restoration and sustainable cities. Our vision for Africa is an inclusive transformation so that Africa’s people and landscapes flourish. WRI Africa generates actionable knowledge across three strategic pillars: Vital Landscapes, Thriving and Resilient Cities, and Institutional and Economic Transformation. The goal of the Vital Landscapes pillar is to revitalize and protect landscapes for people and the planet working in four programmatic areas: Food, Restoration, Water and Forests. WRI’s Strategy aims to catalyse transformation of African food systems, so that the way we produce, distribute and consume food is done in a manner that protects the environment and guarantees human health and well-being.

An estimated one-third of food is lost or wasted between the farm and fork. This loss and waste have huge economic, social, and environmental consequences. It deprives farmers of much-needed income, drains households of hard-earned wages and contributes to food insecurity. It is estimated that food loss and waste consume one-quarter of all water used by agriculture, requires a land area the size of China to be grown (but then not eaten), and annually emits 10-12% of global greenhouse gases—fueling climate change. Reducing food losses and waste is therefore critical than at any time in recent history.

It is in this context that WRI, is implementing the 10x20kx30 – an initiative that is working with 10 major farmgate-facing agriculture companies, each engaging 20,000 (20k) of their supplying farmers to follow the “Target-Measure-Act” approach to reduce on-farm and near-farm (harvesting, transportation and storage) food losses by 50% by 2030. The “Target-Measure-Act” approach has been proven to work because (1) targets set ambition, and ambition motivates action, (2) what gets measured, gets managed, and (3) what ultimately matters is action. WRI believes that farmgate-facing agribusinesses (companies which source raw materials from smallholder farmers) are well positioned to engage farmers via outgrower programs that deliver farmer training, capacity-building, finance, and access to technology (e.g., processing, storage) and markets to reduce FLW

WRI Africa is seeking a highly qualified expert consultant to support companies/businesses to implement the Target-Measure-Act approach. In particular, the consultant will support companies/businesses to measure their food loss in their priority value chains with the aim of creating baselines. The consultant will be required to train company staff on how to conduct farm loss assessment using a direct measurement approach and provide backstopping to the process to ensure accurate data is collected. Following the baselining, the consultant will support companies to identify and prioritize solutions to address the identified causes and drivers of food loss and waste in the priority value chain. The qualified candidate will have a strong interest in food systems transformation, and a grasp of the big picture, and the systemic implications of food loss and waste on people’s social and economic conditions as well as the environment. The person must demonstrate deep understanding of the principles underpinning effective FLW assessment, and the emerging issues around FLW measurement, prevention and reduction in Africa. The candidate is expected to be proactive and able to deliver autonomously, taking ownership of the delivery of the work program.

WRI is already engaging three companies in Rwanda who are interested in reducing food losses and waste along their supply chain. These companies operate within the cassava, fruits, and vegetables (chilli) value chains.

The consultant will work closely with the WRI-Africa team to execute the following tasks over the consultancy period:

As part of the company scoping process, a farm-level assessment will be conducted to examine agricultural practices related to production, harvesting, and transportation, focusing on how these impact losses observed at the processing company for chilli and cassava value chains.

The consultant is expected to work in collaboration with WRI-Africa team on the following deliverables on dates that will be agreed on during the inception meeting.

This assignment is scheduled to take place between February and July 2025 for a duration of 45 direct engagement days spread across six (6) months.

Expression of Interest should contain:

We invite qualified persons to submit their Expressions of Interest by January 17, 2025 to [email protected] for the attention of Eric Ruzigamanzi, with cc to [email protected] for the attention of Christopher Mutungi, Senior Research Associate-Food Program at WRI-Africa; beryl.ajwang @wri.org for the attention of Beryl Ajwang, Food Loss and Waste Associate-Food Program at WRI Africa; and [email protected] for the attention of Tina Nyunga, Project Specialist-Food program at WRI-Africa.