Policy LINK - National Food Safety Policy Consultant

ABOUT DAI

DAI works at the cutting edge of international development, combining technical excellence, professional project management, and exceptional customer service to solve our clients’ most complex problems.

Since 1970, DAI has worked in 150 developing and transition countries, providing comprehensive development solutions in areas including crisis mitigation and stability operations, democratic governance and public sector management, agriculture and agribusiness, private sector development and financial services, economics and trade, HIV/AIDS, avian influenza control, water and natural resources management, and energy and climate change. Clients include international development agencies, international lending institutions, private corporations and philanthropies, and host-country governments.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

The five-year (2019 – 2024) Feed the Future Policy Leadership, Interactions, Networks and Knowledge (Policy LINK) project will strengthen the capacity of local actors and institutions to lead and manage the agricultural transformation process and contribute effectively and collectively to improved, broad-based food security policy outcomes.

Specifically, the program aims to strengthen food security policy systems by investing in and reinforcing productive human and social capital and developing strategic partnerships that help bring these innovations and capacity investments to scale in order to achieve a critical mass of local actors with the ability and opportunity to effect positive policy change through collective action.

Policy LINK’s general approach is grounded in facilitative leadership and collaborative governance, which emphasize engaging stakeholders from civil society and public and private sectors in consensus-oriented decision making, collaborative problem solving, and adaptive learning.

POLICY LINK IN BANGLADESH

DAI Policy LINK will implement a five-year USAID Feed the Future Bangladesh Agricultural Policy Activity (the Activity) with the goal of “strengthening the capacities of Bangladesh’s key agricultural actors and institutions, improving the policy environment and cultivating the policy-making processes that will enable inclusive and sustainable agriculture-led economic growth, strengthen resilience among people and systems, and create a well-nourished population, especially women and children”.

Launched in fall 2020, the Activity is focused on addressing the following interrelated objectives:

1. Enhance Food Security Leadership and Management Capabilities;
2. Strengthened Communication, Coordination, and Cooperation for More Effective Policy Implementation;
3. Increased Influence of Local Actors and Communities to Affect Food Security Policy and Governance Decisions; and
4. Increase Excellence and Collaboration in Participatory Policy Learning and Knowledge Sharing Practices.

The Activity builds on 10 years of policy formulation, analysis, and national level dialogue implemented by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). It will strengthen capacity and participation of a more diverse set of agricultural stakeholders and institutions in Bangladesh, contributing to improved governance, greater private sector engagement, trade and competitiveness, and market system linkages, consistent with the Indo-Pacific Vision (IPV).

The Activity will employ a collaborative governance approach to leverage the resources of Bangladesh’s committed public and private institutions as they seek to address both development challenges and ongoing crises. Using tested tools and approaches, the Activity will build a shared understanding and commitment among stakeholders as a foundation for collaborative action. To implement this collaborative governance approach, the Activity will also apply a facilitative leadership approach in which the facilitator—the Bangladesh Agricultural Policy Activity team—helps stakeholders identify and work toward a common purpose, ensures all partners contribute to and have ownership of the activity, and develops and maintains open lines of communications. Specifically, the Activity will identify and strengthen the capacity of a diverse set of key agriculture actors and institutions in the policy and regulatory processes around four key pillar areas, namely the seed sector, food safety, social safety net system, and nutrition. Inclusion of a more diverse set of agricultural stakeholders will not only improve the efficacy of the entire policy process, but also strengthen stakeholder investment.

The Agricultural Policy Activity will establish a main office in Dhaka and four regional offices in the USAID Feed the Future Zone of Influence (ZOI) and Zone of Resilience (ZOR). This operating model will maximize engagement with a diverse set of key agricultural stakeholders and institutions at the national, regional, and community levels.

ACTIVITY BACKGROUND

As Bangladesh becomes increasingly more food secure, the policy emphasis has changed from quantity to quality of food. Concerns about food safety and demands for increased food safety requirements are often discussed in the press and are sometimes overblown.1 Journalists could benefit from more training about where food comes from, how inputs are used and what makes food safe or unsafe. Worry about food safety is especially prevalent among educated, urban consumers. Food safety may not be as bad as widely believed by consumers and the press, but a general lack of enforcement or consistency fosters an environment of mistrust. Lack of trust in food safety may have substantial economic effects, by making Bangladeshis less willing to spend money on local food, less trusting of local brands and more oriented towards imported products. Bangladesh is seriously hampered in its ability to export food products because of its inability to deal with food safety issues in ways that satisfy the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) demands of foreign markets. SPS measures include all relevant laws, decrees, regulations, requirements and procedures including, inter alia, end product criteria; processes and production methods; testing, inspection, certification and approval procedures; quarantine treatments including relevant requirements associated with the transport of animals or plants, or with the materials necessary for their survival during transport; provisions on relevant statistical methods, sampling procedures and methods of risk assessment; and packaging and labelling requirements directly related to food safety. There is virtually no traceability of products. Too few laboratories are recognized internationally as credible sources of safety certifications.

A broad ranging Food Safety Act passed in 2013 led to the creation of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) under the Ministry of Food. The BFSA was granted oversight powers over almost every aspect of food safety – from farm to fork so as to bring order to the regulatory system. In theory, the BFSA enjoys remarkably strong delegated power, which could be used to ensure consistently safe food nationwide. In reality, the BFSA has until very recently operatedwith little funding and only a handful of temporary employees.

The private sector could view the formation of the BFSA more positively if it had more of a role in its governance, or if the Food Safety Act enabled BFSA to conduct regulatory impact assessments (RIA) on the existing stock of food safety rules, and on new ones that have been proposed. There is a largely untapped potential for private sector engagement in food safety in terms of operating food safety laboratories, building capacity, accreditation services, or similar functions which could complement and strengthen public food safety efforts. Unfortunately, the Food Safety Act provides very limited opportunities for private sector engagement in its committee oversight structure, and almost none for farmers or small businesses.

POSITION OBJECTIVE

The objective of the consultancy is to identify the national food safety policy gaps and issues, prioritization and provide recommendations address the gaps.

POSITION TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Desk review of the policies, rules, regulations, acts, laws and action plans related to national food safety policy of Bangladesh and relevant countries, review of analytical and research reports, examine relevant literature, journals and papers report based on the desk review.
2. Facilitate workshop with different stakeholders related to food safety sector to identify the policy gaps and issues, prioritize and accumulate recommendations at national level (1workshop) and regional level (4 workshop) at Barishal, Cox’s Bazar, Jashore and Khulna. Policy LINK will ensure all logistics and the participants of the workshops.
3. Facilitate 4 workshops with community leaders to identify the food safety policy gaps and issues, practice level challenge, prioritize and accumulate recommendations at Barishal, Cox’s Bazar, Jashore and Khulna. Policy LINK will ensure all logistics and the participants of the workshops.
4. Conduct one-on-one (KII) interviews with food safety policy related actors (individuals, actors, private sectors, policy makers, resource persons etc.) at national level-3 KII, and regional level-12 KII.
5. Prepare draft report based on the 5 workshops, one on one discussion (KII).
6. Prepare a power point presentation based on the workshops and KIIs findings for subsequent conducting 4 validation workshops at regional level.
7. Conduct up to 4 validation workshops at regional level (Barishal, Cox’s Bazar, Jashore and Khulna)
8. Support Policy LINK Bangladesh team to increase participants from government, academia at national and regional workshops.
9. Prepare final draft report and share with Policy LINK Bangladesh team, incorporate the recommendations and submit the final report.

ANTICIPATED TIMELINE

This consulting assignment is planned for a total of 35 working days spread over a period of performance from 1st January to 31st March 2022. Below is a proposed schedule for this assignment:

DELIVERABLES

1. A report based on desk review
2. Report of one national workshop and four regional workshops with different stakeholder
3. Report of four community consultation workshops
4. Report on one-on-one discussion (KII) and four validation workshops
5. Final report focusing on national food safety policy gaps and issues, prioritizations and recommendations in a standard agreed format

NOTE: Consultants must seek and receive prior approval from the Policy LINK team (supervisor) before sharing any written information with USAID and other partners.

REPORTING (POSITION SUPERVISOR)

The consultant will work under direct supervision of the Deputy Country Lead, Policy LINK who will provide the overall supervision of this assignment.
In ensuring the quality of the work is undertaken, the consultant will continuously consult with the Policy LINK team to agree on expectations, scope of the work, and an updated work plan based on the activity goals and approach. A debrief meeting will be held after the activity to discuss any further issues which require further follow-up and reporting. The proposed assignment schedule of the consultant could be revised as necessary as consultation with the Policy LINK team.

MINIMUM POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

1. Advanced degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in food safety discipline preferably with education background in food science, food technology, food processing and nutrition as well as related sector from a reputable university.
2. Demonstrated knowledge and minimum of 15 years’ experience in the food safety sector. The consultant must have solid knowledge in facilitating workshops, KII, one-on-one discussion, presentation and preparing analytical reports.
3. A good understanding of the local institutional landscape – it will be a significant advantage if the consultant has a wide network within relevant wide range of food safety sector stakeholders.
4. Excellent interpersonal skills and appropriate mind-set to work with stakeholders, including community leaders, women, youth and marginalized groups.
5. Excellent skills in report writing with accurate English language.
6. Experience of coordinating with officials from different government departments, institutions and private sector.
7. Demonstrated ability to work in teams and deliver tasks within set deadlines.
8. The consultant should have VAT and TAX registrations along with trade license (if any).

The application will close on 23rd January 2022. The email for submission is: LINKBangladeshRecruitment@dai.com.