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TERMS OF REFERENCE

Agrarian Reform Community Connectivity
And Economic Support Services (ARCCESS) Project

ORGANIZATIONAL AND ENTERPRISE NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND NADA ASSESSMENT


I. THE ARCCESS PROJECT


The ARCCESS Project is a support service delivery mechanism of the Department of
Agrarian Reform created to contribute to the overall goal of rural poverty reduction
particularly in agrarian reform areas. It specifically aimed at improving the farm and off-
farm incomes of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) through their organizations. To
achieve this, ARCCESS has two major components: first, the provision of professional
service providers to coach ARB organizations on different aspects of agricultural
enterprise development and second, the provision of common service facilities or farm
implements, equipment, and machineries to ARB organizations.

The project organizes the production, post-harvest, processing, logistics, and marketing
activities of ARB organizations (ARBOs), provides common service facilities, and
incubates the agri-enterprise in order to improve farm yields, reduce inefficiencies, and
achieve production volume. With economies and other benefits of scale, the program
will result in enhanced net incomes.

ARCCESS prioritizes organizationally-mature ARB organizations (ARBOs) that will serve as
hub or center of support services not only for their own needs but those of other ARBOs
and ARBS in the community as well. The designation of mature ARBOs as hubs increases
the chances of the programs success. In the process, the hub will cover other ARBOs
located in adjacent areas, in various stages of organizational development, as well as
individual ARBs and non-ARBs.

ARCCESS proposals, prepared by the DAR Provincial Offices, emanate from the
articulated production, post-harvest and processing needs of the ARBOs. The provision
of professional services and CSF depend on the requirements of the ARBO, as well as
their readiness to consolidate their activities and receive common service facilities. Over-
all, the project is tailor-fitted to the expressed need of each participating ARBO, and is
therefore expected to eschew the usual negative consequences of employing a one-
size-fits-all project mechanism.

There are five (5) areas of interventions under ARCCESS, namely: (1) provision of
professional services; (2) provision of common service facilities (CSF); (3) access to credit;
(4) provision of rural infrastructure through FAPs and locally-funded FMRs; and, (5) land
tenure improvement, particularly stability of land tenure lands already awarded. The LTI
component of the project includes subdividing collective CLOAs based on agri-


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enterprise potentials, transfer action of individual CLOAs, and other land tenure-related
concerns.

Professional services (PSPs) include market-oriented agri-technology and agri-extension
(AES), business development services (BDS), training and deployment of community-
based enterprise organizers (CBEO), progress and process monitoring (PPM) and impact
assessment (IA).

Every sub-project is designed to be provided with agri-technology/agri-extension and
business development services for a period of two (2) years or more depending on the
needs of ARBOs and the agri-market opportunities in the area.

The provision of CSF shall vary according to the cost effectiveness and the necessity
geared towards farm management efficiency and productivity. Some of the CSF
requirements shall be ARBOs equity or could be sourced out thru financing, from LGUs or
other institutions.

For sub-projects to be funded in CY 2013 onwards, the following CSF cannot be
considered under ARCCESS:

Rice mill
Refrigerated vans
Passenger or hauling trucks
Solar drying facility
Multi-purpose Pavement
Draft animals
Small value implements such as moisture meter, knapsack sprayer, grass cutter,
pruning shear weighing scale, weaving handloom, cooking utensils, bolos and
knives, wheel borrow, rake, hole digger, plow shear, and other small item farm
implements.

II. THE OE-NADA

Proposals for sub-projects were developed by the DAR Provincial Offices in consultation
with the ARBOs and other stakeholders like local government units, legislators and NGOs.
The DAR Regional Offices appraise these proposals and endorse the same to the DAR
Support Services Office through the National ARCCESS Project Coordination Office
(NAPCO) for approval. The NAPCO then contracts out service providers to conduct
third-party assessment on the proposed sub-project. The assessment aims to ensure that
a critical number of ARBs would benefit the project, the lead ARBOs have the capacity
to manage the enterprise, and the proposed project is feasible.

The Organizational and Enterprise Needs Assessment and Design Assessment (OE-NADA)
will be the basis of the succeeding interventions that shall be extended to the ARBO
through commissioned professional service providers. The DAR will engage professional
service providers (PSPs) from state universities and colleges (SUCs), civil society


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organizations (CSOs), national government agencies, and private institutions to enhance
the capacity of ARBOs on agri-extension and agri-enterprise development. The provision
of professional services aim to enhance the capacity of ARBOs on increasing farm yield
and productivity, business management and to incubate their agri-enterprises until such
time that these ARBOs can effectively and sustainably manage their respective agri-
enterprises.

A. Objectives:

The conduct of OE-NADA is aimed at assessing the feasibility of the sub-project proposal
submitted by the DARPO.

Specifically, the OE-NADA aims to assess the following areas:

1. Organizational capacity of lead ARBOs and other ARBOs in terms of human
resource; policy, systems and procedure; governance, financial/fiscal resource,
and existing enterprise/s operations, among others;
2. Access to credit and market
3. Lead ARBOs enterprise capacities to implement the sub-project
4. Crop and crop production suitability; and,
5. Suitability of the identified intervention requirements: business development;
technology and extension; common service facilities; and other development
opportunities.


B. Expected Outputs:

The contracted professional service provider shall submit to respective DAR Provincial
Offices the results of their assessment study with recommendations in hard and
electronic copies.

C. Assessment Processes and Reportorial Requirements

The contracted professional service provider shall be guided with the following key
processes and requirements:

a. Methodology:

1. The organizational maturity assessment (OMA) tool of DAR shall be used to assess
the lead ARBOs and other ARBOs involved in the proposed sub-project.

2. SWOT, force field analysis, problem and solution tree, logical framework analysis
and theory change approach are among the acceptable tools in assessing the
feasibility of the design proposal.




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b. Assessment Content:

1. Need Assessment

1.1 Farm Management and Productivity

a. Crop Suitability

The discussion will include the attributes of land vis--vis crop/s requirements,
assessments in climatic suitability, edaphic suitability
1
, and soil/ slope erosion
hazard (if applicable)

b. Farming system and practices

The discussion will include the profile of the major crops planted in the proposed
ARRCESS site to include the area covered (in hectares); average farm size by
farming household; average yield, existing farming methods and technology
adopted; existing farm equipment and machinery.

The discussion will include the appropriateness of the farming system and
practices considering the crops planted and its potential.

c. Rural infrastructure affecting sub-project implementation (FMR, irrigation
requirements, etc.)

The discussion will include the condition of existing rural infrastructure support for
livelihood and agriculture productivity in the area.

d. Land tenure-related concerns

This section will include discussions on the nature of the farmer-beneficiaries land
tenure (LH/ EP/ CLOA), physical occupation of the land, payment of regular land
amortizations and taxes, and other emerging concerns that may affect the
implementation of the proposed sub-project. This information shall come from
the DARMO/DARPO

1.2. ARBOs Organizational capacities to manage their organizational affairs

The assessment will revolve around the ARBOs organizational mandate; its
structure, policy systems and procedure; core competency of leaders and
management; financial/fiscal resources; governance; and alliance building
initiatives



1
Adaphic suitability pertains to appropriateness of soil condition to crops. This includes details on the physical, and
chemical condition of the soil, water content, pH, texture, and nutrient availability



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1.3. ARBOs organizational capacities to manage enterprise

This includes the assessment of the operation and management of existing
business/enterprise/s of the ARBOs in terms of profitability, liquidity, and
sustainability; access to financing and market; existing financial obligations of the
ARBO; effect of these obligations in the establishment/ enhancement of the
enterprise; and creditworthiness

1.4. Assessment of the nature of professional services to be provided.

This involves the professional services that the ARBO needs in order to effectively
manage the proposed sub-project, and the required knowledge and skills in
carrying out the organizational needs of the ARBOs.

The discussion will also include the available agricultural technology and
extension services in the locality; and whether these services have been
accessed by the ARBOs, their members, and other farmers in the community and
the constraints in accessing these services.

1.5. Responsiveness of Proposed Common Service Facilities (CSF) to Needs

This involves an assessment of whether or not the identified CSF is/are:

crop-appropriate
suitable for the size of individual farms
can serve the total area covered by the proposed sub-project
feasible in terms of operating and maintenance costs

c. Design Assessment

Assessment of the viability of the sub-project design in terms of:

1. Quality and relevance of sub-project objectives and design
2. Potential for sustainability, expansion, replication, and scaling up
3. Community participation
4. Promotion of gender equality
5. Promotion of environmental sustainability

Assessment guide questions:

1. Quality and relevance of sub-project objectives and design

Are the proposed interventions, implementation structure and mechanisms
responsive to the needs of the ARBO/s, its members and other farmers? Do these
interventions address the immediate problem/s or agricultural development gaps
in the locality?


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Are identified interventions providing positive impact to the lives of the ARBs and
other farmers in the project site? Are the project objectives geared towards
improving the farm and off-farm incomes of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs)
and other farmers through their organizations?

2. Potential for sustainability, expansion, replication, and scaling up

Assess the proposed organizational and business structure. Will it sustain the
project benefit after DAR assistance? Are there mechanisms in place to sustain,
expand, replicate, and scale up the sub-project in terms of human resource,
financial resource, institutional or technical aspects?

3. Community participation

Assess the mechanism or strategy of mobilizing community participation in sub-
project implementation. What is the role of ARBOs, its members and non-ARBO
members in implementing the sub-project activities and sharing of benefits?
Assess the degree of their participation.

Does the sub-project elicit the support of local government units and/or national
government agencies? Describe the nature of their involvement in the sub-
project implementation.

What specific concerns in the local Municipal or Barangay development plan
does the sub-project respond to?

4. Promotion of gender equality

a. Describe the ratio of men and women involved in the sub-project
implementation.

b. Is the proposed sub-project providing equal opportunity, responsibility,
and benefit to both men and women?

c. Will the projected outcomes of the sub-project result to gender-related
changes such as access to and control of resources and benefits, division
of workloads and time-use, etc.

5. Promotion of environment sustainability

a. Are there identified environmental concerns in the implementation of the
sub-project design? In the event of negative effects in the environment,
are there proposed measures to address/mitigate the effect to
environment? Are the proposed measures appropriate and effective?



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b. Does the sub-project design consider engaging environment-related
activities? What are these activities? Assess the relevance and its
contribution to project impact;

c. Are production technology, equipment, and farm machinery climate
change adaptive/ resilient?

d. Duration of the Engagement and Mode of Payment

The OE-NADA shall be undertaken and completed within 30 working days upon the
issuance of Notice to Proceed. DARPOs shall ensure that all service providers have
discharged their obligations as agreed upon by both parties.

Payments to service providers shall be released in two tranches:

First Tranche - 60% of the contract amount, to be released upon issuance of
Notice to Proceed

Final payment 40% of the contract amount, to be released upon acceptance
of the final NADA report to be issued by concerned DAR Regional Director.

In the event that a service provider fails to complete the conduct of NADA due to force
majeure, (subject to the investigation of DAR field offices and SSO-NAPCO), the DARPO
shall pay the sum equivalent to the work they satisfactorily completed.

The DARPO reserves the right to file an administrative complaint against the concerned
service provider and its responsible officials in addition to any other available remedies,
in case of failure of the service provider/s to fulfill their obligations due to negligence,
gross misconduct and misrepresentation.

e. Report Format

The OE-NADA report shall adhere to the prescribed report format attached as Annex B.
The service provider shall submit hard copy and electronic copy of the reports to the
DARPO and DARRO. The DARPO thru the DARRO shall forward the consolidated findings
and recommendations together with the electronic copy to SSO-NAPCO.

As part of the report, the service provider has to submit a summary of recommended
professional services and common service facility as the results of the OE-NADA using the
suggested format below:

Annex C.1 Professional Services

Name of ARBOs Service Area Priority Rank




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Annex C.2 Common Service Facility (CSF)
Crop/s Type of CSF* Quantify
Technical
Specifications
Funding Source
DAR
Other
Sources
(pls. identify)





* To be supported by photo/s

f. Required Reports from the Contracted Professional Service Provider

The contracted service provider shall submit the following:

1. Draft OE-NADA Report
2. Final OE-NADA Report (in hard and electronic copies)
3. Summary of recommended professional services and common service facility
4. Photos of common service facility
5. Photo documentation as evidence that the OE-NADA has been conducted
6. Attendance sheet/s of the respondents/participants during interviews and
assessment sessions

The DARPO may require additional documents from contracted service provider to
support the processing of final payment in compliance to COA rules and regulations.

III. DAR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. The DARPO shall:

a. Procure the services of qualified SUC or NGO for the conduct of OE-NADA
and enter into a MOA using the attached suggested format (see Annex A).
b. Ensure that the SSO-NAPCO thru FPAO has sub-allotted the corresponding
budget cover as basis in releasing funds to service provider. Releases of
funds to service provider shall be done in two tranches;
c. Provide the professional service provider a copy of the ARCCESS sub-project
proposal as basis for their OE-NADA;
d. Supervise the over-all conduct of the OE-NADA to ensure that all aspects of
the assessment are covered based on the TOR and prescribed report format
(attached as Annex B);


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e. Require the service provider to submit the draft report within 15 working days
upon issuance of notice to proceed;
f. Review the initial output for refinement and advice the service providers any
comments or enhancement and require them to submit the final report within
five working days thereafter;
g. Review the completeness of the study not later than forty eight (48) hours
after receipt of the report from the service provider/s. The technical reviews
have be done in the presence of representatives from RSSD and DA-
Agriculture Technology Institute (DA-ATI); and,
h. Endorse the final report (in hard and electronic copy) to DARRO for
integration to their regional summary of professional services and common
service facility requirements.

2. The DARRO shall:

a. Send representative/s from RSSD to participate in the technical review of the
OE-NADA results to be scheduled by DARPOs. The CARPO RSSD shall ensure
that all DARPOs have conducted technical reviews prior to the release of final
payment to concerned service provider/s;
b. Review the results of the NADA duly endorsed by DARPOs and summarize the
recommended interventions, particularly on professional services and
common service facility;
c. Submit to SSO-NAPCO the regional summary of professional services and
common service facility requirements together with final reports in electronic
copy. The DARRO shall ensure that the identified CSFs have undergone
technical evaluation and with technical specifications and photos.

3. SSO-NAPCO shall:

a. Facilitate the release thru the FPAO the approved budget cover for the
conduct of OE-NADA to respective DARPOs ;
b. Integrate the NADA results submitted by DARROs and come up with a
national summary of professional services and CSF requirements for approval
of the Head of Procurement Entity (HoPE);

IV. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS


Documentary Requirements:

DTI business name registration or SEC registration certificate or SUC Charters
Valid and current Mayors permit/municipal license, if applicable;
Taxpayers Identification Number;
Statement of the prospective service provider of its previous existing and previous
engagement with DAR and that it has liquidated all their obligations from the
agency.


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Statement of the prospective service provider of all its ongoing and completed
government and private contracts for the past three years, if any. The statement
shall include, for each contract, the following:
o the name and location of the contract/project;
o date of the contract;
o type of consulting service;
o amount of contract;
o contract duration; and
o certificate of satisfactory completion issued by the client, in the case of a
completed contract.
the service providers statement:
o Of the kinds and number of its ownership and key staff, partners or
principal officers, as the case may be, as well as their respective
curriculum vitae; and
o On the prospective service providers technical competence, experience
and staff capabilities.
audited financial statements, stamped received by the BIR or its duly
accredited and authorized institutions, for the immediately preceding calendar
year, showing, among others, the service providers current assets and liabilities;
Sworn affidavit of the secretary of the service provider (for NGO/PO) that none of
its incorporators, organizers, directors or officers is an agent of or related by
consanguinity or affinity up to fourth civil degree to the official of the DARPO
authorized to process and/or approved proposal and release funds.