CONSULTANT - CFRA Project BURUNDI

THE ORGANIZATION

The Alliance of Bioversity International (www.bioversityinternational.org) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) (www.ciat.cgiar.org) delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.

With novel partnerships, the Alliance generates evidence and mainstreams innovations to transform food systems and landscapes so that they sustain the planet, drive prosperity, and nourish people in a climate crisis.

The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future.

About the position

Background and purpose

Contouring the footprint of regenerative agriculture and agroecology in Africa (CFRA) is an IDRC supported project assessing policy, market and production readiness for scaling agroecology and regenerative agriculture in East and Southern Africa. Work Package 2 (WP2) examines market readiness through the demand, supply and accessibility of relevant foods. It considers dietary gaps, connections between production and consumption areas, institutional markets and opportunities for agroecological transitions.

Among the focus countries of the market system component, the project is seeking a consultant to support country level assessment, for Angola and Burundi, producing a comparable country evidence profile and contributing to the wider WP2 synthesis and evidence gaps for subsequent work.

The consultant will use the existing CFRA market systems review protocol and extraction template.

Objectives

• The overall objective is to map and synthesize evidence on market readiness for AE/RA relevant commodities in Burundi, in a format comparable with the other CFRA country reviews.
  
• Identify relevant agricultural commodities and food groups produced, traded, procured or consumed, explaining their relevance to agroecological transitions, healthy diets and local food systems.
  
• Describe production and supply dynamics, including practices, available volumes, seasonality, aggregation, storage, processing, quality and food safety, logistics and post-harvest losses.
  
• Assess competing and substitute supply, including food aid, imports and commercial or conventional production, and implications for prices and market opportunities.
  
• Assess demand across households, private markets and institutions. Distinguish normative demand, based on healthy diet requirements; revealed demand, based on observed consumption; and effective demand, based on buyers' ability and willingness to pay, including procurement budgets and menus.
  
• Assess market access, distribution and connectivity between supply and demand areas, including how local deficits are met through production, domestic trade, imports or food assistance.
  
• Describe institutional and public procurement arrangements, including school meals and other relevant institutional markets, procurement rules, budgets, tenders, local sourcing, supplier requirements, payment terms and buyer capacities.
  
• Map market actors, business models and financing mechanisms within relevant commodity value chains.
  
• Identify policy, institutional, infrastructural, financial, gender and social inclusion constraints and enablers, and document evidence gaps and implications for market readiness.
  

Scope

The assignment is a desk based rapid scoping review of Burundi. It will draw on academic publications and grey literature, including government and procurement documents, market assessments, programme reports, datasets and credible institutional sources. Wider African or regional evidence may inform the review where its relevance to Burundi is clear and distinguished from direct country evidence.

The primary evidence period is 2015–2026, up to the actual search date. Older sources may be retained where seminal, still relevant to policy, or the only available evidence for a country issue or commodity.

English is the working and reporting language. Targeted searches in French are part of the assignment. Other languages may be included where reliable translation is available and the source is important. Record language coverage and any language related exclusions. Country specific retrieval should include national ministry and statistics portals and relevant Francophone repositories.

Deliverables

Inception workplan

A concise country implementation plan aligned with the existing protocol and extraction workbook, including searches, available records, responsibilities, coordination arrangements and agreed delivery dates. Commitment will be required during the consultancy period to ensure timely achievement of the deliverables.

Search and screening records and populated extraction workbook

A country search log, deduplicated reference inventory, screening decisions and exclusion reasons, relevance tier classifications, flow counts and a populated copy of the existing extraction workbook. Records must support verification and integration with the wider CFRA review.

Draft country report

An English report containing an executive summary; project and country context; review methods and limitations; findings against the objectives; a standard country market readiness profile and synthesis tables; constraints and enablers; evidence gaps; conclusions and practical recommendations; references; and relevant annexes. Findings must distinguish the three demand categories and explicitly address competing supply and accessibility.

Final report and handover

A revised country report in editable Word and PDF formats, final extraction workbook and search and screening records, a brief response to consolidated review comments, and a short findings presentation or team briefing. The package must be suitable for incorporation into the nine country WP2 synthesis.

Requirements

Consultant qualifications

1. A relevant MSC degree in agricultural economics, economics, agribusiness, food systems, development studies or a related field.

2. Demonstrated experience in scoping reviews or structured evidence reviews, academic and grey literature searches, evidence extraction and analytical reporting.

3. Knowledge of agricultural markets and food systems in Burundi, with relevant experience in agroecology, institutional procurement or commodity value chains desirable.

4. Ability to search and analyse English and French literature and produce clear analytical reports in English.

5. Ability to use reference management tools and Excel based extraction workbooks, document decisions, collaborate with reviewers and deliver to an agreed timetable.

Technical coordination and review

Technical coordination will be through the literature review lead, with the Senior Research Associate supporting review and technical input within the CFRA markets team. The team will supply the current protocol, extraction workbook, report structure and available country records, and provide consolidated feedback. The consultant will participate in an inception meeting, agreed progress check-ins and a final briefing.

Outputs will be reviewed for alignment with the protocol, coverage of the objectives, traceability of evidence, correct extraction and coding, consistency between the workbook and narrative, appropriate treatment of uncertainty and clarity of English. The team will agree on the feedback period and revision rounds in the inception workplan.

Benefits

Terms of Employment

The Alliance Bioversity-CIAT offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with a competitive remuneration. We are an equal opportunity employer, and strive for gender, diversity and inclusion in our staff, without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, marital status, or any other characteristic.

Applications

Applicants are invited to visit  https://www.bioversityinternational.org/jobs/ to get full details of the position and to submit their applications. Applications MUST include reference number Ref: CONSULTANT - CFRA Project Burundi as the position applied for. Application and CV should be saved as one document using the candidate’s last name, first name for ease of sorting.

Note: The Alliance does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training). The Alliance also does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts.

Applications closing date: 26th November 2026

Please note that email applications will not be considered.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

We invite you to learn more about us at:

http://alliancebioversityciat.org