Study to Develop Cross-Border Digital Soil for a Pilot Area in the IGAD Region, Including Digital Soil Property Maps, and Uncertainty Layers

Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
Request for Expression of Interest
(Consulting Services – Firms Selection)

Country: IGAD Secretariat
Name of project: Food Systems Resilience Program for Eastern and Southern Africa
Project No.: P178566
Grant No.: IDA-E0820

Assignment Title: Study to Develop Cross-Border Digital Soil for a Pilot Area in the IGAD Region, Including Digital Soil Property Maps, and Uncertainty Layers

Reference/Contract No.: DJ-IGAD-567697-CS-CQS

1. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has received financing from the World Bank towards the cost of the Food Systems Resilience Program for Eastern and Southern Africa and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services.
2. The consulting services (“the Services”) includes i) The review of cross border areas in the IGAD region that have existing or planned IGAD Ground Water Information System (GWIS) in place, and identify the most suitable pilot area based on agreed technical, institutional and data-availability criteria. ii) To conduct soil field sampling, laboratory analysis, and quality controlled data compilation one cross border pilot area with a Ground Water Information System in place. iii)To generate updated, harmonized and decision-ready digital soil maps for the selected cross-border pilot area, including key soil properties, soil constraints, land-suitability information and uncertainty estimates. iv)To compile and harmonise existing soil, water, land-use, climate, terrain and remote-sensing datasets relevant to the selected pilot area and ensure compatibility with IGAD’s GeoNode repository, dashboards, DACAS and related decision-support tools. v)To develop a scalable workflow, data standard and implementation approach that can later be extended to other IGAD cross-border clusters. The assignment is expected to take 175 Calendar Days from the date of contract commencement.
3. The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be found at the following website: https://igad.int/consultancies or can be obtained at the address given below.
4. The The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. The shortlisting criteria:
5. The firm should have at least 10 years of experience in conducting soil mapping (soil field sampling, laboratory analysis, and quality controlled data compliation; and generation of harmonised and decision-ready digital soil maps and other tasks in line with the objectives of the assignment)
6. Satisfactory completion of three similar assignments in the past 10 years

• Availability of the below key experts with the required profiles as detailed in the Terms of Reference

(i) Team Leader: Overall lead of the assignment,(ii) Soil Scientist: Conducts soil characterization, fertility assessment, and land capability evaluation, (iii) Digital Soil Mapping Specialist: Develops digital soil maps using spatial modeling, machine learning, and geostatistics, (iv) GIS and Remote Sensing Specialist: Processes satellite imagery, spatial data, and develops geospatial products, (vi) Agronomist/Crop Production Specialist: Interprets soil information into crop-specific management recommendations. At the proposal stage, the consulting firm must provide a staffing plan with names, roles, and CVs for the core project team as part of the proposal.

5. The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” First Published July 2016 and revised Fifth Edition September 2023 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.
6. Consultants may associate with other firms to enhance their qualifications but should indicate clearly whether the association is in the form of a joint venture and/or a sub-consultancy. In the case of a joint venture, all the partners in the joint venture shall be jointly and severally liable for the entire contract, if selected.
7. A Consulting firm will be selected in accordance with the Consultant`s Qualification Selection (CQS) method set out in the Procurement Regulations.
8. Further information can be obtained at the address below during the following office hours 0900 and 1600 hours from Monday to Friday excluding lunch hour (1300 to 1400hours East African Time (EAT) and public holidays.

Expression of interest shall be sent by e-mail to the address below by 18/11/2026 at 1700hours EAT. to: procurement@igad.int with copy to hassan.salah@igad.int and quote the Assignment title and Contract No (Study to Develop Cross-Border Digital Soil for a Pilot Area in the IGAD Region, Including Digital Soil Property Maps, and Uncertainty Layers, Reference/Contract No.: DJ-IGAD-567697-CS-CQS) in the subject row.

Download the attached ToR document in PDF below.
ToR for Soil Mapping in an IGAD Cross-Border Area for GWIS