Terms of Reference
|
Title |
: CSA adoption evaluation |
|
Client |
: Tan Phat Loi (TPA), Toan Thang, Hoa Nho, Hoa De, Tai Thinh Phat Farm cooperative |
|
Country |
: VIETNAM |
|
Project number |
: 24ATVN-9764 |
|
Assignment number |
: |
|
Period |
: Apr – May 2026 |
|
Cooperative advisor (CA) |
: Tran Quang Dieu |
|
Mode of Agripool involvement |
: ☐ Remote (Online) only |
|
|
☐ Field visit included |
Introduction
Agriterra is a mission‑driven organization committed to strengthening farmer cooperatives across Africa and Asia. In Vietnam, Agriterra implements the Making Aquaculture Cooperatives Bankable and Inclusive (MACIB) program, working with shrimp cooperatives in Can Tho, Vinh Long, and Ca Mau provinces to enhance competitiveness, improve livelihoods, expand financial inclusion, and promote sustainable aquaculture development.
In 2025, Agriterra facilitated the mission Enhancing Knowledge and Adoption of Climate‑Smart Agriculture (CSA) Practices in MACIB Cooperatives. This initiative identified key climate risks, recommended CSA practices, and delivered tailored training to four cooperatives (Hoa Nho, Toan Thang, Hoa De, and Tan Phat Loi) as well as organised an exchange visit to reinforce the knowledge. The next step is to evaluate how effectively these cooperatives have adopted the recommended CSA practices and identify gaps that need to be addressed to scale CSA adoption.
In addition, in 2024, Agriterra conducted a CCC for Tai Thinh Phat Farm cooperative to assess the climate challenges in mangrove shrimp farming, identify good practices that were adopted. Agriterra also made recommendations to improve these practices to more members within the cooperative.
Background of the Assignment
The CSA mission (ADV.22211), conducted in Quarter 4 – 2025, highlighted priority practices such as smart water management, biosecurity, disease prevention, and climate‑adaptive system design rooted in cooperatives’ existing climate issues.
Climate challenges and CSA recommendations by cooperative:
- Toan Thang Cooperative (semi‑intensive and intensive shrimp):
- Challenges: Prolonged heat, heavy rainfall, and abrupt salinity changes leading to heat stress and disease outbreaks.
- CSA practices recommended: Smart water management (filtration, disinfection, settling ponds, monitoring salinity/pH/DO), use of disease‑resistant seed, improved pond bottom management, and strengthened biosecurity.
- Hoa Nho A Cooperative (semi‑intensive and intensive shrimp):
- Challenges: Unseasonal heavy rainfall, heatwaves, and rapid salinity fluctuations affecting shrimp survival and growth.
- CSA practices recommended: Climate‑adaptive pond design (deeper ponds, higher embankments, separate water supply and wastewater canals), improved feed management with monitoring tools, sludge settling/reuse, and standardized farming practices coordinated by the cooperative.
- Hoa De Cooperative (shrimp‑rice system):
- Challenges: Heavy rainfall, heat stress, and strong day‑night temperature fluctuations reducing yields in both rice and shrimp.
- CSA practices recommended: Adoption of climate‑resilient rice and shrimp varieties, controlled water and salinity management, integrated pest management, reduced chemical inputs, collective cropping calendars, and shared water management rules.
- Tan Phat Loi Cooperative (mangrove‑shrimp system):
- Challenges: Tidal surges, salinity intrusion, flooding, and sudden temperature changes destabilize water quality.
- CSA practices recommended: Stabilization of water parameters (alkalinity, pH, DO), adoption of two‑phase shrimp farming, installation of salinity measurement systems, early warning via Zalo, strengthened cooperative coordination, and monitoring of mangrove coverage.
- Tai Thinh Phat Farm cooperative: The CCC identified key climate risks in shrimp–mangrove farming, including saltwater intrusion, unseasonal rains, and disease outbreaks. It highlighted gaps in water management, monitoring technologies, governance, and certification readiness. Recommendations included piloting the two-phase farming model, adopting simple monitoring tools (pH, salinity, alkalinity), strengthening sludge treatment, and establishing ICT-based early warning systems.
Following the CSA mission, training courses (TRA.22384, TRA.22382, TRA.22383), an exchange visit (EXC.22474) were delivered by VIFEP in Nov and Dec 2025 to equip cooperative members with knowledge and skills tailored to their specific farming systems. The current assignment will evaluate the extent of CSA adoption, assess its effectiveness, and identify gaps for scaling CSA practices across MACIB’s clients.
For Tai Thinh Phat Farm Cooperative, the current evaluation will assess the extent to which this cooperative has implemented these recommendations, measure changes in resilience and productivity, and identify remaining gaps for scaling climate-smart aquaculture practices.
Since this evaluation falls outside Agriterra’s core expertise and to assure the objectivity of the evaluation, Agriterra will engage local experts (Vietnamese nationality) with proven experience in this field to carry out the assignment.
Main objective
The evaluation will measure CSA and CCC adoption levels at cooperative and farmer levels, identify barriers and enabling factors, evaluate the effectiveness of training delivered by VIFEP and CCC recommendations in supporting uptake, and provide practical recommendations to strengthen climate‑smart aquaculture adoption, resilience, and certification readiness across all cooperatives.
Specific objectives
- Assess CSA adoption in Toan Thang, Hoa Nho A, Hoa De, and Tan Phat Loi cooperatives.
- Evaluate changes at Tai Thinh Phat since CCC 2025, including farming practices, monitoring tools, and certification progress.
- Identify barriers and enablers of CSA/CCC adoption.
- Review effectiveness of VIFEP training and CCC recommendations.
- Provide practical recommendations to strengthen resilience and scale successful practices.
Scope of work
The consultant will undertake the following tasks:
- Desk Review: Analyze CSA mission report (ADV.22211), training materials (TRA.22384, TRA.22382, TRA.22383), and CCC 2025 results of Tai Thinh Phat Cooperative.
- Field Data Collection: Conduct site visits to five cooperatives (Toan Thang, Hoa Nho A, Hoa De, Tan Phat Loi, and Tai Thinh Phat) to collect data from farmers.
- Documentation: Record evidence of CSA and CCC practices in use (e.g., water management, biosecurity, disease prevention, climate‑adaptive pond/rice/mangrove systems, monitoring tools).
- Analysis: Evaluate adoption progress, effectiveness of practices, and changes since CCC 2025.
- Reporting: Produce a comprehensive evaluation report with comparative findings and practical recommendations for scaling CSA/CCC adoption.
Expected results
The consultant will deliver:
- Evaluation Report (in English language):
- Analysis of CSA adoption levels across the 4 above said MACIB cooperatives.
- Assessment of changes at Tai Thinh Phat Cooperative since CCC 2025.
- Comparative findings across different farming systems (semi‑intensive shrimp, shrimp–rice, shrimp–mangrove).
- Identification of success factors, constraints, and enabling conditions.
- Practical recommendations for scaling CSA/CCC adoption and strengthening resilience.
- Annexes: Survey tools, datasets, interview notes, case studies, and reference materials.
Tentative programme
The assignment will run from 20 Apr to 10 May 2026, with an estimated total of a maximum of 20 working days with field activities falling the first week of May 2026. The consultant will carry out the following tasks:
|
Day |
Programme |
Available |
|
2 |
|
Consultant (s)/CA/ the coop |
|
4 |
|
Consultant (s) |
|
2 |
|
Consultant (s)/CA/ the coop |
|
06 |
|
Consultant (s)/CA/ the coop |
|
4 |
|
Consultant (s)/CA/ the coop |
|
2 |
|
Consultant/CA |
CA = Tran Quang Dieu, Agriterra Cooperative Advisor
Logistics and support
Agriterra will provide logistical support, including travel arrangements for site visit to 5 Cooperatives.
Application and selection process
Interested consultants are invited to submit a complete application package. Application should include:
- Cover letter: Indicating the applicant’s interest in the assignment, highlighting relevant experience, and outlining suitability for the role.
- Technical proposal: Presenting the proposed methodology, tools, workplan to carry out the tasks and expected results outlined in the ToR.
- Financial proposal: Including the daily rate in VND (inclusive of taxes), with a clear breakdown of estimated costs (proposed consultant rate, field cost, etc).
- Updated CV(s): Providing detailed qualifications and professional experience of the consultant. Examples of similar past assignments should be attached.
Qualifications required
- Proven experience in aquaculture systems and CSA practices.
- Strong background in evaluation methodologies (qualitative and quantitative).
- Experience working with farmer cooperatives and participatory approaches.
- Knowledge of climate risks in Mekong Delta aquaculture.
- English proficiency required for reporting.
Submission guidelines:
- All application documents must be in English.
- Please submit the full package by email with the subject line: “Consultant – Climate Smart Aquaculture practice adoption evaluation”
- Email submissions should be sent to: [email protected], with cc: [email protected]
Selection process:
- Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited for an interview.
The closing date for application is 17:00, 12 Apr, 2026.
Agriterra, for cooperatives
We are a purpose-driven organisation, aimed at strengthening farmer cooperatives in 13 countries in Africa and Asia. Agriterra’s wheel of impact depicts how strong farmer cooperatives contribute to societal development and the relevance to many of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
Positively impacting farmer cooperatives is at the heart of our identity and is reflected in our legal entity as a Dutch non-profit foundation.
Agriterra provides high quality and hands-on advice, training and exchange services to farmer cooperatives with maximum impact to support dynamic, economic and sustainably strong and productive rural areas. We draw on a century of cooperative knowledge in the Netherlands shared through our extensive network in the Dutch agri-food sector. These Agripool experts from farmer organisations across the world work with Cooperative advisors from our country offices, supported by staff teams in the Netherlands.
In 2022 Agriterra worked together with 579 farmer organisations, trained 8,989 people and 3,808,366 farmers were reached.