IGAD Seeks Consultant for Crop Monitoring and Forecasting to Strengthen Food Systems Resilience

Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)-Djibouti

Request for Expression of Interest

(Consulting Services – Individual Consultant Selection)

Name of project: FOOD SYSTEMS RESILIENCE PROGRAM FOR EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA-Additional Financing (FSRP-AF)

Project No.: (P178566)

Grant No: TF-D0339

Assignment Title: Consultancy services on crop conditions monitoring and forecasting to monitor and predict crop health, detect stress patterns, and assess agricultural conditions in the IGAD region

Contract No.: DJ-IGAD-536744-CS-INDV

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has received additional financing from International Development Agency (IDA) the Food systems resilience program for Eastern and Southern Africa Phase 1 to scale-up Digital Agro-Climate Advisory Services and intends to apply part of the proceeds of this Grant to payments under this contract: Consultancy services on crop conditions monitoring and forecasting to monitor and predict crop health, detect stress patterns, and assess agricultural conditions in the IGAD region.

1. The objective of the assignment:

The overall objective of this consultancy is to monitor, analyse, and forecast crop conditions across the IGAD region using satellite-based, climatic, and ground-based data, to detect crop stress, assess crop productivity, and support regional and national early warning and food security decision-making. The initiative will employ datasets such as vegetation indices, soil moisture, temperature and precipitation anomalies to assess crop health. These indicators will be used to detect early signs of stress, predict yield outcomes, and support timely early warning alerts. The consultant will play a pivotal role in integrating crop conditions monitoring into ICPAC’s regional early warning systems, ensuring that analytical outputs effectively inform policy, response, and planning across the region.

2. The specific objectives of the assignment are:

• Detect early signs of crop stress and anomalies relative to long-term seasonal trends;
• Assess spatial and temporal patterns of crop productivity across the IGAD region;
• Generate crop yield outlooks and seasonal production forecasts to support anticipatory action;
• Integrate crop conditions analysis into ICPAC’s regional agricultural early warning systems and dashboards;
• Strengthen regional and national capacity in satellite-based crop monitoring and agro-climatic analysis.
• Support the development, validation, and timely dissemination of crop conditions and agro-climatic early warning bulletins.

3.Scope of Services and Specific Tasks

Under the supervision of ICPAC, the consultant will undertake the following tasks:

3.1 Crop Conditions Monitoring and Analysis

• Utilise earth observation products (e.g. NDVI, VCI, Soil Moisture, Land Surface Temperature, precipitation and temperature anomalies) to monitor crop growth and development.
• Develop and apply analytical workflows to detect vegetation, moisture, and climate anomalies relative to historical baselines.
• Analyse crop performance across key agricultural zones, identifying hotspots of stress, reduced productivity, or recovery.
• Integrate satellite-derived indicators with climate forecasts and seasonal outlooks.

3.2 Forecasting and Early Warning

• Support the development of crop yield outlooks and seasonal harvest forecasts using agro-climatic and EO-based indicators.
• Contribute to the generation of regional agro-climatic risk maps and crop stress outlooks.
• Provide analytical inputs to early warning alerts and advisories for food security and agricultural planning.

3.3 Data Validation and Coordination

• Collaborate with national agricultural, meteorological, and early warning institutions to validate satellite-based assessments.
• Liaise with regional and international partners to align methodologies, indicators, and data-sharing protocols.
• Ensure consistency and harmonisation of analytical outputs across regional platforms.

3.4 Capacity Building and Knowledge Transfer

• Train national and regional analysts in the use of remote sensing tools and agro-climatic indicators for crop monitoring.
• Support the development of training manuals, technical guidelines, and standard operating procedures.
• Contribute analytical content to ICPAC’s regional agricultural early warning dashboard and related decision-support tools.
• Produce monthly and seasonal crop conditions bulletins highlighting areas at risk of stress or reduced yields.

4.Minimum Consultant’s qualifications and experience requirements

• Strong expertise in Earth Observation datasets, vegetation indices, and climate anomaly analysis.
• Demonstrated experience in crop yield forecasting and food security analysis using EO, climate indicators, statistical models, or hybrid approaches.
• Proficiency in GIS and remote sensing software (e.g. QGIS, ArcGIS, ENVI) and Cloud-based EO platforms (e.g. Google Earth Engine or similar).
• Demonstrated experience supporting agricultural or food security early warning systems.
• Proven ability to produce high-quality analytical reports, bulletins, and other decision-support products.
• Experience in capacity building and training of technical staff.
• Experience working in the Horn of Africa or similar agro-ecological contexts is an added advantage.
• Experience in participatory and co-production approaches for developing crop monitoring and early warning products, including stakeholder engagement, iterative feedback, and capacity strengthening of partner institutions.

5. The Consulting Services Contract is expected to be for a period of Twelves (12) calendar months from the date of commencement, subject to renewal on annual basis throughout the project lifetime upon satisfactory performance.
6. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) now invites individuals to express their interest in providing the services. Interested individuals must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (attach curriculum vitae (CV), copies of documentary evidence of Academic qualifications, and Professional Qualifications.
7. An Individual Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Selection of Individual Consultants method set out in the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers dated November 2020 (Regulations).
8. Interested individuals may obtain further information at the address below from 0900 to 1700 hours East African Time (EAT) from Monday to Friday EAT).

Expression of interest shall be sent by e-mail by March/25/2026 at 1700hours EAT to: procurement@igad.int copy: hassan.salah@igad.int, with subject line ‘‘FSRP-AF: CONSULTANCY SERVICES ON CROP CONDITIONS MONITORING AND FORECASTING TO MONITOR AND PREDICT CROP HEALTH, DETECT STRESS PATTERNS, AND ASSESS AGRICULTURAL CONDITIONS IN THE IGAD REGION, CONTRACT NO-.: DJ-IGAD-536744-CS-INDV’’.