Action Against Hunger: Moringa Proposal Development

in Practicums/Internships
April 13th, 2017

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Terms of Reference for Student Placement
Moringa Proposal Development

  1. Background

Cambodia remains one of the poorest countries in Asia and trails behind on human development indicators (HDI ranking: 138 out of 182 countries). While poverty was reduced significantly, the number of vulnerable people has increased. Most people who escaped poverty did so by a small margin. The loss of only $0,3 per day would cause Cambodia’s poverty rate to double to 40 percent.

Despite economic, social and medical progress, the nutritional situation in Cambodia is alarming and has not improved in the last 10 years. 1 out of 28 children will not reach 5 years of age, and nearly 10% of children are dangerously thin (wasted) and 32% are stunted. Only 5% of these wasted children are treated and 76% of children aged 6 to 23 months do not eat properly in accordance with international feeding practices.  Wasting and stunting can have profound, irreversible and intergenerational consequences. Wasted children are at greater risk of death and severe illness due to common childhood infections. As for the millions of stunted children, not only will they be forever stunted, but they are also more likely to have poorer cognitive and educational outcomes into adolescence[1]_[2], hence less able to contribute to their nation’s growth[3].

Action Against Hunger is looking for alternatives to the traditional approaches of addressing undernutrition by promoting the use of locally low cost available nutrition food in children’s diet. One such alternative is the use of the Moringa Oleifera plant. Moringa Oleifera is a tree commonly found in Cambodia. It grows unusually fast under harsh conditions in the tropic – up to 15 feet from seeds in one year – and on marginal land with a minimum of water. It is proven to have important nutritive value when compared to typical nutritious plant foods. The Moringa plant can be used in several different ways in a number of different forms. For example, its leaves a very nutrient dense and can be eaten fresh or dried into a powder form to be taken as a health supplement. Moringa seeds can also be used to make nutritious tea and ground seeds can be used to even purify water. Moringa can be incorporated into the diet in many forms and is incredibly easy to grow and the leaves can be harvested 8 times per year. Gram for gram, Moringa has 7 times the vitamin C of oranges, 4 times the vitamin A of carrots, 4 times the calcium of milk, 3 times the potassium as bananas and 2 times the protein of yoghurt and high in antioxidants. Not only leaves are valuable. The oil derived from Moringa seeds is starting to be used for cosmetic, cooking, biofuel and machine lubricant. At the same time, the international export market is expanding rapidly creating a positive enabling environment for Cambodian smallholder farmers who would be interesting to be involved in this new promising market to sustain their livelihoods.

Consequently, Action Against Hunger wants to carry out projects to improve the food security and nutritional status of the most vulnerable population through the promotion of the production, the processing, the commercialization and the consumption of Moringa, taking in consideration the existing best practices, limitations and innovative solutions. In line with the expected outcome, Action Against Hunger is looking for an intern/ student studying an advanced degree in Agriculture/agronomy,  Nutrition and with professional experience in food security and in proposal development to carry out this assignment.

OBJECTIVE: To develop project documents (summary/ Concept note + full proposal) aiming at improving nutrition and Food Security &Livelihood (FSL) for rural population in the province of Preah Vihear in Cambodia.

  1. Tasks and responsibilities:

The student will work with the existing team in Cambodia (mainly with the Partnership and Fundraising Coordinator, the Field Coordinator and the Project Managers)

The student will be primarily responsible for:

  • Conducting a feasibility study (mapping and scoping exercise) to inform and guide the future project development :
    • Mapping of the use of Moringa
    • Defining key opportunities and challenges in promoting widely the use of Moringa for nutrition and income generation/livelihoods.
    • Ascertain the marketability and socio-cultural implications of Moringa??
    • Formation of farmer associations/ cooperatives or linking new farmers to the existing community organizations.

Feasibility study scope: initial briefings, orientation and desk review, inception report / feasibility study work plan, stakeholder’s consultations and needs assessments, and market assessment

  • Definition of the overarching structure for the FSL and nutrition project based on Moringa
  • Compile and write the project documents that will be submitted to potential donors such as??
  1. Requirements:
  • Ongoing University Degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in any of the following area is compulsory: Agriculture/agronomy/agroecology, Public Health, Nutrition
  • Knowledge and experience in Feasibility study highly desirable
  • Knowledge and experience in FSL project highly desirable
  • Knowledge and experience in Nutrition project highly desirable
  • Knowledge and experience in Project Cycle Management highly desirable
  • Experience in developing countries highly desirable
  • Experience in proposal writing is an asset
  1. Person Specification
    • Strong networker, with a cultural and political understanding of the South East Asia context
    • Competency in food and nutrition security, agronomy
    • Good analytical, research and negotiation skills.
    • Excellent written and oral communication skills.
    • Proven ability to plan and deliver work to agreed deadlines.
    • Good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective relationships in a multi-cultural environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity and gender.
    • English: advanced level in speaking and writing
  1. Time frame
    • 2-3 months
  2. Budget
  • Transportation with Cambodia during working hours will be covered by Action Against Hunger.
  • Action Against Hunger will provide decent place for working (desk, chair,..) and stationaries.
  • Action Against Hunger will support the visa
  • The students will have to cover his/her food and accommodation
  • The student will need to cover travel from the US to Cambodia (and back), health insurance and repatriation insurance.
  1. Application
  • Interested candidates should send an updated CV and letter of motivation by email indicating in the subject “Cambodia Moringa 2017” to spietzsch@actionagainsthunger.org

[1] Grantham-McGregor S, Cheung YB, Cueto S, Glewwe P, Richter L,Strupp B. Developmental potential in the first 5 years for children in developing countries. Lancet 2007; 369: 60-70
[2]UNICEF (2013) Improving Child Nutrition, UNICEF: New York
[3]Vogl T. 2012. Height, Skills, and Labor Market Outcomes in Mexico. Department of Economic, Princeton University