Afghanistan: Short term assignment to conduct feasibility study and prepare business plan for poultry hatchery unit in Bamyan province. FOR AFGHAN NATIONALS ONLY

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is a non-denominational international development agency established in 1967 by His Highness the Aga Khan. Its mission is to develop and promote creative solutions to problems that impede social development, primarily in Asia and East Africa. Created as a private, non-profit foundation under Swiss law, it has branches and independent affiliates in 19 countries.

AKF seeks to provide sustainable solutions to long-term problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and ill health. In Afghanistan, AKF works with rural communities in mountainous, remote or resource poor areas to improve quality of life in the areas of natural resource management, market development, governance, education and health.

The Aga Khan Foundation, Afghanistan (AKF (Afg)) is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a group of international, private, non-denominational development agencies working to improve living conditions and opportunities for people in some of the poorest parts of the developing world. The Network’s organizations have individual mandates that range from the fields of health and education to architecture, rural development and promotion of private-sector enterprise and institutions that seek to empower communities and individuals, usually in disadvantaged circumstances, to improve living conditions and opportunities.

1. Rationale

Market Development Programme (MDP) of Aga Khan Foundation – Afghanistan (AKF, A) is involved in developing selected value chains in its program provinces. Poultry is one of the value chains, selected and supported either now or in the past in all of its program provinces. It has been working mainly with the backyard poultry units and few of semi-commercial poultry farms in Badakhshan and Bamyan, whereas its involvement in Baglan and Takhar ranges from start-up support for women-run backyard poultry farms to advisory and link-up assistance for semi-commercial and commercial ones.

Poultry – as a source of nutrition supplement; as a main source of income for women; and as a diversified income source for small-holder farmers – is seen important for the livelihood of rural population. In addition, the commercial and semi-commercial poultry farms in urban and peri-urban areas are supporting the national economy through import substitution and job creation.

In recent years, demand for chicken and eggs has increased both in the rural and urban markets. Therefore, more and more people are becoming interested to invest in the sector and in particular, more women have shown their interest to involve in the sector through micro/small scale investments in backyard poultry farms. But, few of the key constraints are preventing the growth of a competitive and self-sustaining poultry industry in Afghanistan. These constraints range from limited access to high quality chicks for rearing to better quality feed and hygienic processing system. Currently, majority of the day-old chicks are coming from the neighbouring countries. The journey from the hatchery unit to the poultry farm is both long and treacherous. This has resulted in higher mortality rate among the chicks in transit as well as vulnerability of transferring diseases. The mortality rate during transit, transportation cost and import taxes put additional top-up on the total cost of a day-old chick.

Therefore, AKF under its Market Development Program (MDP) is exploring the possibility to facilitate in the establishment of a hatchery plant in Bamyan province program area. This will help in commercialising the sector and providing cost competitive alternative to the existing and future poultry farmers.

In order to realise this idea, AKF feels a need of a realistic and detailed feasibility study conducted for the proposed hatchery plant. In addition, a detailed business plan for this plant is also required to be developed, which in near future will help the interested individual(s) to invest in this plant. To operationalize this idea, AKF is looking for an experienced consultant who can conduct such feasibility study and also develop required business plan.

2. Objective

The objectives of this assignment are:

1. To conduct feasibility study for the establishment of hatchery plant and commercial in Bamyan province.


2. 
   

   To develop a detailed business plan for this poultry related ancillary industry.

   
   


3. 
   

   Main Duties and Responsibilities

   
   

The expert will develop the feasibility study covering the following:

• Current market situation of day-old chicks in the country in general and in the program area in specific, including a forecast for demand and supply trend in the near future;


• Analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed venture.


• Opportunities available under the proposed venture.


• Suggestions on the methods to tap into these opportunities.


• Potential obstacles for the proposed venture.


• Suggestions to overcome such obstacles.


• Cost-benefit analysis or profitability analysis of setting up this facility.

The expert will develop the business plan covering the following:

1. Legal requirements


2. Technical requirements


3. Equipments and infrastructure requirements


4. Logistics and human resource requirements


5. Production processes


6. Product classifications


7. Pricing mechanism


8. Classification of potential buyers and consumer behaviour mapping


9. Promotion mechanism


10. Sales forecast


11. Profit and loss forecast


12. Detailed financial plan

4. Qualifications Required

· The expert should have at least 5 years working experience on enterprise promotion and economic development issues.

· S/he should have analytical skills and excellent knowledge of poultry value chain development.

· S/he should have prior experience of conducting feasibilities and developing business plans.

· S/he should have a postgraduate degree in relevant discipline.

· S/he should have excellent communication skills and fluency in English.

5. Deliverables

The expert will prepare and submit AKF Kabul office the following:

· Feasibility report and a business plan for a hatchery unit and commercial poultry to be established in Bamyan province.

6.Work location(s) -Kabul and Bamyan province program area.

7. Schedule (including number of assignment days in Afghanistan, total assignment days, total payable days)

Total number of days: 10 days

Number of assignment days in Afghanistan: 10 days

Total number days charged: 10 days

Final report submission – within 15 days of return to Kabul from Bamyan.