Tenders Are Invited For Design, Development And Operationalization Of A Mobile And Digital Agricultural Extension And Market Linkage Platform (Connecting Farmers To Markets)

Tenders are invited for Design, Development and Operationalization of a Mobile and Digital Agricultural Extension and Market Linkage Platform (Connecting Farmers to Markets) The purpose of this assignment is to design, develop, deploy, and operationalize an integrated mobile and digital agricultural extension and market linkage platform that enhances access to agricultural advisory services, market information, financial services, weather information, input suppliers, and structured market opportunities for smallholder farmers under the LAST Project. The platform should provide an inclusive, secure, scalable, and userfriendly digital solution suitable for rural and low-connectivity environments while strengthening collaboration among farmers, extension workers, government institutions, private sector actors, financial service providers, and development partners. 3. Objectives. The assignment seeks to: 1. Conduct a comprehensive needs assessment and stakeholder mapping. 2. Assess farmers digital readiness, extension service needs, market information requirements, and communication channels. 3. Design and develop a secure, user-friendly mobile and web-based agricultural extension platform. 4. Develop a digital farmer registration and profiling database. 5. Integrate SMS, WhatsApp, USSD, IVR, web dashboards, and other appropriate communication channels. 6. Develop and integrate climate-smart agriculture advisory content. 7. Integrate market information services including commodity prices, buyer demand, quality standards, aggregation schedules, weather forecasts, and input directories. 8. Facilitate digital linkages between farmers, cooperatives, VSLAs, buyers, transporters, financial institutions, agro-dealers, and government agencies. 9. Build the capacity of CORWADO staff, extension workers, Digital Champions, and platform administrators. 10. Pilot, refine, deploy, and hand over a fully operational platform with sustainability arrangements. 4. Scope of Work. The selected service provider shall be responsible for the end-to-end design, development, integration, testing, deployment, operationalization, capacity building, and post-deployment technical support of a secure, scalable, and user-friendly mobile and digital agricultural extension and market linkage platform under the Localized Approaches for Food System Transformation (LAST) Project. The platform shall serve as an integrated digital ecosystem that connects smallholder farmers, farmer organizations, cooperatives, Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), extension workers, agro-dealers, input suppliers, buyers, traders, processors, transporters, financial institutions, government agencies, research institutions, and other agricultural value chain actors. The platform shall facilitate timely access to agricultural advisory services, climate-smart agriculture information, weather forecasts, market intelligence, financial inclusion services, digital learning resources, and business development support, thereby strengthening agricultural productivity, market participation, resilience, and sustainable livelihoods. The platform shall be designed to operate effectively in rural, remote, and low-connectivity environments, ensuring accessibility for women, youth, persons with disabilities, and vulnerable farming households. It shall support multiple digital communication channels, including SMS, USSD, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), WhatsApp, mobile applications, web-based dashboards, email notifications (where applicable), and radio linkages, allowing farmers to access information through the most appropriate and affordable communication channels. The solution shall adopt a user-centered, gender-responsive, inclusive, secure, and scalable design, ensuring ease of use for individuals with varying levels of literacy and digital skills. The platform shall comply with internationally accepted standards for information security, cybersecurity, data privacy, accessibility, interoperability, and digital inclusion, while allowing future expansion and integration with government information systems, private-sector platforms, financial institutions, and other digital agriculture initiatives. Tender Link : https://comms.southsudanngoforum.org/c/tenders