February 2023

Call for Tender: Policy Brief Production Farmers’ seeds promotion

Call for Tender: Policy Brief Production 

Farmers’ seeds promotion

 

Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, North Africa office

  1. Background

 

To achieving food security by making quality seeds available to farmers, African countries have adopted seed laws reminiscent of those developed since the 1950s by European and the American countries. These laws tend to promote a «green revolution» model of industrial agriculture by setting up a market-based regime for seed selection, production, and distribution. This legal framework is more focused on seed marketing and is organized around the different segments of the commercial chain. It is reinforced by intellectual property rights laws and treaties applicable to seeds, such as plant technology patents and plant breeders’ rights and plant health protection laws. As a result, many farmers’ seed activities are restricted or prohibited. Depending on the country, this includes the production, exchange, and sale of seeds from farmers’ fields and the organization of seed fairs to share locally adapted seeds and seedlings. On the other hand, those laws favors the distribution of seeds in the form of ‘technical packages’, i.e. accompanied by fertilizers and advice to encourage beneficiaries to adopt predefined agricultural practices.

In various African countries, farmers and their networks, as well as civil society organizations, have strongly resisted this model. They have actively advocated against inappropriate seed laws and the imposition of restrictive intellectual property regimes, which are being imposed on Africa through the financialization of genetic and public resources, foreign development programs, harmonization strategies and trade agreements.

In Tunisia, only few small-scale farmers still have a diversity of well-adapted farmer’s traditional seeds available, which above all provides them with their own means for production when faced with a supply crisis. Local and well adapted seeds hence could help Tunisian farmers survive drought periods and food crises. However, seed laws in Tunisia criminalize farmers’ seeds uses and the seed saving and sharing culture.

In this regard, the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (RLS) is funding the “Farmers’ seed promotion” project, focusing on the Tunisian farmers’ seed legislation framework and its ability to empower the famer’s resilience and on advocating for the legal regularization of the Tunisian farmer’s seed system.

 

  1. Object of the tender

 

With the aim to strengthen the resilience of Tunisian small farmers, through knowledge production for civil society actors and help to align agricultural policies accordingly in the future, RLS North Africa Office is seeking to contract civil society organizations to conduct Tunisian seeds policies analyses and policy brief publication.

 

  1. General Objectives

 

The objective of those policy briefs is to establish the priorities for Tunisian famers and to translate their visions of the best farmers’ seed management model. The outputs of those policy briefs will be use by the contracted organization to have a solid argumentation for an advocacy strategy to align the seed legal framework according to the famers’ vision and needs.

The policy briefs will target Tunisian official bodies, national institution, policy makers to advocate for the legalization of farmers’ seed.

 

  1. Target Groups

 

  • Small farmers, local seed producers
  • Tunisian political decision makers, official bodies, national institution, policy makers
  • Tunisian media, NGOs and other civil society organizations
  • Media, NGOs and other civil society organizations in the global North and South

 

  1. Methodology

 

The methodology will be proposed by the organization.

The scope of the policy briefs will be proposed by the organization.

The scope of the advocacy strategy will be proposed by the organization.

 

  1. Proposal, Award and Tender submission deadline

 

Necessary qualification: Proven experience in research on the above described topic

The order will be issued as a service/or honorarium contract and the proposed organization should submit the following documents:

  • CV(s)/profile of the main researcher who will manage the policy briefs redaction
  • Time Frame taking into consideration that all activities must be completed by November 1, 2023
  • price references/honorariums by working day (including taxes)
  • short proposal/ outline how the researcher is planning to conduct the research

 

Submission:

Tenders must be submitted no later than February 19, 2023

Tenders submitted after this date will not be accepted.

Tenders must be submitted to Procurement.NorthAfrica@rosalux.org , with the subject line: Farmers’ Seed Promotion

*Incomplete applications will not be considered.

*Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

 

  1. Languages

 

The application and the Policy Brief can be conducted in French, or Arabic or English. (Translations to other languages will be decided by RLS).

 

  1. Publishers

 

Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, the conducted organization and other RLS partners (Other RLS partners publishers will be decided by RLS)

 

  1. Contact

 

Imen Louati

Program Manager Political Ecology | North Africa Regional Office

Address: 55 TER, Rue 1er Juin, Mutuelleville, 1082 Tunis

imen.louati@rosalux.org | www.rosaluxna.org