Individual consultant for comparative case studies of spontaneous and organized vegetable clusters in Odisha

  • Added Date: Monday, 14 July 2025
  • Deadline Date: Tuesday, 22 July 2025
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The research project โ€œTracking commercial small-scale producers for inclusive agricultural transformationโ€ (INCATA) is studying the relationships between commercial small-scale producers (CSSPs) and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in horticulture value chains in Odisha, India, to understand whether and how these relationships contribute to inclusive agricultural transformation (IAT).

One key insight emerging from the project is that the development of horticulture value chains in Odish is highly geographically clustered, reflecting variations in geography (e.g. access to water, roads, markets), and agglomeration economies (e.g. co-location of farms and enterprises may reduce transaction costs). We also observe that the extent and conditions of participation in horticulture value chains is mediated by social institutions (e.g. gender, caste, ethnicity) that also vary with geography.

The intersection of these conditions and forces has given rise to โ€œspontaneous clustersโ€ vegetable cultivation clusters, formed โ€œendogenouslyโ€ by accretion or agglomeration of farmers and off-farm enterprises. At the same time, Odisha has been a site of vigorous state-led development efforts (as part of Promotion of Agriculture Production Cluster (APC) in Tribal Regions of Odisha) that promote the establishment of organized vegetable clusters by providing support (e.g., training, planning activities, resources, marketing support) to farmer groups and farmer producer organizations. Intentional cluster formation efforts have focused largely on women in areas large tribal populations, through the medium of Womenโ€™s Self-Help Groups (WSHGs).

The objective of this consultancy is to conduct a series of (at least 6) comparative case studies of spontaneous and organized vegetable clusters in Odisha. In keeping with the high degree of geographical and social variation found in Odisha, these case studies, identified collaboratively with IFPRI, should be conducted in a minimum of two districts (and a maximum of four), of which at least one each from the interior and from the coastal plain.

The objective of the case studies is to compare the extent to which the formation of spontaneous and organized vegetable clusters has resulted in inclusive (or otherwise) outcomes for the participants, and taking into account markers of identity including gender, indigeneity, caste, and class, and the nature and scale of benefits (or disbenefits, risks) arising for cluster participation. The study should address variations in inclusivity and performance within spontaneous and organized clusters.

Work will take place between July and November 2026, with the final deliverable due December 15, and is expected to be primarily qualitative. The deliverable will be a working paper manuscript or approx. 8000-10,000 words.

The consultant/s will be responsible for field costs (e.g. transport, accommodation, interpretation) and organizing logistics while in the field. Consultancy rates offered will be calculated accordingly. IFPRI will provide guidance on possible markets to cover, support with making connections to local organizations where relevant or necessary, and feedback on the direction of the research following periodic check-in meetings. IFPRI staff may also accompany the consultant/s for part or all of their fieldwork to obtain complementary insights and provide support for research activities.

๐Ÿ“š ๐——๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฎ ๐—๐—ผ๐—ฏ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ก ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ! ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿค ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ก๐—˜๐—ช ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐˜๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—š๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ก ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—จ๐—ก๐—›๐—–๐—ฅ, ๐—ช๐—™๐—ฃ, ๐—จ๐—ก๐—œ๐—–๐—˜๐—™, ๐—จ๐—ก๐——๐—ฆ๐—ฆ, ๐—จ๐—ก๐—™๐—ฃ๐—”, ๐—œ๐—ข๐—  ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€! ๐ŸŒ

โš ๏ธ ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‹๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐๐จ๐ฐ: ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐“๐ž๐œ๐ก๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐š ๐ฃ๐จ๐› ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐”๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐Ž๐–!

Preferred Qualifications

- A PhD in social sciences (economics, sociology, anthropology, development studies, etc.) or Masters with at least 3-4 years of experience in conducting independent qualitative research, preferably relating to markets.

- A strong record of publication in agriculture and related areas or other evidence to demonstrate skills with writing.

Work effort: 60 days

Application

Please submit your cv, daily rate and writing sample. All supporting documents shall be submitted as one pdf to the application section indicating CV or Resume.

Deadline to apply: July 22, 2025

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