Business Plan Consultant - Agribusiness, Regenerative Agriculture & Climate Change

Terms of Reference
M5 Scale Up Business Plan

“Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.”
-William B. Sprague

Amru Rice (Cambodia) Co Ltd (Amru) – Project Applicant

Amru is a vertically integrated rice miller and exporter, with clients in over 30 countries consuming high quality food grown, processed and packed by the company in Cambodia.  Amru is majority owned by Mr. Saran SONG, a 3rd generation businessman in the agriculture sector.

The company is Cambodia’s largest exporter of organic certified rice and its products are manufactured at its 3 facilities in Phnom Penh (capital), Battambang and Kampong Thom (provinces).  Its network of farmers and agriculture cooperatives are spread throughout the country and mainly concentrated in the north, in Preah Vihear and in recent years, Mondulkirri.

The company’s vision is to become the premier manufacturer/ processor and exporter of high quality Cambodian-grown agriculture products, working in close, long term partnerships with agriculture cooperatives and supply chain partners to cultivate, produce, pack and deliver nutritious food products to the world.  A key initiative is to layer the company’s commercial and environmental activities and build on a strong foundation of healthy, sustainable farmlands that create environmental and economic benefits to the communities that live and work on it.  Amru sees that as the path to being sustainable and inclusive, as we work in some of poorest regions of Cambodia.

To fulfill part of that vision, the DFCD has agreed to support Amru, through co-financing and Technical Assistance, on a range of activities that will collectively develop the package of regenerative agricultural practices that Amru seeks to promote adoption and to prepare Amru for potential scaling and further commercial investment.

Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) &
SNV Netherlands Development Organization (SNV)

The DFCD project aims to support and facilitate funding for qualified projects that address global climate change concerns.  The Origination and Graduation facilities (OF and GF) are managed by SNV and WWF, who identify investment opportunities that support climate change adaptation, mitigation as well as key sustainable development co-benefits such as biodiversity conservation, environmental protection, poverty reduction and gender equality.  The OF supports the further elaboration of projects with private sector partners through the provision of co-funding and Technical Assistance for project design, feasibility assessments, piloting and other activities which de-risk and enable the graduation of projects for commercial investment.

SNV is an international not-for-profit development organization, working in more than 25 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. SNV specializes in supporting the resourcefulness of development actors by developing local capacities, improving performance and services, strengthening governance systems, helping to create access for excluded groups and by making markets work for the poor. Its global team of advisors use their specialist sector expertise in Agriculture, Renewable Energy and water management to facilitate sustainable change in the livelihoods of millions of people living in poverty.

Overview
As an innovative agri-business, Amru incorporates environmental as well as social initiatives alongside its commercial operations.  For example, the company uses renewable energy sources in parts of its operations (rice husk and solar) and is implementing measures to minimize waste in processes (quality and safety management systems) to ensure it contributes towards creating sustainable, positive impacts in its supply chains and at the same time help improve the livelihoods of farmers that it works with.

The company has a quality and food safety ecosystem that is certified to such standards as organic, BSCI, BRC, etc.  Amru also has an environmental management and OHS system that meets IFC Performance Standards to ensure its operations and staff are managed with the highest possible protocols.

The next step of Amru’s journey of innovation and environmental stewardship is using all the elements in its ecosystem to deal with climate change risks.  This means reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving carbon sequestration in its farming areas.  The company’s ambition is to align and allocate resources to meet climate change challenges and generate a commercial return and share the benefits with its stakeholders.

Amru calls this activity Regenerative Agriculture and Carbon Farming.  Although there are differing meanings for these terms, within our business sector it points to: doing things in ways that help combat climate change and ensure the sustainability of crops and food.  It is intended that Amru’s carbon farming will be certified to carbon credit standards such as Verra (https://verra.org/programs/verified-carbon-standard/) or Gold Standard.

It is desirable but not critical that the successful consultant helps Amru achieve certification.

Scaling Up
In November 2022, Amru was accepted into a “DFCD Origination Facility Stage 1 Assessment Form” to formally kick-start its journey into regenerative agriculture and carbon farming (this form will be provided to the successful consultant).

Based on the topics discussed in the document, the company is now calling for submissions from interested parties to develop a “Scale Up Business Plan” that seeks to map out the pathways and strategies to achieve long term goals.

This Terms of Reference calls for developing a Business Plan for a Sustainable Regenerative Agriculture Business Model and defining Amru’s long term value proposition.

A core mission of Amru is to drive systemic markets transformation to improve smallholder farmer and worker livelihoods, and mitigate and adapt to climate change. Amru is preparing to implement an ambitious new 8-year strategy.  One of the key solution areas where Amru is looking to further innovate and scale, together with our private sector partners, is regenerative agriculture. As such, Amru is looking for a consultant to conduct a study on business models for regenerative agriculture which contextualizes existing information to Amru’s scope of work, to further strengthen the Amru Business strategy and develop a clear value proposition that its shareholders can stand behind.

Assignment Overview and Deadline
An assessment will be made into Amru's current business and scale-up opportunities, including but not limited to regenerative agriculture.  This may include a consideration of non-rice crops and such, but the focus would still be mainly on rice farming, milling and export. The Consultant will be working with Amru to deliver a Business Plan by Wednesday 18th October 2023.

The period of work is estimated to be for 2 months.

Detailed Tasks

The following tasks are to be performed in consultation with AMRU designated staff.

• Develop a work plan for the assignment
• Develop/ Assess the company’s strategic direction, which includes but is not limited to:
  • A focus on regenerative agriculture (e.g. a review of baseline/ endline outputs from the Origination stage, Farmer Benefits Study, and ESG-GESI outputs),
  • SWOT analysis,
  • Financial modeling,
  • Analysis of trends and challenges to organic food value chains
  • Providing inputs to Amru on voluntary carbon market platforms, carbon investment asset class, and the global carbon offset markets
• Facilitate a Business Planning Workshop for Amru staff on scaling-up of the RA project
• Develop proforma financial forecasts and a pathway to achieve the desired goals.  This includes a plan for capex investment, funding requirements, potential revenue streams and debt servicing
• Draw up a Scale-up business plan for the company including but not limited to regenerative agriculture (carbon farming should be capable of Verra or Gold Standard certifications).  The Plan should cover a timespan of not less than 8 years.

Deliverables

• Assignment workplan
• Initial draft of concept note
• First draft of Business Plan
• Complete Business Plan
• Presentation of the final business plan to management of AMRU and the DFCD

Qualifications

A team of consultants or a firm with a complementary skill set and relevant experience covering the requirements of the assignment is invited to bid i.e.:

• Qualifications/ Experience in a relevant discipline e.g. business consulting for the agri sector, agriculture /environmental science, climate change issues and international development.  Experience in carbon credit mechanisms and trading, and the rice sector is a distinct advantage.
• Demonstrable experience in the performance of similar assignments advising private sector agribusinesses.
• Demonstrable experience working with development finance institutions and financial assessments

Submission of Letter of Intent and Proposal

• This call is for consultants with strong experience and preferably business experience/ acumen in agribusiness and climate change.
• Parties who intend to conduct the study should submit a Letter of Intent along with a proposal. The proposal should show the agency/ teams track record of similar studies conducted, the methodology of the study (approaches and deliverables), a brief CV of the team member’s qualifications and similar work experiences, a proposed work schedule and a budget
• The deadline for submission is on Tuesday 5th September 2023.

Further inquiries kindly email or contact: [email protected]; [email protected] or [email protected]