a.backgroundtHE rEPUBLIC OF cONGO (rOc)'S AQUACULTURE SECTOR PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE COUNTRY'S ECONOMY AND FOOD SECURITY. hOWEVER; DESPITE RICH AQUATIC NATURAL RESOURCES; rOc IS UNDER SIGNIFICANT POVERTY; UNEMPLOYMENT; CLIMATE RISKS; AND NUTRITION CHALLENGES. eSPECIALLY; THE AQUACULTURE THE SECTOR FACES CHALLENGES RELATED TO SUSTAINABILITY; PRODUCTIVITY; AND MARKET LINKAGES. dOMESTIC FISH PRODUCTION CANNOT MEET THE NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENT OF THE POPULATION; AND A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT IS IMPORTED. dUE TO POOR VALUE CHAINS AND INADEQUATE COLD CHAINS AND STORAGE INFRASTRUCTURE; BOTH IMPORTED AND DOMESTIC FISH IN THE MARKET ARE LOW QUALITY. tO ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES; THE roc gOVERNMENT SOUGHT wORLD bANK SUPPORT FOR A NATIONWIDE pOULTRY AND aQUACULTURE dEVELOPMENT pROJECT (padEp); EXPECTED TO BE APPROVED IN FALL 2025. tHE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE OF padEp IS TO INCREASE THE COMPETITIVENESS AND RESILIENCE OF DOMESTIC PRODUCTION AND IMPROVE MARKET ACCESS OF POULTRY AND AQUACULTURE VALUE CHAINS IN TARGET REGIONS IN THE rEPUBLIC OF cONGO. tO BE SPECIFIC; padEp AIMS TO ACHIEVE sTRENGTHENING THE aGRIBUSINESS eCOSYSTEM FOR aQUACULTURE AND pOULTRY (cOMPONENT 1); eNHANCING aCCESS TO hIGH-qUALITY AND aFFORDABLE iNPUTS (cOMPONENT 2); AND sUPPORT TO pRODUCTION; AND mARKETING (cOMPONENT 3). iN THIS CONTEXT; THE wORLD bANK SEEKS A QUALIFIED CONSULTING FIRM TO UNDERTAKE THOROUGH ANALYSIS ON THE CURRENT STATUS AND CONTRIBUTE TO INCREASING AQUACULTURE PRODUCTIVITY AND MARKET ACCESS IN roc. kEY FOCUS AREAS OF THE PROJECT INCLUDE:1.cONDUCTING FIELD SURVEYS TO ASSESS EXISTING PRACTICES; POTENTIAL SITES; AND LIAISING WITH POTENTIAL BENEFICIARIES 2.aSSESSING THE ADOPTION POTENTIAL OF INTEGRATED POULTRY-AQUACULTURE-AGRICULTURE SYSTEMS3.dEVELOPING CLIMATE-SMART AND BIODIVERSITY-ENHANCING MANAGEMENT PLANS4.eSTIMATING QUALITY SEED PRODUCTION CAPACITY5.cONDUCTING TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND DEVELOP MATERIALS. pILOT TRAINING PACKAGE ON SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES FOR msmeS6.iNVESTIGATING THE POTENTIAL FOR LOCAL; HIGH-QUALITY FISH FEED PRODUCTION AND ASSESSING AVAILABILITY OF LOCAL INGREDIENTS7.cONDUCTING COMPREHENSIVE MARKET AND VALUE CHAIN ANALYSES; INCLUDING SUPPLY CHAINS AND DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS 8.aSSESSING THE ENABLING ENVIRONMENT; INCLUDING LAWS; POLICIES; AND REGULATIONS AFFECTING AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT9.mAPPING AND ENGAGING KEY STAKEHOLDERS TO FACILITATE KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND COORDINATED ACTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT10.dEVELOPING ACTIONABLE RECOMMENDATIONS AND STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE MANAGEMENT PLANS b.objectivestO SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS PROJECT; THE wORLD bANK SEEKS A QUALIFIED CONSULTING FIRM TO CONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT AND PROVIDE STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT IN THE rOc. tHE PRIMARY OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTANCY ARE TO:1.cONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF EXISTING AQUACULTURE PRACTICES; POTENTIAL SITES; AND INTEGRATED SYSTEMS IN THE rOc. 2.eVALUATE THE ADOPTION POTENTIAL OF INTEGRATED SYSTEMS; INCLUDING POULTRY-AQUACULTURE-AGRICULTURE SYSTEMS (ipaas). 3.dEVELOP CLIMATE-SMART AND BIODIVERSITY-ENHANCING MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE PRACTICES.4.eVALUATE THE CURRENT STATE OF SEED PRODUCTION CAPACITY AND PROPOSE STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVEMENT. 5.cONDUCT A TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT; DEVELOP TRAINING MATERIALS; AND PILOT A TRAINING PACKAGE ON SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES FOR msmeS IN THE AQUACULTURE SECTOR. 6.eVALUATE THE POTENTIAL TO INCREASE LOCALLY SOURCED FISH FEED INGREDIENTS AND IMPROVE FEED RESOURCES.7.aNALYZE MARKET DYNAMICS; SUPPLY CHAINS; AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR STRENGTHENING MARKET LINKAGES. 8.aSSESS THE ENABLING ENVIRONMENT; INCLUDING LAWS; POLICIES; AND REGULATIONS AFFECTING AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT; AND PROPOSE STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVEMENT. 9.mAP AND ENGAGE KEY STAKEHOLDERS TO FACILITATE KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND COORDINATED ACTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT.10.aSSESS CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT; WITH A FOCUS ON WOMEN AND YOUTH; AND PROPOSE STRATEGIES FOR THEIR EMPOWERMENT.11.dEVELOP ACTIONABLE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE MANAGEMENT PLANS AND PRACTICES BASED ON THE COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT FINDINGS. e.reportingtHE CONSULTANT WILL WORK CLOSELY WITH THE wORLD bANK TEAM AND RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS IN THE rOc. tHE CONSULTANT WILL REPORT TO THE tAST tEAM lEADER (ttl) mANIEVEL sENE (MSENE@WORLDBANK.ORG <MAILTO:MSENE@WORLDBANK.ORG> ). tHE DURATION OF THE CONSULTANCY WILL BE FROM aPRIL 2025 TO jUNE 2027. pLEASE FIND THE ATTACHED tOr FOR DETAILS.