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SAMOA

AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES CYCLONE RESPONSE PROJECT (AFCRP)

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) SPECIALISTTERMS OF REFERENCE

1. The proposed Samoa Agriculture and Fisheries Cyclone Recovery Project (AFCRP orProject) is seeking a qualified and experienced Information Technology (IT) Specialist tolead the implementation of a e-voucher system which will be at the core of the AFCRP.The consultant would work closely with the Project Management Unit (PCU) in the Ministryof Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF), which is the implementing agency.

Background

2. The proposed AFCRP is an initiative of the Government of Samoa (GoS), financed by theWorld Bank, which aims to restore lost production capacity of cyclone affected farmers and

fishers and to enhance preparedness of the agricultural sector to better respond to futuredisasters.

3. The Project will be implemented over a period of two years covering the whole country,although direct assistance to beneficiaries will be confined to those living on Upolu in theareas designated as severely or moderately affected by the cyclone. All subsistence farmingand fishing households in the cyclone affected areas will be targeted. It is anticipated that theProject will directly benefit about 7000 subsistence households. In addition, about 100commercial farmers and aquaculturists who have incurred cyclone damage will also besupported under the project.

4. Project activities would be grouped into four components:1) Cyclone Recovery for Subsistence Farmers and Fishers;2) Cyclone Recovery for Commercial Farmers and Fishers;3) Restoration of MAF Facilities and Strengthening the Agricultural Sectors Capacity for

Disaster Preparedness and Response; and

4) Project Coordination and Management.5. Components 1 and 4 would be of greatest relevance to this ToR, together with certain aspects

of Component 2.

Component 1: Cyclone Recovery for Subsistence Farmers and Fishers

6. The objective of this component would be to restore the production capacity of cycloneaffected subsistence farmers and fishers by providing targeted financial assistance in theform of special vouchers.

a) Vouchers for subsistence farmers: Vouchers would be issued to project beneficiariesfor procuring a range of eligible farm items approved suppliers participating in theproject.

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b) Vouchers for subsistence fishers: Vouchers would be issued to eligible fisherhouseholds in the same severely and moderately affected areas for procuring a range ofagreed items from approved suppliers. Vouchers would be issued for fishing equipmentonly in villages with Community Based Fisheries Management Plans or villages withdesignated Marine Protected Areas. Households in these areas may be eligible to

purchase both types of equipment.7. Beneficiary households in areas severely affected by the cyclone would receive a higher value

of vouchers than those in moderately affected areas. The precise voucher value would bedetermined once the beneficiary selection is finalized. Vouchers would be valid for 15months from the date of issue.

Component 2: Cyclone Recovery for Commercial Farmers and Fishers

8. The objective of this component would be to restore the production capacity of cycloneaffected commercial farmers and fishers. The component would comprise of:

a) Recovery grants for commercial farmers: Commercial farmers in severely andmoderately affected areas whose farm equipment or infrastructure was lost or damageddue to the cyclone would be eligible for recovery grants. This would be done through a70 percent grant, up to a set grant ceiling for each farmer, following grant programguidelines developed for the project. The precise grant ceiling would be determined oncethe beneficiary selection is finalized.

b) Recovery grants for commercial aquaculturists: Commercial farmers involved inaquaculture in the cyclone affected areas who have damaged or lost equipment orinfrastructure would be eligible for support under the project. Only enterprises fullyoperational prior to the cyclone would be eligible for financing through a 70 percentgrant, up to a set grant ceiling for each farmer. The precise grant ceiling would bedetermined once the beneficiary selection is finalized.

Component 3:Restoration of MAF Facilities and Strengthening the Agricultural Sectors Capacity for

Disaster Preparedness and Response

9. The objective of this component would be to support the repair of essential MAF facilitiesthat were damaged during the cyclone, establish systems for the regular collection andupdating of agricultural production information, develop a standard methodology forcollection and analysis of damage and loss data for the agricultural sector, and to strengthencapacities of both farmers and sector institutions in disaster preparedness and response.

Component 4: Project Coordination and Management

10.This component will support effective implementation and management of the projectthrough:

a) Staff and technical assistance: engagement of incremental staff (consultants) needed tocoordinate and implement the project effectively.

b) Equipment and operating costs.

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c) Monitoring and evaluation: designing and implementing an MIS system for the voucherand recovery grant programs and enhancing MAFs M&E systems to track

implementation progress and results.

Proposed Voucher System

11.Component 1 will require a system of vouchers with the following features:a) Vouchers could be of two types as indicated above, for Fishers and Farmers respectively,

based on the classification of affected villages to which those households belong.

b) Each type could have one of two values based on further classification of villages(moderately or severely affected by the cyclone).

c) Vouchers may be exchanged for goods, only at approved suppliers. And they may onlypurchase items from the approved categories for each type of voucher.

d) Vouchers may be spent in one or many transactions during the validity period.e) They may not be transferred to others.f) MAF should have the capacity to monitor the progress of the overall program, including

how quickly and on what the vouchers are being spent, and also to audit transactions toguard against misuse.

12. It is also important that the administration of vouchers should be inexpensive whencompared with the total value to be disbursed (Approx. WST 3.2 million) and thatdisbursements should begin by January 2014 at the latest.

13.The use of paper vouchers and manual processing of payments is considered undesirable inthis context, on the grounds of cost, inability to support the required voucher characteristics,and the logistical effort that would be required to meet the volumes anticipated, especially inthe first few weeks.

14.Therefore, a system of electronic vouchers (e-vouchers) is proposed, which will consist ofthree inter-related components:

a) A payment system based either on a mobile phone-based, e-wallet service, or a smartcard system. The technology selection will be made on commencement of the project.

b) Point of sale information systems at the approved supplier locations, capable ofmaintaining beneficiary identities, a running balance and details of items purchased witheach transaction.

c) An e-voucher MIS operated by MAF, which would hold comprehensive information onall aspects of the voucher program, including the transaction information for all

beneficiaries.

Operation of the voucher system

15.One proposal, based on discussions with both local phone companies, is to use mobile phonenetworks for cash transfer by adapting an existing product.

16.Beneficiaries will be registered by MAF, recording their formal identification documents(Electoral card or driving license, an associated mobile phone number, type of vouchers, and

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eligible amounts in a purpose designed e-vouchers MIS. Most beneficiaries are likely to ownmobile phones. Those that do not will be issued a basic phone, the value of which will be setoff against their voucher (estimated at US$ 25 or less).

17.A funds transfer system based on adaptation of the n "e-wallet" / "ezi-cash" system currentlyoperated by the mobile phone company will be used to transfer credit between the

beneficiary and supplier when a transaction occurs. There would be a slight modification tothe standard e-wallet service, so that transactions may be restricted to suppliers nominated byMAF. This would ensure that the e-vouchers may only be exchanged for the approved typesof agricultural or fisheries related items. It would not be valid for phone calls or data, nor bewithdrawn as cash. The mobile phone operator would be required to ensure that theserestrictions operate reliably as part of an agreement with MAF.

18.The project would be disburse benefits shortly after registration by paying money into therecipients designated phone accounts. Beneficiaries would be notified of the availability offunds and the names of approved suppliers. There would be a high degree of confidence thatthe funds would only be applied towards the purchase of the approved categories of goodsdue to the two levels of controls designed into the system: a) recipients would be restrictedas to which suppliers would be able to accept e-voucher payments; b) approved supplierswould be bound by an MOU to sell only goods in the approved category list to e-voucherholders.

19.Suppliers would be expected to run an electronic point of sale (POS) system. It is known thatthe top five or so suppliers run the same POS systems (Infinity). Although it is notmandatory, having similar systems would reduce implementation effort. Sales will berecorded on these systems in the normal way, except for two changes required by the project:a) A new mode of payment will need to be included (i.e. the MAF e-voucher); and b) thebeneficiaries names and identity details would need to be maintained within the customerdatabase for reporting purposes.

20.The phone company will submit a (periodic) statement to suppliers and MAF showing asummary of transactions grouped by supplier, identifying the beneficiaries by telephonenumber. The supplier will match this information to the details in their POS system andproduce a statement for MAF, showing detailed transaction information for each sale. Paperdocumentation, such as a signed delivery note may also be specified if required. Thisinformation will allow MAF to audit payments on a sample basis, each month, and also tomaintain its own MIS, without further manual data entry.

21.This process would eliminate the high volume of payment processing activity within MAFthat would result from a manual system or even an electronic one that required MAF to makepayments to suppliers. Spikes in transaction volumes could also be accommodated by the

network with no impact on MAF. Full audit control would be retained and excellentmonitoring information would also be available, provided the suppliers fulfill theirobligations in respect of periodic statements. It would also ensure that suppliers receivepayments without delay, addressing a concern voiced by several of those interviewed.

22.The transaction cost of the phone-based credit transfer will be negotiated with the operatorsand paid by the project as appropriate. Any costs associated with startup activities such aschanges to the telephone operators' software, specification and implementation of reporting

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templates at suppliers, and registering the beneficiary lists and approved goods lists atsuppliers, will be met by the project.

System using Smart Cards

23. If the Smart Card technology is selected in place of phones, it will simply replace the phonesas the medium of payment, leaving the overall process largely the same. Beneficiaries willbe issued with Smart Cards after registration and the card numbers will be recorded againsttheir identity in the MAF database. The same details will be available at suppliers. The usageof cards will be restricted to participating suppliers simply by issuing them with themachines required to process those payments.

Disbursement of funds and reporting

24.With either technology, MAF will ensure that funds are deposited to the credit of beneficiaryaccounts through a single payment to the operator, accompanied by a list of account numbersand amounts generated from the voucher MIS.

25.With the current legislation, mobile phone operators are required by the Central Bank ofSamoa to maintain a balance equivalent to the total e-wallet credit available to its customersin a specified trust account. In this case, MAF and the phone company will enter into anagreement to deposit the funds in a special trust account set up for the project, which mayoperate under slightly different rules and reporting requirements. Discussions with theCentral Bank indicate that this could be accommodated by negotiating an exemption to thecurrent law.

26. If the smart card technology were adopted, a similar trust account would be used, althoughthis would require no special exemption.

Objectives27.The objectives of the assignment are to:

a) Guide and manage the implementation of e-voucher system based on the high-levelspecifications that have been prepared and any preliminary arrangements that may havebeen made with suppliers and technology providers.

b) Integrate the voucher MIS with the general MAF MIS and the MIS of its other mainongoing project, SACEP.

c) Provide ongoing technical advice during the project to ensure that all information systemsare operating correctly, that data is up to date and complete, and that backups, securityand other operational procedures are being followed.

d) Advice and manage the implementation of any enhancements or changes that may berequired during the lifetime of the project.

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Scope of work

28.Working closely with the Project Manager, MAF, and World Bank experts as required,review the available specifications for the e-voucher system, including reporting and auditoutputs and information storage requirements for:

a) The payment systemb) Supplier POS system enhancements and integration requirementsc) The MAF e-voucher MIS

29. Identify and document the work processes, including reporting, audit trail and securityrequirements as the basis of technology specifications and as a guide for operations.

30.Accordingly, review, refine and complete the specifications in respect of technologyrequirements, and any institutional arrangements that may be necessary to support theplanned work processes.

31.Work closely with the Project Manager to develop a detailed project plan for implementingthe e-voucher system, including non-technology related tasks such as setting up trustaccounts and obtaining approvals from the Central Bank. Execute the plan.

32.Ensure that the main technology providers the telephone operators or smart card companyand associated bankare thoroughly briefed on the specifications; guide and manage theirwork throughout the implementation process.

33.Working closely with the participating suppliers, engage suitable technical resources capableof implementing the required enhancements to the POS systems of selected suppliers, briefthem on the specifications and manage their work, including testing and quality assurance oftheir outputs as required, on behalf of MAF and the suppliers.

34.Develop and implement the e-voucher MIS in MAF. Engage internal IT resources and orexternal contractors if needed to meet schedules, subject to approval from MAF. While nodatabase platform or front end software has been determined, open-source technologies willbe preferred.

35. Supervise development of the e-voucher system to ensure that project schedules are met;respond promptly to queries and requests for clarifications; and conduct testing and qualityassurance of components as they are built.

36. Integrate the components of the system and conduct testing and quality assurance of theentire e-voucher system, including the full business process and audit processes inpreparation for operations.

37.Lead the integration of the tested e-voucher system into the main business processes of MAFand AFCRP.

38.Oversee and support the ongoing operation of the e-voucher system including training ofMAF IT staff in its operation and progressive transfer of responsibilities for its operation.

39.Direct the design, development and implementation of the voucher MIS into the main MAFMIS, and the SACEP MIS database.

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Estimate of Inputs & Reporting

40.The current schedule is to complete the development and implementation of the e-vouchersystem by 30 November 2013, to complete testing and any rectification that may be requiredby 20 December 2013 and to commence operation of the voucher system by 22 January2014. It is expected that the consultant will be required to work on a full-time basis until

testing is complete and for the first two weeks following the commencement of operations.S/he will thereafter be required to provide short inputs on a periodic basis during 2014.

41.A total input of five person months is estimated.42.The consultant will report directly to the Project Manager, AFCRP.Qualifications and Selection Criteria

43.The following qualifications are required:a) Proven experience of at least ten years in Information Technology of which at least eight

years in the implementation of Information Systems of significant complexity, includingissues of change management and interactions between various internal and externalentities. At least four years of this experience in a senior role such as team leader and atleast two as Project Manager;

b) Five years experience in functional and technical design of information systems,including relational database design;

c) Five years experience of the full software engineering life-cycle;d) Current skills in SQL and at least one relational database management system, ideally

including MySQL, Java and related open source technologies and tools as well as themore common Microsoft products.

e) Experience of implementing electronic payments systems would be highly desirable.f) Ability to work within a larger, non-ICT team and to manage multiple external

contractors and stakeholders;

g) Excellent communication skills.