SAMOA AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES CYCLONE RESPONSE PROJECT (AFCRP) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) SPECIALIST TERMS OF REFERENCE

1. The proposed Samoa Agriculture and Fisheries Cyclone Recovery Project (AFCRP or Project) is seeking a qualified and experienced Information Technology (IT) Specialist to lead 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 Ministry of 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 the World 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 future disasters. 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 the areas designated as severely or moderately affected by the cyclone. All subsistence farming and fishing households in the cyclone affected areas will be targeted. It is anticipated that the Project will directly benefit about 7000 subsistence households. In addition, about 100 commercial farmers and aquaculturists who have incurred cyclone damage will also be supported 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 cyclone affected subsistence farmers and fishers by providing targeted financial assistance in the form of special vouchers. a) Vouchers for subsistence farmers: Vouchers would be issued to project beneficiaries for procuring a range of eligible farm items approved suppliers participating in the project. 1

b) Vouchers for subsistence fishers: Vouchers would be issued to eligible fisher households in the same severely and moderately affected areas for procuring a range of agreed items from approved suppliers. Vouchers would be issued for fishing equipment only in villages with Community Based Fisheries Management Plans or villages with designated 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 be determined once the beneficiary selection is finalized. Vouchers would be valid for 15 months 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 cyclone affected commercial farmers and fishers. The component would comprise of: a) Recovery grants for commercial farmers: Commercial farmers in severely and moderately affected areas whose farm equipment or infrastructure was lost or damaged due to the cyclone would be eligible for recovery grants. This would be done through a 70 percent grant, up to a set grant ceiling for each farmer, following grant program guidelines developed for the project. The precise grant ceiling would be determined once the beneficiary selection is finalized. b) Recovery grants for commercial aquaculturists: Commercial farmers involved in aquaculture in the cyclone affected areas who have damaged or lost equipment or infrastructure would be eligible for support under the project. Only enterprises fully operational prior to the cyclone would be eligible for financing through a 70 percent grant, up to a set grant ceiling for each farmer. The precise grant ceiling would be determined 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 facilities that were damaged during the cyclone, establish systems for the regular collection and updating of agricultural production information, develop a standard methodology for collection and analysis of damage and loss data for the agricultural sector, and to strengthen capacities 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 project through: a) Staff and technical assistance: engagement of incremental staff (consultants) needed to coordinate and implement the project effectively. b) Equipment and operating costs.

c) Monitoring and evaluation: designing and implementing an MIS system for the voucher and 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 only purchase 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 to guard against misuse. 12. It is also important that the administration of vouchers should be inexpensive when compared with the total value to be disbursed (Approx. WST 3.2 million) and that disbursements should begin by January 2014 at the latest. 13. The use of paper vouchers and manual processing of payments is considered undesirable in this 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 in the first few weeks. 14. Therefore, a system of electronic vouchers (e-vouchers) is proposed, which will consist of three inter-related components: a) A payment system based either on a mobile phone-based, e-wallet service, or a smart card system. The technology selection will be made on commencement of the project. b) Point of sale information systems at the approved supplier locations, capable of maintaining beneficiary identities, a running balance and details of items purchased with each transaction. c) An e-voucher MIS operated by MAF, which would hold comprehensive information on all 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 phone networks 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 3

eligible amounts in a purpose designed e-vouchers MIS. Most beneficiaries are likely to own mobile phones. Those that do not will be issued a basic phone, the value of which will be set off 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 currently operated 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 to the standard e-wallet service, so that transactions may be restricted to suppliers nominated by MAF. This would ensure that the e-vouchers may only be exchanged for the approved types of agricultural or fisheries related items. It would not be valid for phone calls or data, nor be withdrawn as cash. The mobile phone operator would be required to ensure that these restrictions operate reliably as part of an agreement with MAF. 18. The project would be disburse benefits shortly after registration by paying money into the recipients designated phone accounts. Beneficiaries would be notified of the availability of funds and the names of approved suppliers. There would be a high degree of confidence that the funds would only be applied towards the purchase of the approved categories of goods due to the two levels of controls designed into the system: a) recipients would be restricted as to which suppliers would be able to accept e-voucher payments; b) approved suppliers would be bound by an MOU to sell only goods in the approved category list to e-voucher holders. 19. Suppliers would be expected to run an electronic point of sale (POS) system. It is known that the top five or so suppliers run the same POS systems (Infinity). Although it is not mandatory, having similar systems would reduce implementation effort. Sales will be recorded 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) the beneficiaries names and identity details would need to be maintained within the customer database for reporting purposes. 20. The phone company will submit a (periodic) statement to suppliers and MAF showing a summary of transactions grouped by supplier, identifying the beneficiaries by telephone number. The supplier will match this information to the details in their POS system and produce a statement for MAF, showing detailed transaction information for each sale. Paper documentation, such as a signed delivery note may also be specified if required. This information will allow MAF to audit payments on a sample basis, each month, and also to maintain its own MIS, without further manual data entry. 21. This process would eliminate the high volume of payment processing activity within MAF that would result from a manual system or even an electronic one that required MAF to make payments 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 excellent monitoring information would also be available, provided the suppliers fulfill their obligations in respect of periodic statements. It would also ensure that suppliers receive payments 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 operators and paid by the project as appropriate. Any costs associated with startup activities such as changes to the telephone operators' software, specification and implementation of reporting 4

templates at suppliers, and registering the beneficiary lists and approved goods lists at suppliers, 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 phones as the medium of payment, leaving the overall process largely the same. Beneficiaries will be issued with Smart Cards after registration and the card numbers will be recorded against their identity in the MAF database. The same details will be available at suppliers. The usage of cards will be restricted to participating suppliers simply by issuing them with the machines 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 beneficiary accounts through a single payment to the operator, accompanied by a list of account numbers and amounts generated from the voucher MIS. 25. With the current legislation, mobile phone operators are required by the Central Bank of Samoa to maintain a balance equivalent to the total e-wallet credit available to its customers in a specified trust account. In this case, MAF and the phone company will enter into an agreement to deposit the funds in a special trust account set up for the project, which may operate under slightly different rules and reporting requirements. Discussions with the Central Bank indicate that this could be accommodated by negotiating an exemption to the current law. 26. If the smart card technology were adopted, a similar trust account would be used, although this would require no special exemption. Objectives 27. The objectives of the assignment are to: a) Guide and manage the implementation of e-voucher system based on the high-level specifications that have been prepared and any preliminary arrangements that may have been made with suppliers and technology providers. b) Integrate the voucher MIS with the general MAF MIS and the MIS of its other main ongoing project, SACEP. c) Provide ongoing technical advice during the project to ensure that all information systems are operating correctly, that data is up to date and complete, and that backups, security and other operational procedures are being followed. d) Advice and manage the implementation of any enhancements or changes that may be required during the lifetime of the project.

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 audit outputs and information storage requirements for: a) The payment system b) Supplier POS system enhancements and integration requirements c) The MAF e-voucher MIS 29. Identify and document the work processes, including reporting, audit trail and security requirements as the basis of technology specifications and as a guide for operations. 30. Accordingly, review, refine and complete the specifications in respect of technology requirements, and any institutional arrangements that may be necessary to support the planned work processes. 31. Work closely with the Project Manager to develop a detailed project plan for implementing the e-voucher system, including non-technology related tasks such as setting up trust accounts and obtaining approvals from the Central Bank. Execute the plan. 32. Ensure that the main technology providers the telephone operators or smart card company and associated bank are thoroughly briefed on the specifications; guide and manage their work throughout the implementation process. 33. Working closely with the participating suppliers, engage suitable technical resources capable of implementing the required enhancements to the POS systems of selected suppliers, brief them on the specifications and manage their work, including testing and quality assurance of their 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 or external contractors if needed to meet schedules, subject to approval from MAF. While no database platform or front end software has been determined, open-source technologies will be 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 quality assurance of components as they are built. 36. Integrate the components of the system and conduct testing and quality assurance of the entire e-voucher system, including the full business process and audit processes in preparation for operations. 37. Lead the integration of the tested e-voucher system into the main business processes of MAF and AFCRP. 38. Oversee and support the ongoing operation of the e-voucher system including training of MAF 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 MAF MIS, and the SACEP MIS database.

Estimate of Inputs & Reporting 40. The current schedule is to complete the development and implementation of the e-voucher system by 30 November 2013, to complete testing and any rectification that may be required by 20 December 2013 and to commence operation of the voucher system by 22 January 2014. 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, including issues of change management and interactions between various internal and external entities. At least four years of this experience in a senior role such as team leader and at least 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 the more 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.