Terms of Reference (TOR)

ToR- Training Module for Financial institutions on Cold storages and Toolkit for Cold storage.

 

Title	Training Module for Financial institutions on Cold storages and Toolkit for Cold storage assessment.
Timeline	03 months
Expected area of expertise	Agri Business /Agri Financing/ Agri Infrastructure
Apply Link	https://forms.gle/1tDJ4Vvsc2PB825EA (Contact Procurement for Form Link)
Email and website	https://selcofoundation.org/ / procurement@selcofoundation.org

About SELCO Foundation:

SELCO Foundation’s mission is to create a platform of solutions that uses sustainable energy as a catalyst to bridge environmental sustainability and poverty alleviation. With holistic development as the primary focus, the organization strives to create equitable societies, where services are accessed by all communities. The interventions of SELCO lead to a sustainable delivery model of essential services like livelihoods, education and health till the last mile. (Read more about SELCO here: (http://www.selcofoundation.org/)

Summary of the project:

In India, post-harvest losses amount to INR 1,52,970 Crores annually, highlighting the need for effective solutions. Reducing these losses is vital for improving food security, enhancing farmers' incomes, and reducing environmental waste. Cooling infrastructure, such as cold storage, plays a crucial role in extending the shelf life of perishable crops and preventing spoilage. By implementing efficient cooling systems at the farm gate, farmers can maintain the freshness of their produce, reduce waste, and ensure that their crops reach the market in optimal condition, ultimately enabling them to secure better prices for their harvest.

Recognizing the challenges posed by post-harvest losses, which have significant environmental and economic consequences, the SELCO Foundation emphasizes the importance of cooling infrastructure at the farm gate level. To help tackle key issues such as the perishability of produce and price fluctuations, SELCO Foundation supported the installation of solar-powered cold storage systems across 15 states. This initiative is designed to help farmers preserve the quality of their crops and reduce losses.

Farmers, especially small-scale ones, often struggle to afford cold chain networks and post-harvest equipment due to high initial capital costs and limited access to financing. Establishing infrastructure like cold storages and post-harvest machinery requires significant investment, which many farmers cannot afford without external support. Additionally, many lack access to affordable credit, making it difficult to invest in such high-cost systems. Without sufficient government support the high costs and risks associated with cold chain and post-harvest equipment remain a significant challenge for farmers.

This proposal intends to develop business models for the listed types and all other documents a banker needs (Ex: Financial projection, project feasibility, sustainability and impact, loan repayment capacity etc).

The proposal also intends to develop a tool kit to assess the performance of cold storages both existing and new ones.

1. Existing cold storage: Developing a toolkit for evaluating the existing cold storage performance.
2. New Cold storage: Developing a toolkit to assess the new cold storage proposal, need to evaluate the end user readiness, location factors, market linkage aspects etc.

In addition to this, it also seeks for developing a training module for cold storage utilization enhancement: This intends to change the operational framework of existing cold storages by replicating the successful business models.

The program proposes to develop documents that creates confidence among the financial institutions to support for the adoption of post-harvest infrastructure, develop a tool kit to assess the performance of existing cold storages and assess the new proposals. Also, the proposal expects to develop a training module for enhancing cold storage utilization, it involves changing the framework in the sites to make the existing cold storage is viable by replicating the successful models.

To further engage stakeholders and ensure effective collaboration, SELCO Foundation is in the process of onboarding a consultant for the “Developing business models and related documents for Financial institutions and training modules for enhancing the cold storage utilization and a Toolkit for Cold storage assessment”.

Goals and Objectives:

The program seeks to develop business models for the listed types and the related documents for financial institutions which shows financial feasibility for support for the adoption of such technologies for farmers, develop a toolkit for assessing the performance of existing cold storages and evaluate the new proposals also intends to develop a training module for enhancing cold storage utilization, it involves changing the framework in the sites to make the existing cold storage is viable by replicating the successful models.

Scope of Work

Cold storages were implemented with various partners and various ownership models like few are with individual farmers, FPO’s, FPC’s, FIG’s, SHG’s etc. This activity is to make financial institutions to come forward to provide financial assistance. It includes to understand the financial institutions requirement to fund for the technology. Based on their requirement these training modules are developed. The tool kit is a comprehensive method to access and evaluate the cold storage Business model. The third module of training will be for the framework the change should bring in the sites to make the existing cold storage is viable.

This activity involves conducting a detailed analysis of the site and identifying the bottlenecks, reasons for underperformance etc develop a detailed strategy (unique to each site) for enhancing utilization by considering the ownership model, develop training content / tool kit with detailed assessment and provide training on both tech and non tech aspects to the end users or the groups concerned.

To apply

Interested individuals, with relevant experience (please include portfolio and links of relevant work) are requested to reach out with a Statement of Purpose giving a brief on how the opportunity aligns with their goals, including budgets (with break-ups and explanation), timelines and milestones and submit the same to the google form https://forms.gle/1tDJ4Vvsc2PB825EA on before 02nd January, 2025.

Any further queries please write to procurement@selcofoundation.org  with a subject line:

“Training Module for Financial institutions on Cold storages and Toolkit for Cold storage” Note: The application will be evaluated on a rolling basis.

To download the full ToR, click here

Tags Education and Education Technology (edtech) Innovations and Technology Others