The Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture is a higher education institution established in 2019 with a focus on practical agriculture. Its campus in Gashora (Bugesera) includes working farms, classrooms, a commercial kitchen, offices and residential housing. It also maintains satellite operations at Nasho in Kirehe District (both in Eastern Province).

Website: https://www.rica.rw/

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

Consultancy Services for GIS and Remote Sensing Expert

Background

The Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) is a higher education institute in Rwanda that specializes in conservation agriculture and one-health principles. The institute combines experiential hands-on learning to train the next generation of agricultural leaders in Rwanda and East Africa. In addition to training students, RICA conducts applied research and offers extension services to empower smallholder farmers with skills and practices that improve soil health, crop yields, and enhance animal produce.

The RICA is supporting the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) to develop Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) plans under the LDCF III project being implemented in Kirehe and Gakenke districts. RICA’s support to REMA is to develop training modules, training materials and train project beneficiaries on Ecosystem Based Adaptation, Climate Smart Agriculture, and Livelihoods development aimed at climate-proofing and building resilience to extreme weather changes in the project areas.

This project is being implemented in four catchments: (i) Bukinanyana catchment in Kirehe covering an area of about 5,282.5 hectares, (ii) Gasharu catchment in Kirehe covering about 6,165.1 hectares, (iii) Muramba catchment in Gakenke covering about 3,033.2 hectares, and (iv) Kagano catchment covering about 9,085.1 hectares.

Therefore, RICA is seeking for an individual expert in GIS and Remote Sensing to be contracted as a consultant to support RICA’s staff in mapping the project targeted areas.

Scope of work

The GIS and Remote Sensing Expert is expected to do the following:

  • Develop georeferenced maps of the four project target catchment areas indicating village, cell, and sector boundaries in each catchment.
  • Develop contour maps of the catchment areas to determine sloppy areas that need to be protected against soil erosion.
  • Use high resolution satellite images to map out different land-uses in each catchment i.e. residential areas, farmland, forests, wetlands, non-arable slopes (>25o), etc.
  • Using satellite imagery and indicate boundaries and acreage for each land use activity in each catchment area e.g. acreage of wetlands, forests, arable land, residential areas in hectares.
  • Use satellite imagery and indicate acreage for each land use.
  • Compile data collected using satellite imagery and its interpretation to be used developing a baseline report for each project site.

Required Expertise

  • The Consultant must have at least 3 years of experience conducting and offering GIS and Remote Sensing activities.
  • Possess proved ability to develop georeferenced maps
  • Ability to interpret satellite imagery and how they relate to land use especially agriculture practices.
  • Ability to develop and interpret contour maps.

Preferred Qualifications

The consultant must possess:

  • A doctoral degree in GIS, remote sensing, geography, precision agriculture, agronomy, soil science, environmental studies, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in both GIS and Remote Sensing activities.
  • A master’s degree in GIS, remote sensing, geography, precision agriculture, agronomy, soil science, environmental studies, with a minimum of 3 years’ experience in both GIS and Remote Sensing activities.
  • Having proven experience in similar tasks will be an advantage.

Duration of the assignment

  • The assignment is for a maximum period of two months from the date of signing the contract.

Expression of Interest submission

Interested and qualified consultant(s) are invited to express their interest by submitting the following documents by email to bids@rica.rw;

  1. A letter of interest addressed to the Vice Chancellor of RICA.
  2. A copy of their current CV.
  3. A workplan and timeline for delivering on each activity in the scope of work.
  4. A cost breakdown indicating consultancy fees and any other incidental expenses.

Deadline

Expression of Interest documents must be submitted not later than 21st June 2024 at 5:00pm.

For any further clarification on this request for expression of interest you can send an email to bids@rica.rw.