International Labour Organization
Terms of Reference
Consultancy Assignment
Value Chain Analysis in the Fisheries Sector in Myanmar
November 2014
1. Background
DANIDA is funding the programme on Responsible Business in Myanmar, of which component 2,
implemented by the ILO, “Responsible Industry Development in the Garment and Fisheries sectors in
Myanmar”, seeks to address meso level value chain development challenges for job creation and job
quality improvement with a market development approach. The challenges include: (1) the absence
of a comprehensive policy and strategy for development of the garment and fishery sectors; (2) little
understanding of binding constraints for employment and business growth and (3) an absence of
business service providers as well as financial services in both sectors. The component’s objective is
to create and improve jobs in two sub-sectors of Myanmar’s economy, by addressing key underlying
constraints in the garment and the fisheries sector as potential future job creators.
Rational for intervening in the fisheries sector
There is an increasing amount of information available on the fisheries sector, most existing reports
concur with a recent assessment from UNDP: “The role of fisheries in income and employment
generation and food security cannot be overestimated in Myanmar”. Indeed, associated with the
country’s water resources are substantial fisheries in the major rivers, providing considerable
potential for aquaculture development in the low-lying river delta areas in the South and Centre of
the country. Myanmar also has significant marine fisheries resources along its 3000 kilometre
coastline. During 1998-2009, the total catch of freshwater and marine fish almost tripled, with
expanded aquaculture development being the main factor of this increase. In 2010, the overall value
of Myanmar’s fisheries rose to US$496 million with fish and shrimps becoming major export items.
Bothe export and local markets (due to high local fish consumption) offer opportunities in the
future.
According to FAO, both women and men are involved in the sector, though often in different roles,
with men being more prominent in larger-scale fishing as well as harvesting from aquaculture, while
women more frequently undertake pond maintenance, processing, or marketing, for instance;
however, more comprehensive research into the representation and working conditions of women
and men in the sector is needed.
While most experts seem to agree that the sector holds huge potential for growth (based on similar
experiences in other SE Asian countries) many challenges are still to be resolved. The main potential
for employment and income generation is seen in both coastal and inland aquaculture. The sector
faces major challenges before the potential of job creation can be realized, this importantly includes
the very limited access to the aquatic resources because of the state-led system of auctioning fishing
rights for the main fishing grounds. Other key problems include disease control and infrastructure
related issues like limited and unreliable electricity supply which makes the operations of cold chains
challenging.
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Consultancy assignment Fisheries Sector in Myanmar
ILO
Besides, local reports suggest that the size of the catch has fallen over the past ten years, the value
of the fishery being sustained only by the increase in the price obtained. The causes of decline in fish
catch appear to relate to various aspect of over-fishing (use of inappropriate nets trap of too many
young shrimps) and in the case of aquaculture, the growth of diseases in the shrimp. These causes
reflect the use of poor techniques and also the poor application of regulations which could have
been used to control and preserve fish stocks. This has also been permitted by a regulatory context
sometimes more driven by the interests of people in government, rather than by a concern for the
protection of the resource or the maintenance of more general public access to it.
On the regulatory side, the UNDP study finds that the Department of Fisheries (DOF) faces severe
constraints in responding to the challenges identified, including: (i) enforcing of laws and regulations
such as the ban on prohibited fishing gear; (ii) revenue and statistical data collection; (iii) marine
fisheries management; (iv) fisheries development, and (v) small-scale aquaculture support. Under
the current conditions, the DOF is unable to maintain any extension service at all, and is completely
unequipped to supervise and support the expanded exploitation of aquaculture and inland fisheries
opportunities.
Project Objective
ILO has been committed to supporting the development of the sector through a range of different
strategies and interventions. One of the areas of intervention is the promotion of Responsible
Business Practices leading to economic and employment growth. Funded by DANIDA, ILO aims “to
contribute to decent work opportunities for men and women in the value chain, as the main actors
targeted within these work towards following responsible business practices”.
ILO will therefore be working towards achieving this goal by supporting the creation of Decent Jobs
in the fisheries sector. This is to be done using a Making Markets work for the Poor approach by
addressing some of the underlying constraints causing bottlenecks in the Value Chain and preventing
the sector from growth and job creation.
2. Objectives of the consultancy
The principal aim of the assessment is to generate sufficient information to identify the main
opportunities and bottlenecks in the fisheries sector, identify the main actors and to plan with them
for actions to strengthen the sector, with a focus on generating new opportunities around creation
and transformation of new and decent job opportunities, which are also gender sensitive. The initial
research needs to establish in which sub-sectors and in which regions the project has the best
conditions for achieving and impact at scale and a demonstration effect. This is why the consultant
needs to address the assessment of the sector in two steps. Firstly an overall assessment of the
existing literature and expert opinions on which sub-sectors to focus on and secondly a more in
depth value chain analysis that looks at the underlying constraints in specific sub-sectors and
regions.
General guiding questions in this assessment are:
Growth opportunities and markets:
1) Which fisheries subsector or subsectors have the greatest potential for growth and for
contribution to the objective of creating decent work opportunities?
2) What is the growth outlook or forecast for the subsector (s)? Which niche markets or
geographic regions have promising growth prospects?
Core Value Chains:
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Consultancy assignment Fisheries Sector in Myanmar
ILO
1) What is the profile of operators in the subsector (s), e.g. type of business, number and type
of employees (including a focus on men/ women employment presence), type of clients
etc.?
2) Who and how many SMEs are operating in the subsector (s)?
3) What are the key constraints that prevent these companies and potential entrepreneurs
from growth which could result in the creation/ transformation of jobs to decent work
opportunities
4) What kind of support would these companies and potential entrepreneurs need to develop
their company
5) What are the main bottlenecks that prevent these companies and potential entrepreneurs
from accessing (existing) support
Support markets:
6) What are the main products or services delivered in the subsector (s)?
7) What are the likely underlying constraints in the support markets (financial services,
business services, technical services , input suppliers)
Business environment
8) What are core issues in the regulatory and administrative areas for the development of the
sector, at local and national level?
Feasibility questions
9) In which regions is there already a heavy donor presence in the fisheries sector?
10) With which (inter)national partners should ILO collaborate in the fisheries sector or
subsector (s), and in what way?
11) What added value will the ILO programme bring? What are indicators that could be used to
select a target market and region?
12) What are the main issues for ILO to take into account to improve the programme?
3. Key tasks and outputs
The tasks to be performed have been divided into two parts:
PART I: Desk and consultative research.
In this part the following tasks are expected:
1. Conduct a desk research or inventory of previous, on-going or upcoming studies, analysis,
prognosis and plans related to fisheries in Myanmar,
2. Complete and validate the desk research inventory by conducting a number of consultation
meetings / interviews with key actors in the fisheries sectors. They include (but are not
limited to) the Myanmar Department of Fisheries, the Myanmar Fisheries Federation, other
national fisheries-supporting organisations and service providers, representatives of various
selected fishing related enterprises, and international partners that work in the same field.
In addition to identifying 'who is doing what' in the fisheries sector, these meetings serve to
collect experts’ opinion on which fisheries sectors and which regions have the most
potential for growth.
3. Debrief the preliminary findings of the desk research and consultations with ILO liaison
office in Myanmar, and jointly decide on geographic and sectoral areas in which to conduct
further analysis and list the potential partners.
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Consultancy assignment Fisheries Sector in Myanmar
ILO
The following outputs are expected:
1. A preliminary fisheries sector overview that includes the following elements:
 An overview of the fisheries sector and its growth prospects in Myanmar. This should
include macroeconomic data, as well as state-specific and site-specific data that are
available. An analysis of the role of SME in the sector is required as well.
 A bird's eye view of the political, economic and social situation and possible
developments that could influence the project and the fisheries sector.
 An overview of the labour and working conditions in the sector at an enterprise level with
a focus on constraints and opportunities for job creation and transformation through a
gender sensitive approach.
 An analysis of the role and situation of various size enterprises (large as well as SMEs),
including specific strengths and weaknesses of the fisheries sector in the Myanmar
economy.
 Identification of the current trends in local and foreign-direct-investment and its
potential impact on the creation and transformation of jobs with a gender specific
approach.
 Existing and planned donor and agency interventions in the fisheries sector.
 Other ILO interventions and issues that might be of relevance to the project.
 Summary of opinions (qualitative) of the stakeholders regarding the fisheries sector /
regions with the most potential for growth.
 Potential key stakeholders who could be involved as partner to implement the
responsible business practices
 Debriefing meeting conducted with summary report on decisions taken (fisheries sectors
or value chains selected for further study)
PART II: Value chain analysis of targeted fisheries sectors in selected regions
Once a number (to be defined) of potential fisheries sectors and geographic areas have been
selected, the assignment will carry on to collect more in-depth information on these sectors, from a
demand as well as supply side in one of the geographic areas defined conjointly with the ILO office in
Myanmar. The objective of this part is for a consultant to: (1) identify and evaluate the key
constraints and bottlenecks in the targeted fisheries sectors in selected regions; (2) identify key
actors from the sector interested in initiating responsible business practices (3) provide ILO with a
recommendation on service and training needs that would contribute to addressing underline
bottlenecks within the supply chain leading to the creation of more and better jobs with a gender
sensitive focus .
In this part the following tasks are expected:
1. Value Chain Analysis: The VCA(s) will be done with a M4P1 framework with a key focus on
market demand and future economic prospects of the value chains analysed. A market
system analysis includes identifying key constraints and gaps in knowledge and capacities of
producers in the input supply chain. The consultant will analyse and map the core value
chain, existing financial and Business Development Service (BDS) providers into this chain
and key aspects of the business environment. He/she will then produce a Value Chain Map
which will be validated in an initial VCD workshop.
2. Value Chain Intervention Workshop: After further interviews and analysis the consultant will
organize a half-day workshop with key players of the value chain to identify market driven
interventions that can help increase competitiveness and productivity of the value chain
1
See: http://www.enterprise-development.org/page/m4p
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Consultancy assignment Fisheries Sector in Myanmar
ILO
with the final aim of creating more and better jobs (with a gender sensitive focus). In this
workshop initial intervention ideas will be developed in collaboration with the value chain
stakeholders. It will be key to identify economic incentives of specific stakeholders (be it
larger buyers, BDS providers, financial institutions etc.) to provide these services in the long
term.
3. Business Model Development: Based on identified needs and considering identified services,
the consultant will develop business models proposal for service provision aimed at
improving collaboration of VCD actors based on a M4P approach. Services could include but
are not limited to training and service provision that may be required in order to improve
the sub sector, such as but not limited to: vocational, entrepreneurship, business and HR
management training, financial services etc. all leading to a potential business and
employment growth. Environmental sustainability and gender/ women participation and
empowerment will be cross cutting and considered throughout the assessment.
4. Value Chain Actors: The consultant will also provide a recommendation on which value chain
actors should be prioritized for ILO pilot interventions. Selection criteria will be jointly
discussed and decided with ILO.
5. Mapping of Service Providers: The consultant will finally map possible service providers and
evaluate their institutional capacity to work on the development of the sector as
implementing partners. These may include private sector service providers, vocational
school and training centres as well as other local organisations that can contribute to the
fulfilment of the projects objectives, but also larger private sector companies in the fisheries
sector, financial services providers, intermediate traders, business associations, local and
national government institutions.
The following outputs are expected in this part:
1. Detailed work plan for the different steps of the process with delivery timelines in the first
week after the start of the assignment with time- and deadlines for products and associated
workshops
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Consultancy assignment Fisheries Sector in Myanmar
ILO
2. Provide ILO with a matrix covering information on actors and service providers in the
targeted fisheries sector in selected regions.
3. One workshop will be held with representatives of selected groups within the sub sector to
identify sector specific constraints, needs and opportunities.
4. VCA report identifying the main opportunities and gaps of the sub sectors. An analysis of
their economic prospects, ability to grow and employment creation. Furthermore, it will
provide recommendations on who within the sub-sector should be targeted for an initial
pilot set of activities that could provide an incentive for a change in the value chain that
would ultimately lead to job creation.
5. Provide recommendations on training and service provision needs of recommended
prioritized groups for a pilot intervention. The report is to include an analysis on how the
intervention is expected to promote the key project objectives of promoting Decent Work
and Decent Job Creation. The report will also reflect on the issues of environment
sustainability and gender/ women empowerment as cross cutting.
6. An additional report will be submitted that would include recommendations on business
models that would benefit the provision of business services that address the bottlenecks in
VCD that lead to improving collaboration of VCD actors based on a M4P approach. The
report will further highlighting the range of service providers that could be partnered with to
deliver services to the targeted pilot group(s). The report will also include a short SWOT
outlining the capacity of each of the service providers.
4. Selection of consultants, workload and timeframe
The work will start on 1 December 2014 and be completed no later than 28 February 2015. The total
level of effort should be 30-40 working days. The lead consultant is expected to propose a timeframe
for the activities including the need for travel an in-country/distance work. This needs to be agreed
with the ILO project
5. Team to work on the assignment
These terms of reference are for the consultant that is expected to lead the assessment team that
will be composed as follows:



An International consultant who leads the team with a M4P and value chain facilitation
background
A local and/or international fisheries sector expert that advises on the fisheries specific
aspects
The National Project Coordinator of the ILO Responsible Business project responsible for
Fisheries and 1-2 translators depending on the task at hand
See Annex 1: Professional background requirements of the consultant team
6. Reporting Lines
The consultant will report and closely liaise with:
Ms. Michal Strahilevitz-Ben Eliezer, Chief Technical Advisor/ Project Manager
Daw Thin Myint Aung, ILO National Coordinator for the Fisheries Sector.
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Consultancy assignment Fisheries Sector in Myanmar
ILO
Annex 1: Key Profile of Consultant team
International Consultant:
Aim and responsibilities of the consultant:
The international consultant will act as the team leader for the consultancy. Within this context
he/she will have the overall responsibility in leading the various activities of the consultancy,
including but not limited to: literature review; responsible over the collection and analysis of primary
and secondary data; leading consultation sessions and workshops with various sector stakeholders,
BDS and other service providers; main focal point for the consultancy team and its mobilization;
finalization of the report and outcomes presentation to the ILO Myanmar Liaison Office.
Specific professional expertise:

Over 10 years of professional experience in the fisheries sector on an international
setting, working in various levels of the fishery sector value chain preferably in the Asia
region and/or Myanmar.

Must have experience in Value Chain Analysis and knowledge of the ILO Value ‘Chain
Development for Decent Work’ and /or in the M4P approach with demonstrated
experience in VCA

Relevant educational background

Knowledge of training and service providers providing capacity building services for
SMEs and private sector development

Excellent verbal and writing communication and presentation skills

Capacity to produce high-quality reports

Strong social, organizational and knowledge management skills required in order to
coordinate and manage a research and project network

Strong English language skills are required
Total Number of working days:
Up to 40 working days
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Consultancy assignment Fisheries Sector in Myanmar
ILO
National Fisheries Expert:
Aim and responsibilities of the consultant:
The national fisheries expert will be assigned under the responsibility of the international consultant.
The expert will support the consultancy through undertaking the following key activities, however,
not limited to: providing and collecting sector and country specific information; liaising and
facilitating meetings between the consultancy team and key actors and stakeholders in the country;
support in the identification of key areas for potential prioritization and intervention; support the
consultation sessions and workshops with various sector stakeholders and service providers; support
the finalization of the VCA report and outcomes to be presented to the ILO Myanmar Liaison Office.
Specific professional expertise:

Over 10 years of professional experience in the fisheries sector in Myanmar, with
working experience in various regions and fisheries subsectors.

Strong professional networks and linkages with key in country specialists

Background and experience in various marketing aspects of various products within the
fisheries sector will be regarded as an added value

Must have at least a basic understanding of a value chain approach

Knowledge of training and service providers providing capacity building services for
SMEs and private sector development will be an asset

Strong social, organizational and knowledge management skills required in order to
coordinate and manage a research and project network

Excellent verbal and writing communication and presentation skills in English and
Myanmar
Total Number of working days:
Up to 30 working days
For more details please contact:
Daw Thein Myint Aung, ILO National Project Coordinator for Fisheries
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01-566538/9; 578927; 579956
Mobile: 09-9450065445
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Consultancy assignment Fisheries Sector in Myanmar
ILO
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Consultancy assignment Fisheries Sector in Myanmar
ILO