National Consultant for Technical Support to the Implementation of the National Agriculture Sample Census (NASC) 2026 The Gambia — Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West and Central Africa - Series of Projects 1 (HISWACA - SO

Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West and Central Africa ( HISWACA) Project Implementation Unit (PIU), C/o Gambia Bureau of Statistics, Kanifing Institutional Layout, Kanifing, The Gambia REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST Country : The Gambia Project: Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West and Central Africa Grant No.: IDA E1750-GM Assignment Title: Recruitment of a National Consultant for Technical Support to the Implementation of the National Agriculture Sample Census (NASC) 2026 The Gambia The Project Implementation Unit (PIU), operating under the Gambia Bureau of Statistics, has obtained funding from the World Bank for the Harmonization and Improvement of Statistics in West and Central Africa (HISWACA) Series of Projects (SOP1), The Gambia. A portion of these funds is designated for the recruitment of consulting services. The consulting services (“the Services”) include: CONTEXT The primary objective of this project is to facilitate institutional reforms, enhance statistical performance, promote harmonization, and improve data accessibility among participating countries and regional bodies in West Africa. Additionally, it aims to support the modernization of national statistical systems, enabling governments to make informed decisions for the effective monitoring of national commitments, such as the Interim Reference Plan and the Economic Recovery Programme, as well as international obligations, including the ECOWAS Vision 2050, the African Union Agenda 2063, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To achieve this objective, the project will implement a series of targeted activities structured around four (4) key components: Component 1: Harmonization and production of basic statistics using international standards This component supports the implementation of planned reforms to develop and adapt harmonized methodologies and standards within the project's target area, aiming to enhance the production and quality of demographic, economic, social, and poverty statistics. It comprises five sub-components: (i) regional coordination and adoption of harmonized data quality standards to ensure consistency and comparability; (ii) production of demographic and socio-economic statistics to strengthen data collection on population, labor markets, and social indicators; (iii) production of real and fiscal sector statistics to improve macroeconomic data, including national accounts and public finance; (iv) production of agricultural and climate change statistics to monitor agricultural productivity, food security, and environmental impacts; and (v) curation of sectoral and sub-national administrative data to enhance data integration and support policy planning. Collectively, these efforts ensure the availability of high-quality, standardized statistical data for informed decision-making and sustainable development. Component 2: Statistical modernization, institutional reform, human capital, data accessibility and use This component plays a pivotal role in modernizing statistical systems by fostering technological advancements, supporting institutional reforms, enhancing data dissemination, and strengthening human capital to meet the growing demand for high-quality data and ensure more effective monitoring of commitments. It comprises five key sub-components: the modernization of National Statistical Systems (NSS), institutional reforms for selected NSSs, strengthening of human capital, enhancing data accessibility and dissemination, and the utilization and analysis of data to inform public policy. Component 3: Infrastructure Upgrade and Modernization This component is designed to facilitate the modernization of the national statistical system's physical infrastructure, with a particular focus on the National Institute of Statistics. It enhances the capacity of the NSS by strengthening its ICT and statistical infrastructure, ensuring improved efficiency, accuracy, and sustainability in data collection and analysis. Component 4: Project management, monitoring and evaluation Under this component, the PIU will oversee the implementation of all project activities and ensure the achievement of its objectives. This unit will consist of two key sub-components: project management, which will be responsible for planning, execution, and coordination, and project results and user satisfaction monitoring, which will focus on evaluating outcomes and assessing stakeholder satisfaction. To support the effective implementation of the project, the Project Management Unit seeks to recruit a highly qualified individual consultant As part of the implementation of this project, the Project Implementation Unit wishes to recruit an individual consultant Terms of Reference for the Recruitment of a Consultant to Support Administrative Data Collection for the National Accounts Rebasing Exercise Background The Government of The Gambia, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Security and the Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS), is preparing to implement the National Agriculture Sample Census (NASC) 2026. The census is a major statistical exercise designed to generate comprehensive, reliable, and disaggregated data on the structure of agriculture in The Gambia, including crop production, livestock, fisheries, and related rural activities. In line with the recommendations of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on agricultural censuses, NASC 2026 will provide a critical statistical basis for evidence-based agricultural planning, policy formulation, and monitoring of national priorities, as well as regional and global commitments, including the ECOWAS Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP), the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The census will also generate baseline data to support food security monitoring, resilience measurement, agriculture-related investment planning, and broader analysis of the agricultural sector. In addition, the results of NASC 2026 are expected to provide important benchmark data for the agricultural sector to support the rebasing of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Since 2024, substantial preparatory work has been undertaken with technical assistance from the World Bank, FAO, and other partners. This has included survey planning, methodological development, questionnaire design, development of the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) application, and institutional coordination. As implementation approaches, the key challenge is now to ensure effective technical operationalization of the census across the full statistical production cycle. As a result, the Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West and Central Africa Project – Series of Projects One (HISWACA-SOP1), a regional statistical initiative funded by the World Bank, is supporting efforts to strengthen national and regional statistical capacity, improve foundational data sources, modernize statistical infrastructure, and enhance the systems used to produce official statistics. Under Component 1, which focuses on the harmonization and production of core statistics using standardized methodologies, the project supports the implementation of major statistical operations and the production of harmonized, reliable, and comparable data for national and regional use. In this context, the HISWACA project intends to support the implementation of an integrated system of agricultural sample censuses and surveys and will finance the recruitment of a National Consultant to provide the technical support required for the effective implementation of NASC 2026. Objective of the Assignment The objective of the assignment is to provide hands-on technical support for the effective implementation of NASC 2026, including field preparation, real-time data quality assurance during fieldwork, data processing, statistical analysis, reporting, dissemination, and technical capacity strengthening of national staff. This assignment is intended to complement existing national coordination arrangements and ongoing technical assistance by focusing on technical execution and operational support. Scope of the Assignment The consultant shall serve as a technical expert and operational support resource across key stages of the agricultural statistics production cycle. The assignment shall cover, but not necessarily be limited to the following areas of work. Technical Operationalization of NASC 2026 The consultant shall: Support the final technical readiness of NASC instruments, manuals, guidelines, and CAPI applications, including testing, refinement, and validation prior to deployment. Support the implementation of CAPI systems, data transmission protocols, and troubleshooting during field operations, in close collaboration with the Data Processing Manager and the technical team. Establish and support field quality assurance mechanisms during implementation, including field check tables, routine monitoring outputs, and regular bi-weekly data quality reports tracking enumerator performance, completion rates, missing data, outliers, protocol compliance, and back-check results by area and by enumerator. The consultant shall support feedback loops with supervisors to ensure that identified issues are addressed promptly during fieldwork. Support the technical supervision of field data collection in collaboration with national supervisors, with emphasis on adherence to field protocols, completeness, and data quality. Data Processing, Analysis, and Quality Assurance The consultant shall: Contribute to the development and implementation of data cleaning, editing, and validation procedures, including appropriate scripts, consistency checks, and data verification routines. Support the continuous application of data quality assurance measures during field implementation to minimize downstream errors and improve the quality of final outputs. Review sampling weights, tabulation plans, and indicator computation methodologies in collaboration with the relevant technical team. Contribute to the preparation of clean, anonymized, documented, and analysis-ready datasets. Contribute to the production of statistical tables, indicators, and analytical outputs arising from the NASC. Reporting, Dissemination, and Archiving The consultant shall: Support the preparation of the Census Report, statistical snapshots, dissemination of materials, and related communication outputs. Contribute to the updating of a simple key indicators dashboard to facilitate timely communication of implementation progress, preliminary findings, and data quality monitoring outputs. Contribute to methodological documentation, metadata preparation, and technical notes related to survey implementation and processing. Support the establishment of a complete and well-organized NASC archive, including tools, datasets, scripts, manuals, and relevant technical documentation. Capacity Building and Knowledge Transfer The consultant shall: Deliver hands-on training and on-the-job technical coaching to national staff on CAPI implementation, troubleshooting, field monitoring, data quality checks, data processing, cleaning, analysis, indicator computation, reporting, and dissemination. Support structured knowledge transfer to designated staff of the Department of Planning (DoP) and GBoS through practical coaching, technical documentation, and handover of tools and procedures to strengthen institutional capacity beyond the consultancy period. Identify priority technical areas requiring additional strengthening and provide practical recommendations for follow-up by the relevant institutions. Coordination and Technical Reporting The consultant shall: Provide technical support and coordination inputs to national teams, the World Bank, FAO, and other relevant partners, as required for effective operational implementation of NASC 2026. Such support shall focus on implementation of progress, operational bottlenecks, data quality issues, and recommended corrective measures. Contribute technical inputs to implementation of dashboards, concise progress notes, and other technical reporting outputs required for operational decision-making. Participate in Steering Committee or Technical Committee meetings, as required, and provide technical inputs on implementation progress, operational challenges, and data quality issues. Provide technical input into training materials and support technical sessions during training, particularly on field protocols, CAPI use, and data quality assurance procedures. Liaise with the GIS Unit of GBoS on the technical use of Enumeration Area maps and related geo-referenced field materials required for effective census implementation. Deliverables The consultant shall be expected to deliver the following outputs, at a minimum: Inception Report An inception report and workplan outlining the consultant’s understanding of the assignment, proposed approach, priority tasks, coordination arrangements, and indicative timeline for delivery of outputs. Technical Readiness Documentation Contributions to technical readiness documentation for CAPI systems, field quality assurance procedures, and data workflows, developed in collaboration with the Data Processing Manager and the technical team. Field Supervision and Quality Assurance Reports Regular field supervision and quality assurance reports, including bi-weekly or periodic technical updates during data collection, highlighting implementation status, data quality issues, and recommended corrective actions. The consultant will also be required to prepare monthly report to be approved by the technical team. Data Processing and Validation Outputs Data cleaning, validation, and tabulation plans, together with cleaned, documented, anonymized, and analysis-ready datasets. Statistical Tables and Report Inputs Draft statistical tables and technical inputs to the Census Report, prepared in collaboration with the technical team. Capacity Building Notes Brief capacity-building notes, including recommendations on priority areas requiring further technical strengthening. Documentation and Archiving Outputs Contributions to methodological documentation, metadata, and the final NASC archive. Final Completion Report A final consultancy completion report summarizing activities undertaken, outputs delivered, technical issues addressed, lessons learned, and recommendations for follow-up. The precise sequencing and timing of deliverables shall be aligned with the NASC operational calendar and agreed at the inception stage of the assignment. Duration of the Assignment The assignment is expected to run for a period of nine (9) months, subject to the approved budget and operational requirements of NASC 2026. The anticipated start date shall be aligned with the completion of the recruitment process and signature of the contract. Duty Station and Travel The consultant shall be based at the Department of Planning (DoP), with regular technical coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Security, GBoS, and other relevant stakeholders. Approved in-country travel required for the assignment shall be undertaken in accordance with applicable project arrangements and contractual provisions. Reporting Arrangements The consultant shall report directly to the Director of Planning of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Security and shall work in close technical collaboration with the designated GBoS Survey Coordinator, the Data Processing Manager, and other relevant technical staff. Periodic implementation updates may be provided to senior management through the Director of Planning, as required. Qualification Requirements The selection process shall prioritize candidates with demonstrably strong technical expertise in survey implementation, data quality assurance, data processing, and statistical analysis relevant to large-scale agricultural or household surveys. Specifically, the consultant should meet the following requirements: Advanced degree in Agricultural Economics, Statistics, Demography, Agricultural Statistics, Survey Methodology, or related fields. Minimum of eight (8) years of relevant professional experience in the implementation, management, or technical support of large-scale household or agricultural surveys or censuses, including experience in field operations, data quality monitoring, and survey data processing. Good understanding of sampling principles, data processing, and statistical analysis, with practical proficiency in SPSS, Stata, or R. Demonstrated experience with CAPI-based data collection systems and real-time monitoring of field operations. Familiarity with the use of geo-referenced data, field mapping materials, and GIS-supported survey operations shall be an advantage. Experience in developing or updating simple operational dashboards for monitoring field progress and data quality shall be an added advantage. Excellent communication, interpersonal, and report writing skills. Familiarity with Gambian agriculture and the ability to communicate in relevant local languages shall be an advantage. Familiarity with FAO methodologies and other international statistical standards applicable to agricultural censuses shall be an advantage. Ability to work effectively with national institutions, multidisciplinary teams, and development partners. Willingness to travel extensively within The Gambia and participate in relevant technical workshops. Selection Method The consultant will be selected accordance with the Individual consultant’s selection method set out in the Procurement Regulations 2025 September of the World Bank. The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” September 2025 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. Payment Modalities Payments shall be made against the satisfactory submission and approval of agreed deliverables, in accordance with the provisions of the contract. The detailed payment schedule shall be specified in the contract and linked to key outputs and reporting milestones. Confidentiality and Ownership of Outputs The consultant shall perform the assignment with a high degree of professionalism, integrity, and impartiality. All data, documentation, reports, scripts, training materials, and other outputs produced or accessed under this assignment shall be treated as confidential and used solely for purposes of NASC 2026. All outputs produced under the assignment shall remain the property of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Security and the Gambia Bureau of Statistics, in accordance with the provisions of the contract. Further information can be obtained at the address below during official hours from Monday-Thursday 09:00am to 16:00 pm, Friday 09:00am to 12:00pm Gambian time . THIS IS A LOCAL RECRUITMENT ASSIGNMENT. Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form to the address below (in person or by e-mail) by 12:00 noon Gambian Time on or before 29th June, 2026. Project Implementation Unit (PIU) Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS) ATTENTION: Mr. Mohammed L. Janneh, Project Coordinator C/o Gambia Bureau of Statistics, Kanifing Institutional Layout. Tel: 7296325, 9824270, and 2827526 E-mails: hiswacainfo@gbosgov.org mjannehhiswaca@gbosgov.org smendyhiswaca@gbosgov.org ejabanghiswaca@gbosgov.org hydarakutubhiswaca@gbosgov.org