ToR: Empowering the FPO Ecosystem as Catalysts for Market Integration of Regenerative Agricultural Produce in Madhya Pradesh
IDH aims to select a service provider to assess the progress, outcomes and effectiveness of regenerative agriculture interventions implemented under the Western Madhya Pradesh Compact since the baseline.
1. Introduction
Ask me Anything Session
11 September, 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm (IST):
Stichting IDH (“IDH”) works at the intersection of agriculture and markets. Driven by a clear mission: to transform agricultural systems toward a future with prosperous livelihoods, long-term supply security, and lasting environmental resilience. In practice, this means reshaping value chains to deliver not only economic returns, but also social progress and ecological stability. At its core, IDH unlocks change by aligning interests and mobilising finance behind practical, market-based solutions to social and environmental challenges. By connecting public and private ambition, and working closely with the private sector, these solutions are embedded in business practices and in how markets function.
By blending public and private capital and de-risking investments, IDH directs resources into solutions that strengthen resilience across agricultural systems. These investments are catalytic, unlocking additional funding, and long-term systemic change. Drawing two decades of experience, IDH combines market insight with on-the-ground expertise to identify solutions that can be replicated, expanded, and embedded across sectors.
The goal is to build systems that endure beyond IDH’s involvement. Systems that enable prosperous livelihoods, guarantee long -term supply security, and sustain lasting environmental resilience
On the basis of these Terms of Reference (“ToR”), IDH aims to engage a strategic market and capacity-building partner (hereinafter referred to as the "FPO Expert Service Provider") to support Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) in becoming market-ready. This includes enhancing their ability to trade directly with corporate buyers, access working capital and financial instruments, develop robust and actionable business plans, and negotiate effectively during the sale of aggregated farm produce on behalf of their member farmers. FPOs will be trained through a standardized, learning-oriented capacity-building framework aligned with the objectives of the Regenerative Production Landscape Collaborative (RPLC) in Madhya Pradesh, with a focus on supporting their transition to regenerative agriculture. While cotton remains RPLC’s anchor commodity, cotton-dealing FPOs across the landscape have so far shown limited institutional readiness to engage as effective market partners; this assignment therefore prioritizes FPOs dealing in other commodities cultivated by the same regenerative farmer base, using them as the entry point to build a resilient, market-facing FPO ecosystem that benefits farmers across the landscape.
Purpose of the Assignment
RPLC intends to engage a technically qualified FPO Expert Service Provider to strengthen the institutional and commercial capacity of selected Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) operating within the RPLC landscape.
The assignment will focus on FPOs engaged in non-cotton commodities cultivated by regenerative farmers. While cotton remains the anchor commodity under RPLC, existing cotton-focused FPOs currently have limited institutional readiness to function as strategic market partners. Strengthening diversified commodity FPOs provides an effective pathway for improving market access, aggregation capacity, financial sustainability, and service delivery for the same farmer base participating in regenerative agriculture.
The selected Service Provider will design and implement a standardized institutional development framework that enables participating FPOs to become commercially viable, professionally governed and market-oriented enterprises capable of:
- Developing sustainable agribusiness models;
- Establishing robust governance and financial management systems;
- Accessing finance and working capital;
- Building long-term relationships with corporate buyers;
- Aggregating and marketing regenerative agricultural produce;
- Delivering value-added services to member farmers; and
- Supporting transparent and traceable value chains aligned with RPLC objectives.
The engagement is expected to establish a scalable model that can be replicated across additional FPOs within the RPLC landscape.
2. Background
About RPLC
In the face of intensifying smallholder vulnerability, escalating climate and environmental risks, and rapidly evolving market demands, there is an urgent need to reimagine agriculture systems to serve both people and the planet. The Regenerative Production Landscape Collaborative (RPLC) represents such a transformation—working to build resilient, regenerative, and nature-positive agriculture systems that deliver equitable socio-economic benefits to smallholder farmers while enabling businesses to meet their sustainability, Scope 3, and sourcing commitments through inclusive, traceable supply chains.
RPLC operates across 10 cotton-growing districts of Madhya Pradesh, India, covering a landscape of approximately 56,000 sq. km, with 50% agricultural land and 21% forest cover. With 70% of farmers being small and marginal (owning less than 2 hectares), the program is uniquely positioned to build systemic resilience for the most vulnerable segments of the cotton value chain.
Building on the legacy of the Laudes Foundation and its partners, RPLC has already demonstrated meaningful outcomes in shifting farming systems toward regenerative cotton production. However, challenges persist—primarily the need to move beyond commodity-focused, fragmented interventions to a landscape-level, codified, and scalable approach.
3. Assignment Purpose
The selected FPO Expert Service Provider will design and implement a structured institutional strengthening and market development programme for seven (7) Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) operating across the RPLC landscape in the districts of Dhar, Barwani, Khargone and Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh. The engagement will be implemented over two years.
The assignment aims to transform participating FPOs into commercially sustainable, professionally governed and investment-ready enterprises capable of aggregating regenerative agricultural produce, providing business services to member farmers, and engaging directly with financial institutions and private sector buyers.
Expected End-of-Project Outcomes
At least three commercial market linkage established per FPO (at least for 7 participating FPOs)
Increased aggregation and sale of regenerative agricultural commodities through FPO channels.
Improved access to working capital and financial services for participating FPOs.
Enhanced benefits to member farmers through better market access and price realization.
The Service Provider shall adopt a practical, field-based approach that combines institutional assessment, capacity building, business development, governance strengthening, and market facilitation. All tools, methodologies, and training materials developed under this assignment shall be standardized and designed for replication across the wider RPLC landscape.
Context and Assignment Scope
RPLC recognizes that to successfully scale regenerative agriculture, FPOs must evolve from basic aggregation units into well-governed, commercially viable, and market-facing institutions. This transformation requires a structured and codified capacity building framework that strengthens FPOs across governance, financial management, institutional systems, market engagement, and traceability—underpinned by RPLC Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) protocols.
To support this, RPLC seeks to engage an FPO Expert Service Provider to design and implement an end-to-end institutional and commercial readiness support model tailored for seven FPOs dealing in non-cotton commodities across Dhar, Barwani, Khargone, and Jhabua districts. Given that cotton-focused FPOs in the landscape have not yet demonstrated the institutional readiness to engage effectively as market partners, this model targets FPOs handling other commodities grown by the same regenerative farmer base, so that the resulting FPO ecosystem still delivers aggregation, market linkage, and financial benefits to farmers engaged in RPLC's landscape activities. The engagement will last for two years.
Objectives
The overall objective of this assignment is to establish a scalable institutional strengthening model that enhances the commercial performance and long-term sustainability of Farmer Producer Organisations within the RPLC landscape.
Institutional Strengthening
- Assess the institutional maturity of participating FPOs.
- Strengthen governance structures, Board effectiveness, and management systems.
- Improve statutory compliance and internal operating procedures.
Business Development
- Strengthen business planning and enterprise management capabilities.
- Improve procurement planning, aggregation systems, and market intelligence.
- Develop commercially viable business models aligned with local market opportunities.
Financial Readiness
- Improve financial management systems and internal controls.
- Enhance access to working capital and financial institutions.
- Strengthen investment readiness through improved financial planning and reporting.
Market Integration
- Improve the ability of FPOs to engage directly with buyers.
- Develop transparent procurement and pricing systems.
- Facilitate at least 5 market linkages for regenerative agricultural produce.
- Support each participating FPO to establish at least three formal commercial engagement (procurement agreement, MoU, or business transaction) with a market buyer during the assignment period.
- Support commercial transactions between FPOs and identified buyers.
- Develop buyer networks for regenerative and traceable agricultural produce.
Institutional Sustainability
- Build internal capacity through structured Training of Trainers (ToT).
- Establish standardized systems that can be replicated across additional FPOs under RPLC.
- Generate evidence and lessons to support future scale-up.
4. Scope of works & deliverables
The Service Provider shall be responsible for delivering the following workstreams.
Workstream 1: Institutional Assessment - Conduct a comprehensive assessment of participating FPOs covering:
- Governance and leadership
- Business operations
- Financial management
- Compliance systems
- Human resources
- Digital readiness
- Market engagement
- Aggregation capacity
- Investment readiness
- Historical business turnover.
- Commodity-wise trading performance.
- Existing buyer relationships.
- Aggregation of capacity and infrastructure.
The assessment shall establish a baseline and identify priority areas for institutional strengthening.
Workstream 2: Institutional Development Framework - Design and implement a standardized Institutional Capacity Building Framework including:
Governance Framework
- Board Development Toolkit
- SOPs for operational management
- Financial Management Manual
- Compliance Framework
- Risk Management Guidelines
- Procurement and Aggregation Systems
- Digital Record Management Systems
- Produce Traceability Framework aligned with RPLC MRV requirements.
- Farmer registration and procurement tracking systems.
The framework should be practical, scalable, and suitable for adoption by additional FPOs beyond the assignment period.
Workstream 3: Business & Market Development - Support participating FPOs to strengthen their commercial operations through:
- Business planning
- Commodity prioritization
- Market opportunity assessment
- Buyer engagement strategies
- Procurement planning
- Pricing mechanisms
- Supply chain coordination
- Market negotiation support
The Service Provider shall facilitate buyer-FPO engagement and support participating FPOs in converting market opportunities into commercial transactions, including documentation of business partnerships and market transactions achieved during the assignment period.
Workstream 4: Financial Readiness - Develop systems that improve the financial sustainability of participating FPOs through:
- Financial planning
- Working capital assessment
- Credit readiness
- Cash flow management
- Banking partnerships
- Investment planning
- Financial governance
- Credit assessment completed for all seven FPOs.
- At least one financing engagement facilitated for each FPO.
- Loan/investment readiness package prepared where applicable.
The Service Provider shall also recommend financing pathways appropriate for various stages of FPO growth.
Workstream 5: Capacity Building - Develop and deliver a structured capacity building programme for:
- Board of Directors
- Chief Executive Officers
- Management teams
- Business staff
- Procurement teams
- Field coordinators
Training shall combine classroom learning, field mentoring, and practical implementation support.
Capacity-building modules should include:
- Market negotiation skills.
- Buyer engagement.
- Commodity trading.
- Supply chain management.
- Regenerative agriculture value proposition.
- Traceability and compliance requirements.
A standardized Training of Trainers (ToT) package shall also be developed to enable long-term institutional learning.
Workstream 6: Knowledge Management and Learning - Throughout the assignment, the Service Provider shall document implementation experience and generate knowledge products including:
- Case studies
- Success stories
- Lessons learned
- Good practice notes
- Policy recommendations
- Scale-up recommendations
Lessons on regenerative produce commercialization. These products shall support continuous learning across the RPLC partnership.
Deliverables
The assignment shall result in the following deliverables.
D1. Inception Report
Description:
Detailed methodology, implementation plan, work schedule, key milestones, and stakeholder engagement approach.
D2. Institutional Assessment Report
Description:
Baseline assessment of participating FPOs, including institutional readiness scores, capacity assessment, key gaps, and priority areas for improvement.
D3. Institutional Capacity Building Framework
Description:
Standardized capacity-building framework covering governance, financial management, business development, compliance, and organizational systems.
D4. FPO Toolkit
Description:
Comprehensive toolkit including SOPs, templates, business planning tools, governance manuals, compliance formats, and operational guidance documents for FPOs.
D5. Market Readiness Package
Description:
Market-oriented package covering FPO business development plans, buyer engagement strategy, procurement planning, market linkage opportunities, and approaches for strengthening commercial relationships.
D6. Financial Readiness Framework
Description:
Framework and tools to assess working capital requirements, strengthen financial planning and management, improve access to finance, and support FPO investment readiness.
D7. Training Package
Description:
Comprehensive training package including training curriculum, facilitator manuals, participant materials, session plans, and a Training of Trainers (ToT) package.
D8. Pilot Implementation Report
Description:
Documentation of Year 1 implementation, including activities undertaken, results achieved, implementation of challenges, lessons learned, and recommendations for refinement of the institutional capacity-building framework.
D9. Final Completion Report
Description:
Consolidated report summarizing achievements, institutional improvements, key outcomes, lessons learned, and recommendations for scaling the approach across RPLC.
D10. Market Linkage and Commercial Performance Report
Description:
Comprehensive report documenting:
Buyers identified and engaged.
Commercial partnerships established.
Commodity-wise aggregation volumes.
Total transaction value is facilitated.
Farmer participation levels.
Lessons and recommendations for scale-up.
The schedule below indicates the timelines for the tender procedure: Tender process , Timeline:
- ToR shared with the consultants :2 September 2026
- Closing date for the questions on the TOR Submission of expression of interest (via email): 09 September 2026
- AMA online seminar by IDH/RPLC team with TOR applicants: 11 September 2026 16.00-17.00 hrs
- Deadline for submission of proposals: 16 September 2026
After the deadline to submit a proposal has passed, the evaluation committee will evaluate the proposals. The proposals will first be tested for completeness:
The assignment will be awarded to the expert service provider based on the evaluation and final recommendation from the partners. IDH will reject the proposal if any illegal or corrupt practices have taken place in connection with the award or the tender procedure.
Questions
Questions regarding the assignment or the ToR can be submitted until 09th September 2026, 1800, Hrs. Indian Standard Time, by e-mail to RPLC Secretariat secretariat@rplcollaborative.org and Yashwant Sethia (Sethia@idhtrade.org) with the subject line: “Questions: Tender RPLC FPO Services”.
The responsibility for the timely and accurate submission of the questions lies with the applicant. When IDH indicates that IDH has not received questions before the indicated deadline, the expert service provider must demonstrate that the questions were sent in a timely manner.
5. Proposal requirements
IDH is requesting the expert service providers to hand in a proposal of a maximum of 12 pages (excluding CVs, sample work, and references). The proposal must be submitted in a MS Word next to a PDF submission to facilitate any copy and pasting of the content that we may need during evaluation.
A. Technical Proposal
The Technical Proposal shall demonstrate the applicant's understanding of the assignment and include:
Assignment Understanding
- Understanding of the objectives
- Key implementation challenges
- Proposed approach
Methodology
- Detailed implementation methodology
- Work plan
- Delivery approach
- Stakeholder engagement strategy
- Quality assurance approach
- Risk management strategy
Team Composition - Provide:
- Organization profile
- Proposed project team
- Roles and responsibilities
- CVs of key experts
The proposed team should demonstrate expertise in:
- FPO development
- Agribusiness
- Market systems
- Institutional strengthening
- Agri-finance
- Business planning
- Capacity building
- Private sector engagement
Relevant Experience - Applicants should provide:
- Up to three comparable assignments completed within the last five years.
- Experience working with Farmer Producer Organisations.
- Experience in Madhya Pradesh or similar contexts.
- Experience in market linkage and institutional development.
- Client references.
Administrative:
- Completed Detail Request Form (annex 1)
- Copy of most recent (audited) financial accounts
- Filled budget template (annex 3)
The proposal must be submitted by e-mail to RPLC Secretariat “secretariat@rplcollaborative.org” and Yashwant Sethia “Sethia@idhtrade.org” before 1800 Hrs. Indian Standard Time, 16th September 2026.
Testing and weighing
The assignment will be awarded to the service provider with the most economically advantageous tender that is determined based on the evaluation criteria of price and quality.
Grounds for exclusion
Expert service providershall be excluded from participation in this tender procedure if:
- they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the courts, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, are subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations;
- they or persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control over them have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment which has the force of res judicata;
- they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the IDH can justify;
- they have not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established;
- they or persons having powers of representation, decision making of control over them have been the subject of a judgement which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation, money laundering, or any other illegal activity.
Expert service provider must confirm in writing that they are not in one of the situations listed above.
- Service providers shall not make use of child labour or forced labour and/or practice discrimination, and they shall respect the right to freedom of association and the right to organize.
6. Scoring and weighing
The evaluation criteria are compared and weighed according to the procedure below. This concerns a general outline of the scoring methodology, and an explanation of how the expert service provider can demonstrate compliance with the requirements.
Proposal Evaluation Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria. Each component will be assessed based on the extent to which the Expert Service Provider demonstrates the required technical capability, contextual experience, implementation approach, and value for money.
Clarity of Methodology Applied to Deliverables
Maximum Grading: 25 Points
The extent to which the proposal clearly demonstrates how the requirements set out in Section 3 and throughout this document will be addressed.
The assessment will consider:
The clarity, completeness, and practicality of the proposed methodology.
The extent to which the proposed approach addresses all required deliverables.
The Expert Service Provider’s ability to provide a comprehensive and integrated solution.
The practicality of the proposed approach for implementation with participating FPOs is important.
The extent to which the methodology is results-oriented and aligned with the objectives of the assignment.
Project Management Approach
Maximum Grading: 10 Points
The extent to which the Expert Service Provider demonstrates a strong and structured project management approach covering the full assignment lifecycle, from initiation and planning through execution, monitoring, control, and completion.
The assessment will consider:
Project planning, scheduling, and milestone management.
Approach to monitoring progress, quality, risks, and deliverables.
Stakeholder coordination and communication mechanisms.
Ability to effectively engage with multiple stakeholders.
Approach to managing an iterative framework of development and refinement process.
Governance and decision-making mechanisms for the assignment.
Team Strength
Maximum Grading: 25 Points
The extent to which the Expert Service Provider proposes a technically strong, interdisciplinary team with clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and adequate time commitment.
The assessment will consider the team’s collective experience and expertise in:
Market systems development.
Institutional capacity building for FPOs and enterprises.
Business planning and enterprise development.
Agricultural marketing and market linkage.
Training Trainers (ToT) and capacity building.
Financial readiness and agri-finance.
Enterprise governance and statutory compliance.
Digital tools and traceability systems.
Stakeholder engagement with private sector buyers and financial institutions.
Specific attention will be given to the team structure, relevant qualifications and experience, availability/time commitment, and depth of expertise required to successfully deliver the assignment.
Experience in India and Madhya Pradesh
Maximum Grading: 10 Points
The extent to which the Expert Service Provider demonstrates relevant experience in strengthening Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), market linkage, and agri-enterprise development, particularly in Madhya Pradesh.
The assessment will consider:
Demonstrated experience working with FPOs and farmer-based institutions in India.
Relevant experience in Madhya Pradesh and familiarity with the state’s institutional and agricultural ecosystem.
Understanding grassroots implementation models and smallholder value chains.
Experience with agri-finance and financial institutions.
Existing field-level presence and stakeholder networks in Madhya Pradesh.
Demonstrated experience in establishing successful partnerships with buyers, financial institutions, and other market actors.
Proposals demonstrating strong contextual understanding of Madhya Pradesh’s FPO landscape and proven field-level implementation experience will receive higher scores.
Budget
Maximum Grading: 30 Points
The extent to which the proposed budget is realistic, transparent, competitive, and appropriately aligned with the proposed methodology and scope of work.
The assessment will consider:
Detailed cost breakdown by activity and personnel.
Transparency and justification of proposed rates and resource inputs.
Alignment between the proposed budget, methodology, deliverables, and level of effort.
Adequacy of provisions for field engagement, travel, workshops, and tool development, where required.
Overall, the reasonableness and competitiveness of the financial proposal is without compromising the quality of delivery.
Total Maximum Score: 100 Points
Step 1 - Criterion Quality
Evaluation scores will be awarded for each of the components. The evaluation committee will score each component unanimously. The evaluation committee will unanimously score each component by assigning scores from 1 to the maximum grading, with the maximum grading representing optimal performance on the component and 1 representing extremely deficient performance on the respective component.
[IDH values quality highly, therefore a minimum grade of 50% must be scored by the expert service provider on each component. If the expert service provider scores a grade of 50% or less on one of the components, they will be excluded from the tender procedure and awarding the contract.]
The proposal will be assessed based on the following selection criteria:
Step 2 - Criterion price
A combined price both in Indian Rupees and in Euros (ex any applicable taxes) is to be presented. This is to be broken down by team member rate and hours. The criterion for assessment is “the best price for the proposed level of quality” with a maximum grading of 5.
Step 3 - Weighting
Refer Above, if scores of expert service providers are equal, priority will be based on the total scores that were given for the Criterion Quality. The assignment will be awarded to the expert service provider that has received the highest score for the Criterion Quality. If the evaluation of the Criterion Quality does not lead to a distinction, the score for the component “Proposal overall” will be decisive. If this does not lead to a distinction, the ranking will be determined by the drawing of lots.
Award
Once IDH has decided which expert service provider it intends to award the assignment, a written notification thereof is sent to selected expert service providers participating in the tender procedure. The expert service provider is contracted via a letter of assignment, following IDH’s template.
7. Communication and Confidentiality
The Expert service provider will ensure that all its contacts with IDH, with regards to the tender, during the tender procedure, take place exclusively in writing e-mails. The Expert service provider is thus explicitly prohibited, to prevent discrimination of the other Expert service providers and to ensure the diligence of the procedure, to have any contact whatsoever regarding the tender with any other persons of IDH than the person stated in the first sentence of this paragraph.
The documents provided by or on behalf of IDH will be handled confidentiality. The Expert service provider will also impose a duty of confidentiality on any parties that it engages. Any breach of the duty of confidentiality by the Expert service provider, or it engaged third parties will give IDH grounds for exclusion of the Expert service provider, without requiring any prior written or verbal warning. All information, documents and other requested or provided data submitted by the Expert service providers will be handled with due care and confidentiality by IDH. The provided information will after evaluation by IDH be filed as confidential.
8. Disclaimer
IDH reserves the right to update, change, extend, postpone, withdraw, or suspend the ToR, this tender procedure, or any decision regarding the selection or contract award. IDH is not obliged in this tender procedure to make a contract award decision or to conclude a contract with a participant.
Participants in the tender procedure cannot claim compensation from IDH, any affiliated persons, or entities, in any way, in case any of the situations occur.
By handing in a proposal, participants accept all terms and reservations made in this ToR, and subsequent information and documentation in this tender procedure.