Consultancy - Designing and Final Editing of the Holistic Avocado and Mango Production, Marketing, and Extension Services Manual - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Introduction

Ethiopia has substantial potential for fruit production and marketing; however, sector development remains constrained by the limited availability of practical, inclusive manuals and tailored extension packages that support market-oriented production and marketing systems. Avocado and mango are priority horticultural crops and are widely produced by smallholder farmers, including pastoralists, women, youth, and other value chain actors in many parts of the country.

Since October 2023, Ayuda en Acción Ethiopia (AeAE), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Horticulture Development Department Lead Executive, has been working to develop a comprehensive, gender- and climate-inclusive holistic avocado and mango production, post-harvest, and value chain manual and extension package. The development of the manual was initiated as a pilot in Wolayita and is intended to be scaled up for national use. The overall objective is to support the transformation of traditional production systems into resilient, market-oriented systems through the use of a holistic manual that can be converted into practical extension packages and training materials.

The manual integrates two complementary components. The first component is a market- and value-chain–oriented Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) module, which covers input supply and distribution, improved agronomic practices (including pruning and rejuvenation), climate-smart measures (such as irrigation, composting, and targeted input application), pest and disease management, and harvesting and post-harvest handling. The second component is a market-oriented, gender- and climate-inclusive extension module that provides training curricula for frontline extension staff and model farmers, inclusive outreach and gender-sensitive approaches, and practical tools to scale up pilot practices across production areas.

The development of the manual followed a rigorous and participatory process, including the signing of partnership agreements, stakeholder coordination and participation, multi-disciplinary needs assessments, and the mobilization of technical experts. Draft versions of the holistic manual were prepared and used to provide training to frontline extension staff, technical experts, extension support organizations, and community representatives. From November to December 2025, the partners mobilized a second-level professional review team (think tank group) composed of experts from different departments of the Ministry of Agriculture, Ayuda en Acción Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, and other partners. This team reviewed the draft manual by incorporating recent research findings, innovations, emerging technologies, and climate-smart practices.

The manual has now reached its final stage and is expected to be approved by the Ministry of Agriculture for use as a national manual. To meet the required standards for approval, printing, and dissemination, the manual requires professional editing, design, and layout. Accordingly, Ayuda en Acción Ethiopia seeks to engage a qualified communication professional to carry out the final editing, design, and layout of the manual and ensure the required quality.

Objective of the TOR

• General Objective:

To ensure high-quality editing, design, and layout of the holistic avocado and mango manual to support approval and printing.

• Specific Objectives:

The specific objectives of this consultancy are to:

• Develop a professional design and layout for the manual, including appropriate placement of partner logos and the manual title;
• Carry out thorough language editing and ensure clear structure, readability, and logical flow throughout the manual;
• Produce clear, visible, and illustrative tables of contents, tables, figures, and photos aligned with the manual content.

Deliverables:

The consultant will be responsible for delivering the following outputs:

1. Develop a professional design and layout of the full manual in B5 size, integrating the cover page and all chapters;
2. Provide detailed technical specifications required for printing the manual;
3. Design a professional cover page in B5 size, including the logos of the Ministry of Agriculture and Ayuda en Acción, with the title of the manual clearly positioned, and a matching back cover;
4. Draft two formal messages for inclusion in the manual: one from the State Minister and one from the Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture;
5. Develop automated tables of contents, tables, and figures for the manual;
6. Review all photos used in the manual to ensure they are technically correct, relevant to the content, suitable for print, and of acceptable quality. Where photos are insufficient or of inadequate quality, the consultant shall identify gaps and provide a clear list and description of the types of photos required to be collected by Ayuda en Acción Ethiopia. The consultant shall also advise on replacing or improving images and correcting captions, where necessary.
7. Carry out comprehensive editing of the manual (language, grammar, spelling, terminology, and consistency) and ensure a coherent and logical flow throughout the document.

Time Frame

The assignment is expected to be completed within two weeks.