Evaluation of positive externalities of flood friendly crops in the MD

Background About the VN-ADAPT project Viet Nam Nature-based Solutions for Adaptation in Agriculture through Private Sector Transformation (VN-ADAPT) is a national programme in Viet Nam to be implemented to 2028, with potential to extend to mid-2029. The programme is funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN). The Project has been approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE) in January 2026. VN-ADAPT focusses on two key climate-vulnerable landscapes in Viet Nam – the Central Highlands and Mekong Delta. The project aims to improve institutional capacity and strengthen partnerships to channel private innovation and investment towards accelerated adoption of nature-based solutions in the agriculture sector with a focus on these two regions of Vietnam. This will be realised through four inter-related work packages, namely: Developing coordination mechanism among relevant stakeholders to promote Nature-based Solutions for adaptation (NbSA) in Agriculture. Developing Draft Guidelines on NbSA in Agriculture. Promote Innovation of Agricultural Enterprises and Cooperatives and Mobilize Investment in NbSA in Agriculture. Communications, Knowledge Management and M&E. VN-ADAPT is implemented by a consortium of the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV, as the consortium lead), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the ICEM Vietnam Company Ltd. with coordination and support from the Agricultural Projects Management Board (APMB) as the Project owner. About IUCN: IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature is a global membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private, and non-governmental entities with the tools and knowledge needed to advance sustainable development and biodiversity conservation. IUCN combines the latest science with traditional knowledge and stakeholder engagement to support effective and equitable environmental governance. More information: www.iucn.org Objectives/Description of the assignment This consultancy aims to deliver the following outcomes: This assignment will involve analysing existing spatial and statistical data to model the positive economic externalities of converting, say, 200,000 hectares of triple rice in the upper delta to flood-friendly crops. The economic modelling would be supplemented by site visits and farmer and local government consultations. The evaluation will also assess production efficiency and consider the long-term adaptive capacity of these flood-friendly crops to local ecological conditions and accelerating climate change impacts. The analysis will clarify the scientific and practical rationale for selecting specific transition models tailored to the unique biophysical and socio-economic conditions of each sub-region. The purpose of this assignment is to provide the economic analyses, strategic alignments, and localized transition criteria and it serve as important input for development and upscaling and accelerating this transition. In the upper Mekong Delta, the key NbS is to transition out of the third rice crop into crops that are adapted to the Mekong flood pulse. The legal basis for this transition was established by Government Resolution 120 issued in 2017, which is now supported by several national and internationally supported projects. The challenge now is to monitor this transition and document the environmental benefits of transitioning out of intensive rice to a more natural, higher value crop mix. IUCN and other organisations are supporting the transition from a third rice crop in the upper Mekong Delta (i.e., former provinces of Kien Giang, An Giang, Dong Thap, and Long An) to flood-friendly crops. Because the third rice crop matures in November when the Mekong reaches its peak elevation, it required the construction of ring dikes to prevent the crop being flooded. Because the diked land is cut off from the seasonal inflow of water-borne sediment and nutrients, farmers must compensate by using large volumes of agricultural chemicals, causing serious water pollution and human health impacts. In response, the government issued Resolution 120 in 2017, which provides the legal basis for transitioning out of intensive rice into a more diverse, higher value crop mix. And in 2023, the government announced a 1-million-hectare clean rice target as part of its food systems transformation in the Mekong Delta. The transition out of intensive rice into floating rice and other flood-friendly crops faces an economic barrier. Research shows that floating rice may be marginally more profitable than a third rice crop, but that this depends on market demand for floating rice and a third rice crop, cost of inputs, and other factors that can fluctuate from year to year. In other words, if the economic case for floating rice is only done at the farm scale, it may not be possible to scale up because the profit to the farmer is too variable. However, if we consider the positive externalities from floating rice, the economic case becomes much stronger. Large-scale adoption of floating rice would reduce flood and drought risk by storing water during the flood season, restore fish stocks, reduce water pollution, and trap sediment. It is possible to quantify these benefits. For example: The price of fish has increased as the area of floating rice has shrunk, and intensive rice has expanded. If we can establish a relationship between the area of floating rice and fish price, a more accurate economic value of an additional hectare of floating rice can be calculated. Intensive rice has weakened the delta’s sponge effect whereby wetland absorb water in the wet season and release it in the dry. [...] Procurement details Reference: IUCN-26-09-Evaluation of positive externalities of flood friendly crops in the MD-666 Procedure: SOP1 - Open Procedure Procurement type: Consulting IUCN office (lead): ARO Vietnam Requisitioning unit: Vietnam Programme Coordination (VN) Project: P04596 VN-ADAPT Country of performance: Viet Nam Expected contract duration: 4 months Estimated contract value: 25,000-199,999 CHF Currency of proposals: CHF - Swiss franc Language of documents: English Deadline for questions: 10 September 2026 16:59 UTC Deadline for technical and financial proposals: 20 September 2026 16:59 UTC Expected contract award date: 01 October 2026 16:59 UTC Documents - Terms of Reference: 20260828 - 1.1.D Cultivation transformation at scale_EN - Bilingual.docx - Conditions for Participating: Conditions for Participating ENG-SPA-FRA.docx - Standard contract: Standard Agreement.docx The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a membership union of government and civil society organisations working on nature conservation and sustainable development. IUCN procures consulting services, goods and works for its projects worldwide through the IUCN Procurement Portal. For all contracts above CHF 25,000 IUCN selects contractors through a formal competitive tendering process under its Standard Operating Procedure 1 (Open Procedure). Interested bidders must register on the portal, review the Terms of Reference, the Conditions for Participating and the standard contract, and submit their technical and financial proposals through the portal before the stated deadline. Questions must be raised through the portal's Q&A function before the deadline for questions.