The Ghana Grains Council (GGC) is a private sector organization comprising of grain value chain actors, including farmers, warehouse operators, agro-food processors, financial institutions, commodity marketers, etc. Since its inception in 2010, the GGC has developed an enabling environment including warehouse certification, rules and regulations, engaging collateral management services, training of users, etc. to enable it set up and manage a Warehouse Receipt System.

In December 2012, the Ghana Grains Council launched the first Regulated Warehouse Receipt in Ghana; the first of this kind in West Africa sub-region with financial and technical support from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the Ghana Agricultural Development Value Chain Enhancement Program (ADVANCE).

Since its commencement, the GGC Warehouse Receipt has focused on maize, a key food security crop in Ghana as part of a package of innovation that has modernized and enhanced the efficient marketing of this crop. The Warehouse Receipt System has played a very important role in the development of the maize value chain by enabling GGC member producers, traders and processors to hold stock back till the lean season, allowing them to access markets on more equitable terms, and enhancing the efficiency of the entire maize value chain.

So far over 29,000MT of maize have been stored under the GGC Warehouse Receipt Program. The use of a Warehouse Receipt allows GGC members to deposit their grains in a GGC certified warehouse and to meet short term need for cash by borrowing from a GGC member bank or other member lending institutions.

It has enabled the many GGC member small holder farmers in particular to avoid selling their grains immediately after harvest when the supply of the commodity is usually highest and sometimes result in low prices.  Warehouse receipts have also helped address the problems of price volatility and lack of quality standards usually attributed to market liberalization in the Ghana grain industry.

In order for GGC Warehouse Receipt System to continue to be more useful and serve the needs of the GGC members, periodically reviewing the system then becomes a pre-requisite to serve as basis for improvement. That is,  review  rules and regulations of the Warehouse Receipts; extent of the receipts to retain its key purpose( as secured collateral);  Warehouse Receipts serving as a functionally equivalent to stored commodities; clear definitions of the rights, liabilities, and duties of each party to a Warehouse Receipt (for example a member farmer, a member bank, or a member warehouse operator) must continue to be clearly defined; ability to transfer the Warehouse Receipts freely by delivery and endorsement, etc.

Within one (1) year of the implementation of the Warehouse Receipt Program, GGC has faced a number of challenges among which are relatively low take-up particularly by small holders, lack of suitable warehouses for certification, inadequate oversight by regulator, low participation by banks, high transaction cost, smallholders limited knowledge on how receipts works, high cost of establishing and running warehouses, difficulty in finding suitable markets for receipts, etc.

In light of the above, the GGC is seeking for a wholistic review of the Implementation Warehouse Receipt System to facilitate a more robust, efficient and sustainable receipts system.

SCOPE OF WORK
The Ghana Grains Council invites eligible consultant to review the implementation of the GGC Warehouse Receipts System.

The consultant will be required to undertake the following:

•   A thorough assessment of the enabling environment necessary to support a viable receipt system in conformity with established international standards;
•   Review the warehouse receipt system including the receipting processes, documentations for viability, efficiency, efficacy;
•   Review the support functions of the receipt process including warehouse certification, receiving and depositing of grains, quality improvement processes and supporting structures,  grains currently receipted and potential for expansion;
•   Review the roles and responsibilities of the collateral manager, required skills and knowledge;
•   Review the overall operations of the Central Depository and supporting structures and skill requirements ;
•   Review the inventory crediting processes and supporting structures Review current market information system, user requirements Assess capacity of the warehouse receipts software, disaster recovery and data storability;
•   Review the performance bond and possibly the creation of a warehouse operators common indemnity fund; and above all
•   provide recommendation for improvement on each of the above where applicable for improvement

Additionally,  the consultant  will be required to;

•   Develop an operational/compliance manual for warehouses and collateral management;
•   Develop training programs for warehouse operators and collateral managers;
•   Develop a warehouse inspection manual
•   Develop a risk assessment manual
•   Develop a dispute resolution process

EXPECTED OUTPUTS
Comprehensive report covering entire Scopes of Work (SOW)

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
The Consultants will be required to have the following:

•   At least five years operational experience of such nature in a recognized warehouse receipts system.
•   The Consultant must at least include an individual with professional experience as Agricultural Economist/ and or commodities trader
•   Extensive experience in the evaluation of markets, commodity pricing, trade and/orcompetition policy
•   A synopsis of technical expertise in similar assignment in size and scope
•   Provide at least two customer references relating to the consultant’s previous work
•   Practical experience in running a viable warehouse receipts system or being a member of a recognized regulated body undertaking activities related to warehouse receipts or commodities trading would be an added advantage

Location: Accra

How To Apply For The Job

Interested person or group of persons should submit their document in sealed envelopes, clearly labeled,

Expression of Interest
Review of GGC Warehouse Receipts
The Ag. Executive Secretary
Ghana Grains Council
PMB 212, Mainda
118 West Legon – Haatso Main Road
Accra

Closing Date: 17 December, 2013