Background

Agricultural training curricula in Pakistan are generally not gender-sensitive or inclusive: women’s substantial roles in crop production, livestock and poultry care, seed handling, post-harvest processing and kitchen gardening are largely invisible in what extension agents are taught, and therefore in the advice they later deliver. The Agriculture Services Academy, Peshawar (ASAP) is the sole institution training Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Field Assistants and Veterinary Assistants through three-year Diploma in Agriculture Sciences (DAS) and Diploma in Veterinary Sciences (DVS) programmes, each admitting 70 trainees per session. Integrating gender equality and inclusion (GEI) into ASAP’s curricula is therefore the most durable way to ensure that every cohort of front-line extension staff is equipped to reach women farmers.

CABI wishes to support ASAP by assessing two selected courses and recommending concrete, approvable revisions that integrate GEI. The CABI Academy, CABI’s online learning platform, will serve as a resource from which gender-related content, tools and examples can be drawn and adapted for the ASAP context and used the courses as resource material or key reading.

2. Objective

To review two selected ASAP courses and produce practical, evidence-based recommendations for integrating gender equality and social inclusion into their learning outcomes, content, examples, activities and assessments, drawing on CABI Academy materials where relevant, validated with the course instructors and presented for approval at a one-day face-to-face workshop in Peshawar or Islamabad; and, once validated, to deliver a training of trainers (TOT) so that those who teach, manage and examine the two courses can apply the revised content.

3. Selected Courses

The ASAP prospectus (2023 onward) lists the following courses as the most relevant entry points for gender integration. Note that the course is formally titled “Agriculture Extension” in the prospectus, not “Extension Advisory Services”.

Selected courses: (1) Rural Sociology I & II and (2) Agriculture Extension I & II. Because “Introduction to Livestock Extension” (DVS, Semester 2) is the DVS counterpart of Agriculture Extension, the consultant should note where recommendations for course (2) could later be transferred to it, without undertaking a separate review. The selection will be confirmed with the ASAP Principal and course instructors at inception.

4. CABI Academy as a Resource

The CABI Academy (academy.cabi.org) offers twelve free, self-paced online courses. It is not within the scope of this assignment to revise any CABI Academy course; rather, the consultant will draw on it as a source of ready-made, quality-assured content and examples to adapt into the two ASAP courses. Courses of particular relevance include:

• Gender-Inclusive Strategies for Improving Agricultural Productivity (4–6 hrs): the primary source: basic gender concepts, gender analysis tools for use in communities, and inclusive extension delivery approaches. Directly transferable to both Rural Sociology and Agriculture Extension.
• Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness (6–8 hrs): material on women’s access to finance, markets and enterprise decision-making, useful for Rural Sociology (household economy) and Agriculture Extension (advisory on value chains).
• Reducing Pesticide Risk (6–8 hrs): examples of differential exposure and who receives safety information, useful as case material on gender-blind advisory practice.
• Introduction to Seed and Planting Materials; Digital Skills Training Materials: illustrations of women’s customary roles (seed selection and storage) and of gender gaps in access to digital advisory channels.

At inception the consultant will hold a discussion with the CABI Academy team to learn what gender-integration material, images, case studies and quiz items exist across the platform, and to agree how these may be reused and attributed in ASAP course materials, as resource/ key readings.

5. Scope of Work: Step-by-Step Tasks

The consultant will coordinate closely with and report to the Gender Coordinator, CABI Pakistan.

Phase 1: Inception (Weeks 1–2)

1. Hold an inception meeting with CABI to agree the work plan, the GEI review framework and checklist, timelines and reporting lines.
2. Hold an introductory discussion with the CABI Academy team to identify gender-related content, tools and examples available on the platform for adaptation.
3. Meet the ASAP Principal and the instructors of the two selected courses to confirm the selection, understand delivery format, learner profile and constraints, and obtain the full syllabi, lesson plans, reading materials and assessment tools.
4. Submit a short inception note (work plan, review checklist, confirmed courses, resource inventory from the CABI Academy, stakeholder list).

Phase 2: Gender review of the two courses (Weeks 3–6)

1. Review each course module-by-module using the GEI checklist covering learning outcomes; content and terminology; examples and case studies; teaching/learning activities; assessment items; and reading materials.
2. Map where women and men actually participate in the subject matter of each course in the KP context, drawing on available sex-disaggregated data and literature, so that recommendations reflect real roles rather than generic statements.
3. Identify gaps, gender-blind or stereotyped content, and specific entry points where GEI can be integrated without weakening or lengthening the technical material.
4. Hold a structured consultation with the instructors of each course to test preliminary findings and understand practical constraints.
5. Produce a concise Gender Review Report covering both courses, with a gap analysis and a prioritised list of entry points.

Phase 3: Draft revisions (Weeks 6–9)

1. For each course, draft specific revisions: revised learning outcomes; new or amended content passages; localised examples and case studies (adapting CABI Academy material where suitable); gender-responsive activities and discussion questions; revised assessment items; and updated reference lists.
2. Present revisions in a format compatible with the University of Agriculture, Peshawar affiliation requirements (course outline, weekly topic breakdown, assessment scheme) so they can be taken through the Academy’s approval channels.
3. Prepare a short instructor guidance note for each course (how to teach the new content, facilitation tips, inclusive language).
4. Share drafts with the instructors and Principal for review and incorporate feedback.

Phase 4: Validation workshop and finalisation (Weeks 10–11)

1. Design and facilitate a one-day face-to-face validation workshop in Peshawar or Islamabad for the ASAP Principal, the instructors of the two courses and Agriculture Extension Department approvers, to walk through the recommendations, agree changes and secure approval in principle.
2. Revise and finalise the two course revision packages and instructor guidance notes based on workshop outcomes.
3. Prepare the TOT design and materials, drawing directly on the validated revision packages and instructor guidance notes.

Phase 5: Training of trainers and documentation (Weeks 12–13)

1. Deliver a three-day (preferably residential) TOT in Peshawar for approximately 10 participants: the instructors who deliver Rural Sociology and Agriculture Extension, ASAP management, and representatives of the examination department. The TOT will cover GEI foundations and gender roles in KP agriculture; a walk-through of the revised course content and the rationale for each change; gender-responsive and inclusive teaching methods, including micro-teaching practice; setting and marking assessment items on gender content; and action planning for classroom delivery.
2. Administer pre- and post-training assessments and a course evaluation and produce a short TOT report with participant list and results.
3. Submit a Final Report that documents the entire process as a replicable model: review notes and selection rationale, revision recommendations and approvals, workshop outcomes, TOT materials and assessments, and recommendations for next steps (extension to further courses such as DVS Livestock Extension, monitoring of classroom uptake, future cohorts).

6. Deliverables, Timeline and Level of Effort

Payment will be made against four milestones. The assignment must be completed by December 2026, the project end date.

Level of effort: 28 consultant working days over three months. Travel to Peshawar for the inception visit, instructor consultations, the validation workshop and the TOT will be covered separately by CABI as per its policy.

7. Consultant Profile

• Qualifications: Master’s degree in public administration, Gender Studies, Development Studies, Social Sciences or a related discipline.
• Experience: At least 15 years of professional experience in gender mainstreaming and women’s economic empowerment in Pakistan, with demonstrated work across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other provinces.
• Curriculum and training materials: Evidence of at least three specific assignments in which the consultant integrated or mainstreamed gender into curricula, training modules or learning materials for government, academic or development-sector institutions. Applicants should list these assignments with the client, year and outputs produced.
• Instructional design and training of trainers: Proven capability in designing learning outcomes, course content, assessments and trainer guides, and in delivering training-of-trainer programmes; formal trainer certification is an advantage.
• Facilitation: Experience designing and facilitating validation, consultation or approval workshops with senior government officials and academic faculty.
• Context: Strong understanding of Pakistan’s agricultural extension system and rural gender dynamics, ideally including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; fluency in English and Urdu (Pashto an advantage).
• Working style: Able to work respectfully with technical subject specialists and integrate gender without diluting technical content.

8. Reporting and Management

The consultant will report to the designated CABI project lead and work in close coordination with the ASAP Principal and the instructors of the two courses. The CABI Academy team will be consulted at inception as a resource partner. Fortnightly progress check-ins will be held. CABI will arrange venue and participant logistics for the validation workshop and the TOT. All outputs will be submitted in English in editable formats (Word/PowerPoint); ASAP-facing materials may additionally require Urdu summaries. All materials produced under this assignment will be the property of CABI and ASAP, with CABI Academy content reused under its applicable terms and attributed accordingly.