Consultancy Survey for Implementation service provider – Feasibility Study on Rice Residue Aggregation and Supply for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Vietnam

Company Description

About SNV

SNV is a global development partner, deeply rooted in the countries where we operate. We are driven by a vision of a better world: A world where across every society all people live with dignity and have equitable opportunities to thrive sustainably.

To make this vision a reality, we need transformations in vital agri-food, energy, and water systems. SNV contributes by strengthening capacities and catalysing partnerships in these sectors. We help strengthen institutions and effective governance, reduce gender inequalities and barriers to social inclusion, and enable adaptation and mitigation to the climate and biodiversity crises.

Building on 60 years of experience, we support our partners with our technical and process expertise and methodological rigor. We do this in more than 20 countries in Africa and Asia with a team of approximately 1,600 colleagues. By being adaptable and tailoring our approaches to these different contexts, we can contribute to impact at scale, resulting in more equitable lives for all.

SNV has been working in Vietnam since 1995 and currently has over 70 national and international experts. SNV Vietnam implements projects in more than 30 provinces across the country, including the poorest and most remote areas.

About the Study

The aviation sector faces an acute decarbonisation challenge. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is widely recognised as the most viable near-term pathway to reducing aviation emissions at scale, yet its global scale-up is constrained by the availability of reliable, cost-competitive, and sustainably sourced feedstocks. Rice residue (straw and husks left after harvest) produced in vast quantities across the Mekong Delta of Vietnam represents one of the most promising and underexplored feedstock opportunities in Southeast Asia.

SNV Vietnam is undertaking a Comprehensive Rice-to-SAF Value Chain Feasibility Study to assess the technical, economic, environmental, and operational feasibility of mobilising rice residues at scale in Vietnam for use as SAF feedstock. The study covers 3–4 Mekong Delta provinces (including An Giang, Đồng Tháp, Can Tho, and Thay Ninh – former province of Long An) and addresses five core research questions:

• RQ1: Current Use & Value Mapping – how rice straw and husks are currently used and the financial/agronomic incentives required to redirect them into the SAF supply chain.
• RQ2: Aggregation Bottleneck Assessment – localised logistical, financial, and infrastructure constraints to large-scale residue extraction.
• RQ3: Pricing & High-Integrity Benchmarks – delivered price ranges along the supply chain, benchmarked against ICAO/CORSIA standards.
• RQ4: Environmental Risk Analysis – soil health, safe extraction thresholds, and GHG modelling vs. the open-burning baseline (ICAO/CORSIA aligned).
• RQ5: Offtake Feasibility & Supply Modelling – Monte Carlo simulations of supply reliability, regulatory framework review, and contract precedent analysis.

The study will draw on a substantial body of existing data and evidence alongside additional primary data collection determined necessary during the study design phase. Final outputs include a comprehensive study report, executive summary, statistical analyses, data visualisations, and Advisory Group outputs, delivered by March 2027.

SNV Vietnam is now seeking a survey implementation firm/ company to serve as the service provider to conduct 900 farmer interviews in the former Soc Trang, Hau Giang, and Long An provinces, plus 80–120 key informant interviews (KIIs) with rice-straw supply-chain actors and relevant experts across An Giang, Dong Thap, Can Tho and Tay Ninh. The selected survey implementation company will be responsible for high-quality, ethical, and timely implementation of the farmer survey and KIIs, using survey instruments and technical guidance provided or approved by the Study Team.

Objectives and Scope of Work

The objective of this assignment is to collect complete, accurate, consistent, and securely managed primary data from:

1. 900 rice-farming respondents in the former Soc Trang, Hau Giang, and Long An provinces; and
2. 80–120 key informants involved in the rice-straw supply chain in An Giang, Dong Thap, Can Tho, and Tay Ninh (former Long An province) with the possibility to extend to other provinces in the Mekong Delta if not enough respondents can be located in the aforementioned regions – mainly straw balers/aggregators, straw buyers, storage facilities, cooperatives, drying/processing facilities, biorefineries, and related technical, institutional, or market functions.

The data will support the study’s assessment of:

• Rice production and seasonal crop-management practices.
• Post-harvest rice-straw management, including burning, incorporation, removal, sale, and other uses.
• Farm-level conditions affecting potential straw collection, including field access, harvest practices, stubble height, crop turnaround time, water management, and availability of baling services.
• Straw collection, baling, aggregation, transport, storage, preprocessing, commercial arrangements, equipment capacity, cost components, and constraints.
• Existing markets and competing uses for rice straw.
• Operational conditions that influence the suitability and reliability of straw supply for potential SAF development.

The assignment requires a survey company with demonstrated capacity to implement digitally enabled agricultural field surveys in the Mekong Delta, manage probabilistic sampling, recruit and supervise trained enumerators, conduct structured KIIs with business and institutional respondents, and deliver auditable datasets with robust quality assurance.

See Annex A for more details on the individual tasks, refer to https://c.smartrecruiters.com/sr-company-attachments-prod-aws-dc5/58919688e4b0672cc03331a9/5e6e1db6-1e2c-4dc0-98e9-7f60e7975032?r=s3-eu-central-1

Job Description

Deliverables

The selected survey implementation company shall undertake all tasks required for successful field implementation, including mobilization, field preparation, sample selection, enumerator training, piloting, data collection, quality assurance, cleaning, documentation, and transfer of final datasets.

Structured survey with 900 rice farmers:

The farmer survey will collect information on rice production, field characteristics, management practices, straw handling, collection constraints, and relevant farm-level economics. The questionnaire will be provided by the Study Team and may be refined collaboratively during the inception and piloting stages. The anticipated farmer questionnaire will include, at minimum:

• Province, commune, village and, if possible, GIS location.
• Age, gender and other demographic info.
• Farm area size, parcel characteristics, production system, and number of rice seasons cultivated.
• Rice yield, variety, crop calendar, pre-planting flooding period and timing/amount of residue incorporation, planting and harvest dates, and harvest method incl. approximate stubble height.
• In-season water management, irrigation, field drainage, and seasonal flooding conditions where relevant.
• Fertilizer, organic amendment, residue, manure, and compost application practices.
• Seasonal straw and stubble-management practices, including percentages burned, incorporated, removed, sold, used, or otherwise managed.
• Timing between harvest and the next planting season.
• Straw-removal experience, frequency, quantities where known, bale size, and prices received.
• Access to, experience with, and perceived reliability of baling and collection services.
• Constraints to straw removal, including field wetness, rainfall, machinery access, land size and shape, road/canal access, timing, labor, cost, and service availability.
• Other locally relevant uses of rice straw, including animal feed, mushroom production, composting, mulching, packing material, or other uses.

Key Informant Interviews:

• The contractor shall conduct 80–120 structured KIIs with rice-straw supply-chain actors and relevant local experts across An Giang, Dong Thap, Can Tho, and Tany Ninh – former province of Long An (with a possibility of extension to other provinces depending on availability of respondents).
• The contractor should plan for a purposive and diversified sample. Because some balers, collectors, and small operators may be informal or unregistered, the contractor must use multiple local identification channels rather than rely solely on formal business registries. These channels may include agricultural authorities, local government offices, cooperatives, farmer organizations, machinery-service networks, existing project contacts, storage operators, rice mills, buyers, and snowball referrals.

The KII survey instrument will collect structured qualitative and quantitative information on:

• Type, ownership, age, capacity, condition, and expected operating life of machinery and vehicles.
• Baler, loader, transport, storage, drying, shredding, pelletizing, and other equipment characteristics.
• Service area, number of customers/farmers served, seasonal operating period, and approximate annual or seasonal volumes handled vs. maximum capacity.
• Field, road, waterway, access, and weather conditions affecting service delivery.
• Straw collection, baling, loading, storage, transport, and preprocessing practices.
• Costs and revenues, including equipment purchase, maintenance, repair, fuel, twine, labor, loading, rental, storage, transport, and other relevant cost components.
• Service fees, farm-gate bale prices, purchase prices, sale prices, and price variation by season, quality, location, or delivery conditions.
• Bale mass, straw moisture% by season, yield per hectare, collection efficiency, losses, rejected material, and quality assessments.
• Current customers, end uses, competing straw markets, supply shortages, seasonal constraints, and willingness to expand.
• Storage availability and capacity, rental and operating costs, storage losses, fire and pest risks, and constraints to year-round operations.
• Transport modes, routes, transport distances, unit costs, road/canal conditions, and loading constraints.
• Collection constraints, supply-chain bottlenecks, regulatory issues, financing needs, market risks, coordination needs, and potential requirements for scaling supply.

Evaluation criteria

Proposals will be evaluated and ranked by SNV in the order in which they represent, at SNV’s sole discretion, the best value for SNV. The reviews are a closed process and not open to the public.

Greater weight will be given to the technical services than to price, but price (value for money) remains an important determinant for selection.

The Technical scores will be awarded as follows:

Due Diligence: Pass/Fail

1. Qualification: max. 25 points

2. Understanding of the Assignment: max. 15 points

3. Methodology and Work Plan: max. 30 points

4. Relevant Experience, Network, and Track Record: max. 30 points.

TOTAL TECHNICAL SCORE: 100 points

*Minimum total technical score: 70

Technical Scores are weighed at 70%. Financial scores are weighed at 30%.

The Bidder’s Financial proposal must include applicable taxes.

Negotiations with the winning bidder will be restricted to the ToR and work plan.

Budget

The maximum allowable package rate for this assignment is USD 32,000, inclusive of all consultant fees, related activities, travel and accommodation, reporting, and all applicable taxes. The package rate shall cover all costs associated with the assignment.

Duration and Payment Schedule

The assignment is expected to be implemented from November 2026 to January 2027, over an estimated period of three (3) months.

Payments will be made on a delivery basis upon submission and approval of the deliverables, with the first tranche upon delivery of the sampling framework and field work plan, the second tranche after the completion of the data collection, and the final tranche upon delivery of the final outputs.

Due Diligence Instructions

Due Diligence (DD) checks apply to all firms engaged by SNV for the provision of consultancy services. Conducting these checks supports SNV in managing donor funds responsibly, ethically, and in full compliance with relevant regulations. To apply, download the Microsoft Word Due Diligence and Vetting Form, click LINK

Qualifications

Eligibility and Qualifications

This opportunity is open to firms/organizations only. Individual consultants are not eligible to apply.

Firms must demonstrate the organizational, technical, operational, and financial capacity to deliver the assignment to a high standard.

The firm should demonstrate:

• Valid legal registration and authorization to operate in Vietnam, subject to SNV’s due diligence and vetting requirements, completed using the file Due Diligence and Vetting Form.
• At least 5 years of relevant organizational experience conducting household, farmer, agricultural, rural-livelihood, agribusiness, environmental, or value-chain surveys in Vietnam.
• Proven organizational experience in digital data collection, using KoboToolbox, ODK, CommCare, or comparable platforms.
• Demonstrated institutional capacity for probability-based household/farmer surveys, including sampling-frame cleaning, random selection, stratification, replacement control, and sample-disposition reporting.
• Demonstrated organizational experience conducting Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with private-sector, informal-sector, cooperative, government, and technical stakeholders.
• Established field presence, partner networks, or operational capacity in the Mekong Delta, preferably including An Giang, Dong Thap, Can Tho, and Tay Ninh (former Long An province).
• Established systems for field supervision, data quality assurance, respondent safeguarding, data security, and secure handling of personally identifiable information (PII).
• Ability to mobilize an adequate team of qualified enumerators and supervisors within the required timeframe.
• Sufficient financial and operational capacity to implement the assignment without interruption.
• Relevant organizational experience in agricultural value chains, rice production, agricultural machinery, biomass, renewable energy, logistics, storage, or related sectors will be considered an advantage.

Submission requirements

Interested consulting firms are requested to submit the following documents via the instruction in this site.

Proposals must be submitted in two separate files: one file containing the Technical Proposal and a separate file containing the Financial Proposal.

Technical Proposal: The Technical Proposal should clearly outline the bidder’s proposed approach and methodology for delivering the assignment and should include:

• The organisation’s business licence or appropriate registration;
• Company profile, including CVs of the proposed key team members;
• A completed Due Diligence document, together with all required supporting documents, please refer to https://c.smartrecruiters.com/sr-company-attachments-prod-aws-dc5/58919688e4b0672cc03331a9/e8a23594-06c8-4a76-a0c7-c73ea428ac3c?r=s3-eu-central-1

Financial Proposal: The Financial Proposal must be fully inclusive of all applicable taxes and submitted as a separate file. It should include:

• A detailed cost breakdown, clearly linked to the specific deliverables and/or activities;
• An indication of whether the proposed fees are open to negotiation.

Deadline: Proposals must be submitted by 17:00 hrs on 25 October 2026.

Additional Information

Selection process

SNV reserves the right to exclude any Proposals that do not meet the guidelines. Please note that SNV is unable to provide detailed feedback to those Proposals that are not selected.

Protection of Information

We request that the Proposal responses be free of any intellectual property that the applicant wishes to protect. Should offerors wish to include proprietary intellectual property that they believe would be helpful for SNV, please note the proprietary nature of such information.

Issuance of this Call for Proposals does not constitute a commitment, award, or engagement on the part of SNV nor does it commit SNV to any future commitment or engagement.