CULTIVATING NEW FRONTIERS IN AGRICULTURE (CNFA) has floated a tender for Procure a Team of Consultants to Support a Strategic Shift of the LADA Project. The project location is Liberia and the tender is closing on 06 Sep 2018. The tender notice number is LADA-2018-08-001-LOP, while the TOT Ref Number is 26390811. Bidders can have further information about the Tender and can request the complete Tender document by Registering on the site.

Expired Tender

Procurement Summary

Country : Liberia

Summary : Procure a Team of Consultants to Support a Strategic Shift of the LADA Project

Deadline : 06 Sep 2018

Other Information

Notice Type : Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 26390811

Document Ref. No. : LADA-2018-08-001-LOP

Competition : ICB

Financier : United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Purchaser Ownership : -

Tender Value : Refer Document

Purchaser's Detail

Purchaser : CULTIVATING NEW FRONTIERS IN AGRICULTURE (CNFA)
Mr. Mark T. Wilson, Sr. Procurement Specialist Congo Town, Behind Cuttington Graduate School Telephone: 231-886-592-103
Liberia
Email :mwilson@cnfa-liberia.org

Tender Details

Request for proposals are invited for Procure a Team of Consultants to Support a Strategic Shift of the Lada Project towards Increasing Private Sector Investments to Achieve a More Economically Viable Value-Chain Project, Focused on Establishing Market-Linkages, Increasing Value-Added in Different Segments of the Chain, and Promoting Economically and Potentially Viable Enterprises.

Section 1: Introduction, Technical Background and Scope of Work

1.1 Introduction: USAID/Liberia Agribusiness Development Activity (LADA) is a project valued at US$19.3 million, implemented over five years by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) for the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future Initiative. The goal of the Feed the Future LADA is to increase smallholder farmer incomes through increasing private sector investment in the Liberian agribusiness sector. LADA will expand access to and use of agricultural inputs as well as improve postharvest handling, processing, packaging, and marketing services with the aim of increasing on-farm productivity and the incomes of Liberian smallholder farmers. This innovative approach should attract US$6.30 million in total private sector investments, an estimated income increase to smallholder farmers to US$2, 800 per person for 20, 000 plus farmers, using improved inputs and technologies, and a 483 percent increase in volume of commodities with added value. Additionally, the increased capacity and productivity of the smallholder farmers will make agriculture a more inclusive and attractive vocation particularly to youth and women.

LADA has three components. Component 1 (C1) Support private sector investment in agricultural input systems: LADA activities will focus on the identification of agro-dealers and aggregators to direct improved inputs and tailored technical assistance toward supporting increased incomes for smallholder farmers, especially women and youth. Anticipated Results: Increase total private sector investments in the agricultural input systems by US$2.6 million, and credit provided to agro-dealers by US$5.7 million. Component 2 (C2) Support private sector investment in post-harvest handling support, storage, packaging, transporting, marketing, and auxiliary services: The activities surrounding this core component involve the launching of the LADA Co-Investment Fund (CIF).

This US$3 million grant matching scheme sets aside 30 percent of its investment for womenowned businesses, and it will attract and support competitive applications and business plans by private sector agribusinesses in Feed the Future counties (Rural Montserrado, Nimba, Bong, and Lofa).

Anticipated Results: The CIF applicants will receive USAID grant funding equal up to a maximum of 50 percent of total project value and will match the remaining percent in new cash investments. The activity’s life of project target is to increase private sector investments in postharvest handling and processing by US$6.15 million, and value in sales of processed food products by US$40.5 million.

Component 3 (C3) Strengthened facilitation, market information, advocacy and support systems: Activities will create and build capacity of an innovative Agribusiness Investment Network (AIN) to facilitate agricultural investment. Additionally, it will develop and promote policy interventions that will improve enabling environment for private sector growth in Liberia. Anticipated Results: Eleven Public Private Partnerships (PPP) will be formed to increase private sector investment in the agricultural sector, and five policies for creating enabling environment for investment in the agricultural sector passed. AIN will facilitate 45 business to business (B2B) pitching events. The AIN will enable agro-dealers and farmer organizations to schedule production that meets market requirements and guide investment decisions by post-harvest processors and service providers. The Business Start-up Center (BSC) at the University of Liberia (U.L.) will develop and promote B2B linkages, information sharing, policy advocacy, and production contracts that facilitate commercial transactions and access to credit.

Cross Cutting Issues:

Gender - LADA will ensure inclusive enterprise development, involving men, women, and youth in all project activities. The project encourages women’s financial participation in agriculture and expects a minimum of 25 percent of grantees and more than 35 percent of training participants to be women.

Access to Finance - LADA reduces commercial interest rates to agriculture borrowers to levels at which investment can result in profits, thereby producing increased employment, rural development, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) growth.

Anticipated results include facilitation of US$5.77 million in agricultural and rural loans.

Environment Compliance - LADA will comply with environment requirements of USAID and the Republic of Liberia.

Based on the summary findings from the mid-term evaluation as highlighted in Table 1 below, LADA is currently not meeting its intended goal and intermediate results targets. While some positive results have been realized, such as increasing knowledge and improving access to finance and inputs, the activity is not well-aligned with the objective of increasing productivity and private sector investments and development as envisaged in the project’s design. In particular, only modest increases in private sector investments and incomes can be reported from surveys and informant interviews. Information which was envisaged to support markets and private sector decision-making has not been developed; and the Agri-business Investment Network (AIN) that was expected to provide a framework to facilitate information gathering and sharing for informed decision-making is yet to be adequately functional.

1.2: Scope of Work:

For this engagement, the consultants are expected to:

1) Conduct a desk review of relevant LADA documents to better inform themselves of the project, and where it currently stands within the five-year life of the project (LOP);

2) Review LADA’s beneficiary selection and training strategy to increase private sector investment, and smallholder farmer incomes; and Develop a beneficiary selection and training strategy to increase productivity; and

3) Review LADA’s strategy for engaging the Government of Liberia (GOL), Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI) and other stakeholders to develop and pass policies and regulations that create an enabling environment for private sector growth.

1.3: Anticipated Period of Performance: September 17, 2018 – October 31, 2018

1.4: Tasks:

This assignment should demonstrate careful examination of the strategies for moving the project toward a strategically focused, value-chain development effort that draws on specific information about the potential opportunities in the broader agriculture sector. The suggested strategies must be more supportive of private sector investment, income generation, employment creation and the generation of an acceptable rate of interest and returns. This effort will at minimum lead to the following tasks:

1) Review of the current LADA theory of change and proposed revisions or modifications that will facilitate linkages throughout the value chains to increase private sector investments; productivity and profitability; and smallholder farmer incomes;

2) Review of LADA’s beneficiary selection and training strategy that will increase, private sector investments, and smallholder farmer incomes; and Propose a beneficiary selection and training strategy that will increase Productivity;

3) Identification of successful value chain interventions and development of scale up strategies within the Feed the Future (FtF) Zones of Influence (Bong, Nimba, Lofa, and Montserrado).

4) Assessment of the current LADA engagement with the Government of Liberia (GOL)
and the Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI), on policies and regulations being
finalized; and recommend revisions to LADA’s strategy for strengthening the
engagement to support development of potential policies and regulations (including
passage into law) that create an enabling environment for private sector investment and
growth, including access to finance and market linkages;
5) Proposal of innovative strategies for engaging women and youth entrepreneurs in value
chain activities and how to enhance their capacities to be businesses leaders;
6) Identification of the challenges that led to failure of digital financial services intervention
and propose a strategy for engaging mobile money service providers to deliver digital
financial services to LADA beneficiaries; and
7) Provide a set of recommendations to ensure the sustainability of LADA’s interventions,
including strengthening of Agribusiness Investment Network (AIN) and National AgroInput
Dealers Association of Liberia (NAIDAL) to play an active role in supporting
LADA value chain interventions in the future; reinforcing the relationship with the
Government of Liberia; and encouraging the profitability of public-private partnerships.

Documents

 Tender Notice