Performance period: To be negotiated, but with end dates no later than January 31, 2021 I. Background

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1 Solicitation for New Agricultural Partnerships (SNAP) in Risk Management and Resilience PI-SNAP-BFS-01 Public Private Partnerships to Address Emerging Threats to Smallholder Food Security Date of issue: September 4, 2018 Deadline for submission: Deadline for questions: October 3, 2018, 11:59 pm EDT September 14, 2018, 11:59 pm EDT Performance period: To be negotiated, but with end dates no later than January 31, 2021 I. Background Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Feed the Future (FTF) initiative. The goal of this announcement is to develop public private partnerships to support smallholder farmers and complement the U.S Government Global Food Security Strategy 1 by directly engaging with the private sector. Smallholder farmers in developing countries around the world have been chronically vulnerable to drought, floods, market instability, pests, disease outbreaks, and epidemics. Low incomes, limited assets, susceptibilities to the changing climate, and lack of economic opportunities perpetuate the cycles of crisis these smallholder farmers face. Underdeveloped markets thwart farmer yields from generating higher incomes and recovering from shock effects, thereby limiting smallholder contributions to broader economic growth 2. Risk from these events keeps innovative solutions out of smallholders reach as they choose not to spend their limited resources on unknown technologies and approaches. Instead they continue to follow a low risk-low return strategy that prevents them from escaping poverty 3. Building capacity to prepare for and mitigate shocks and ongoing stresses reduces the amount of time and resources required for smallholder farmers to rebound, which lessens chronic poverty and refocuses resources to development instead of recovery. With a focus on smallholder farmers, the US Government s Global Food Security Strategy (GFSS) supports private sector partnerships and co-investments that help foster economic growth and market systems necessary to end global hunger and food insecurity. The USAID Bureau for Food Security (BFS) and Partnering for Innovation s approach is to work with private sector partners to leverage resources to University of California Davis. Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Assets and Market Access. 3 United States Agency for International Development. An Introduction to resilience at USAID and beyond (2015).

2 promote agriculture development. This will occur through commercial partnerships that profitably benefit and strengthen the capacity of smallholder farmers when facing risks and shocks (such as drought, floods, pests, volatile markets, and disease epidemics) that affect their livelihoods and investment decisions. The private sector is well positioned to serve smallholder farmers in ways that help them reduce risk and adapt to and manage shocks. This is because private sector businesses can leverage existing relationships with smallholder clients and distributors to more successfully and sustainably introduce new tools and technologies. The commercial focus allows for rapid roll-out of new products and services. USAID and Partnering for Innovation will leverage these opportunities within the private sector to strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers themselves while also building the capacity of private sector partners to better support and rapidly respond to smallholder needs when shocks and stresses do occur. This contributes to a more resilient and sustainable market system. As discussed in the Global Food Security Strategy technical guidance 4 on resilience, poor and vulnerable smallholder farmers live and work in increasingly complex risk environments. These complex and compound risks, and the inability to effectively mitigate and manage them, account for the alarming rates at which households fall back into poverty and non-poor households descend into poverty for the first time. Sustainably reducing poverty and increasing food security requires helping individuals and households to manage the risk and shocks they face, strengthening their resilience to escape poverty for good. Partnering for Innovation and USAID are looking to partner with private sector businesses to empower farmers with the tools and technologies they need to face the wide range of emerging threats and shocks in smallholder agriculture. These threats and shocks include fall army worm 5, coffee rust, and other plant and animal pest or disease issues, as well as drought, other natural hazards, and weather-related issues that impact food production and security. Helping smallholders access capital and resources, build assets, and manage risk are important strategies to prepare for and recover from these threats and shocks. Through these activities and investments, private sector agribusinesses will target smallholder customers with proven solutions to these emerging threats, thereby improving smallholder production and regional food security, while also establishing profitable product lines and expanding market opportunities for sustainable business growth. Additionally, Partnering for Innovation and USAID will help private sector partners assess and improve adaptability and responsiveness within their own business models, distribution channels, and inventorying systems to build their capacity to better help farmers proactively reduce and manage risk and recover from shocks and stresses. All awards issued under Partnering for Innovation will be performance-based with selected partners achieving performance milestones over the period of the award. These shared value partnerships will leverage business growth for development impact and make existing and proven solutions available to smallholder farmers to address pest, disease, and weather-related food security threats. By incentivizing private sector businesses to enter the smallholder market for the long term, these partnerships also ensure that needed products and services are available to smallholder farmers beyond the award implementation period so that businesses continue to innovate new solutions for smallholder customers as new agricultural threats arise. II. Funding Opportunity Partnering for Innovation is pleased to invite registered for-profit businesses operating in at least one of the specified countries below to submit an application for an award. This solicitation and other related documents can be found on the funding page of Partnering for Innovation s website 6. The award will be directly managed by Partnering for Innovation with USAID support. The intention of this solicitation is to Page 2 of 9

3 identify for-profit, private sector partnerships and enter into a business metric-based milestone agreement that includes interventions that fit the evaluation criteria set forth in Section V. The number of partnerships available will be determined based on interest, funding available, and quality of proposals. The proposed projects are anticipated to begin in January 2019 and end on or before January 31, Overall funding from Partnering for Innovation for this solicitation is up to $3 million with up to five partnerships anticipated. Proposals must make business sense for the partner and must clearly demonstrate a significant impact for smallholder farmers in addressing, managing, and mitigating the threats of emerging pest, disease, and weather-related events. Application reviews will take place in October All applicants will be notified of application status at this time. Note that immediate negotiations and site visits will occur with successful applicants in November Please make sure the proposed project manager and a decision maker will be available at that time. The negotiations and site visit are required steps in the award process for selected applications. All questions regarding the solicitation will be answered in writing. Questions can be submitted through September 14 at 11:59 PM EDT to innovation@fintrac.com. All questions and answers will be posted publicly at by September 17, III. Scope of Work and Eligibility Smallholder farmers in developing countries around the world are facing new threats from climate change and the unprecedented spread of pests and diseases. Stakeholders in the global agricultural market system have undertaken research initiatives to determine key vulnerabilities for smallholder farmers from these and related threats, and have begun to identify areas for interventions. However, commercial players are missing in these initiatives, and are needed across market systems to introduce and commercialize technologies and services that support smallholder farmers against these emerging threats and dangers to food security. Additionally, as key players of the market system, it is important that private sector partners also understand and manage risk and commercially and sustainably respond to smallholder needs when shocks and stresses do occur. USAID supports partnerships that strengthen resilience capacities and improve risk management in the agricultural sector for smallholder farmers. USAID/BFS and Partnering for Innovation s goal is to work with for-profit private sector partners to promote solutions to emerging threats in agriculture through commercial partnerships that profitably benefit and strengthen the capacity of smallholder farmers when facing uncertainties and vulnerabilities such as fall army worm, coffee rust, drought, and other natural hazards that currently affect their livelihoods. With a focus on market approaches, this solicitation seeks innovative solutions that use market actors and mechanisms for activities that include introduction of a technology or service to a new region or smallholder market and/or scaling a technology or service to meet demand. Successful interventions will leverage business growth for food security impact by making existing, proven solutions available to smallholder farmers to address pest, disease, and weather-related food security threats. Interventions must demonstrate value in terms of risk management and resilience, as defined below: Risk Management the measures taken to transfer risk and/or 1) cope with, 2) protect against (mitigate the impacts of), and 3) reduce the frequency and severity of shocks. Page 3 of 9

4 Resilience the ability of people, households, communities, countries, and systems to mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and facilitates inclusive growth. Proposed technologies, technology systems, or services will promote farmer management of emerging threats and couple short term benefits of improving livelihoods with opportunities for creating longer term system change. Successful applicants will capture how the proposed project will contribute to food security, as well as applicants business growth through market change and innovation. Partnering for Innovation will not fund humanitarian/food aid/ food emergency work. This approach aligns with and creates opportunities for advancing research to commercialization with other USAID and Feed the Future investments, including but not limited to the USAID Center for Resilience, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Assets and Market Access (AMA), and AMA s Index Insurance Innovation Initiative (I4) 7. Applicants must target activities in one or more of the following geographic and intervention areas. Target Geographic Areas Market Intervention Cambodia Tajikistan Ghana Nepal Haiti Tanzania Guatemala Niger Liberia Zambia Honduras Nigeria Malawi Bangladesh Kenya Senegal Mozambique Ethiopia Mali Uganda Rwanda Pest and disease management, including but not limited to: Fall Army Worm, coffee rust, etc. Improved crop varieties, including but not limited to: hybrid seeds, droughttolerant seeds, seed, and fodder banks. Water management, including but not limited to: rain water harvesting, drip irrigation, drainage management. Climate related activities, including but not limited to: weather-based crop advisory, weather index crop, and livestock insurance. Innovative financing models, including but not limited to: bundling insurance with risk management technology (including inputs), increase access for smallholders, especially women, to credit and markets. ICT platforms to support market access and increase access to market, weather, pest, or other information for smallholder farmers. Biological products, integrated pest management, improved soil health/fertility, or drought resistance products or services. Improved production practices, including but not limited to: conservation agriculture, low/no till, crop rotation, intercropping, cover crops, and fodder production. Improved food preservation and storage solutions. Improved distribution channels for inputs and other agricultural assets that support more rapid and streamlined interactions with smallholder clients. 7 Page 4 of 9

5 Required elements of the partnership include: A for-profit business with a registered, legal presence in at least one of the target countries as the lead applicant. Implementing partners and other organizations may be included in a consortium such as other commercial businesses, farmer cooperatives, consulting firms, and/or business/member associations. At least a one-to-one match between US government funds and private sector funds. Preference will be given to proposed partnerships with higher leverage. See section V for further explanation of leverage requirements. Proposed partnership of up to 24 months in duration with an end date on or before January 31, The following activities are not eligible for funding: Pure academic research. Technologies that require further research and development in order to enter a market (products not currently manufactured or licensed in the proposed country are still eligible). Agricultural commodity procurement. Restricted commodities and services from ineligible suppliers in accordance with 22CFR All applicant businesses must be legally recognized entities in at least one of the target countries and able to provide documented proof of legal status. Applicant businesses should have been in operation for more than one year with demonstrated potential for commercial viability and relevant experience in the technical areas proposed in the application. Prior to award, Partnering for Innovation will conduct due diligence on selected applicants. The due diligence process includes reference checks; a pre-award survey to ensure successful applicants have the organizational, managerial, and financial systems and controls in place to manage a performance-based milestone agreement; and a site visit to evaluate the proposed strategy, meet with local stakeholders, and verify the potential impact proposed. Prior experience with USAID or other US government entities is not required. However, if the applicant has received US government or other donor funding in the past or has a proposal pending, details and purpose of such funding should be noted in the application. Failure to disclose this information will result in disqualification. Applicants are required to propose leverage in their cost proposals. Partnering for Innovation reserves the right to negotiate the final proportion with successful applicants during negotiations. Funds from United States government-supported programs cannot count towards leverage. Proposed contributions must be appropriate, relevant to the proposed activity, and will be carefully considered during the evaluation of applications. IV. Application Requirements Applicants are required to complete the attached application to qualify for funding. There are four parts to the application: (1) background information form; (2) technical proposal application; (3) budget using the attached template; and (4) cost notes explaining how each cost line item was determined. A technical proposal of no more than 12 pages in length using the attached application form shall explain the proposed activities and goals for the partnership in line with partnership parameters listed in the scope of work. Proposals must address all elements of the scope of work for funding consideration. 8 Page 5 of 9

6 Attachments to the technical proposal are not permitted with the exception of an organizational chart and documentation indicating the proposed partnerships such as a Memorandum of Understanding. These exempted documents do not count toward the page limit. Additionally, the application background information form, the budget, and the cost notes do not count toward the 12-page limit for the technical proposal as they are considered part of the cost proposal. The proposed budget shall contain detailed information to determine the general reasonableness, allowability, and allocability of all costs. Please use the format in the attached spreadsheet to complete your cost proposals. The budget should include: Detailed, line item costs, in US dollars, that include costs that are based on fair, current market prices for proposed goods and services. Funds contributed (leveraged) by the applicant at an amount greater than or equal to funding requested from USAID and Partnering for Innovation. Leveraged funds will be evaluated as an indication of the applicant s commitment to the proposed activity. The budget template includes separate columns for requested funding and leveraged amounts. Preference will be given to proposed partnerships with higher private sector leverage. Ongoing business expenses such as the procurement of commodities from farmers or normal processing and operations expenses are not allowable and should not be included in the budget. In-kind contributions will be considered; however, preference will be given to proposals with cash contributions. Cash contributions include the value of goods and services directly benefiting and specifically identifiable to the project or program. This can include salaries, property and equipment purchased/rented/developed for the activity, shipping, travel, etc. In-kind contributions include the value of goods/services already possessed by the partner, put toward the benefit of the project. For example, volunteer time, the valuation of donated supplies, equipment, and other property already owned by the partner, and use of unrecovered indirect costs. An example of in-kind would be the donation of a tractor owned by the partner to the project. The fair market value of the tractor would be the in-kind value in that case. The budget should be accompanied by detailed cost notes. The cost notes should be in a separate document from the Excel budget and organized by line item to correspond with the budget, containing the rationale for each cost item. The attached template may be used. During the negotiation process, you will be asked to provide verification for the rates proposed. The budget narrative and cost notes should be of sufficient detail so that someone unfamiliar with your organization or the activity could review and adequately understand the assumptions, reasonableness, and calculation method used. Additionally, detail provided should be at a level whereby specific rates and quantities are disclosed, such as the cost of a consultant would be the consultant s rate multiplied by an estimated number of days, or for telephone costs, the cost may be calculated by an average cost per month multiplied by the number of months. Please attach a copy of your organization s legal registration to your budget narrative. Keep in mind the following points when completing your cost proposal: Daily rates should be proposed for all personnel. Travel costs should be consistent with fair market prices and the applicant s organizational policies. Per diem rates must follow the company s internal per diem policies, and under no circumstances can per diem costs exceed the U.S. government maximum. Per diem rates can be located here 9. Indirect or overhead rates can be included if applicable, but must be supported by financial records. Fee or profit of any kind cannot be budgeted. For all travel and any shipment, origin and destination should be included. 9 Page 6 of 9

7 Goods from Cuba, Iran, Laos, Libya, North Korea, and Syria are not eligible for funding. For selected applications, all proposal costs will be verified by Partnering for Innovation. Partnering for Innovation requires all applicants to have a current DUNS number and be registered in the US government s System for Award Management at Any selected applicant not registered will be asked to obtain a DUNS number before negotiation begins. An evaluation committee comprised of USAID and Partnering for Innovation will review and rate proposals in accordance with the evaluation criteria in section V. USAID and Partnering for Innovation reserve the right to prioritize which successful applicants receive funding. V. Evaluation Criteria Evaluation criteria are listed in descending order of importance; USAID and Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation reserve the right to prioritize applications based on program objectives. Risk Management Impact: Applicants will be evaluated on the extent to which the product or service facilitates smallholder risk management, including, but not limited to: increased availability or use of risk transfer solutions (such as insurance); strengthened farmers capacity to cope with risks and shocks in a way that does not negatively impact their livelihoods or health; improved mitigation of (protection against) risks associated with emergent threats and climate shocks. Applicants must indicate the number of smallholder farmers they intend to reach and specify the number of women and youth farmers to be impacted. Additionally, applicants must describe how the partnership will expand market opportunities, and increase incomes for smallholder farmers. For this funding opportunity, smallholders are defined as farmers who cultivate less than five hectares. Business Case: Applicants will be evaluated on how the proposed partnership will meet business goals and objectives while engaging and supporting risk management and resilience among smallholder farmers. Applicants should introduce the proposed product or service, present a clear explanation of how it fits with the company s core business, and describe how the product or service is innovative for farmers. Applicants will be evaluated on the potential impact of the emerging threat being addressed by the product or service. Additionally, applicants should discuss ideas for upgrades or changes to their business model that will allow them to more rapidly help smallholder farmers respond to emerging threats in the future. Applicants should explain how the proposed activity compliments and supports the U.S Government Global Food Security Strategy. Commercial Viability: Applicants will be evaluated on the potential for growth of the product or service in the smallholder market and confirm why smallholders are a critical target market for the company s profitability. The market opportunity should be explained, including any market constraints faced by the business. Applicants should provide a clear explanation of how farmers will access and afford the product or service. Confirmation to long-term commitment to engaging smallholder farmers in business operations should be provided. Applicants should explain how swiftly the product or service can be distributed to the affected area and how the product or service will continue to grow in the market. Organizational Capacity: Applicants will be evaluated on business and management qualifications in regards to scaling products or services in smallholder markets. Applicants should articulate the organization s experience operating in smallholder markets, identify any potential capacity gaps in systems or management, and provide solutions for filling those gaps. Budget and Leverage Ratio: The budget and leverage ratio will not be included in an applicant s technical evaluation and will be reviewed separately after the technical review of applications is complete. Preference will be given to proposals with more than one-to-one matching. Descending order of Page 7 of 9

8 preference for leveraged funds includes: cash, in-kind, other sources such as non-us Government donors. Any mention of leverage related to the budget should only be included in the cost proposal and should not be mentioned in the technical proposal. The budget will be evaluated based on best value. Ongoing business expenses such as the procurement of commodities from farmers or normal processing and operations expenses are not allowable and should be included in the budget. Costs will be evaluated in equal weight for cost effectiveness and cost realism of the application, explained below. VI. Cost effectiveness will be measured as the degree to which the application demonstrates viable resources for in-kind and/or cash contributions from non-us government sources; the degree of efficient use of funding resources towards direct costs with direct correlations to the delivery of results; and the ratio of dollar to results. Cost realism is an assessment of accuracy with which proposed costs represent the most probable cost of performance within the Applicant s technical and management approach. Cost realism is used to: a) verify the Applicant s understanding of the requirements; b) assess the degree to which the cost/price proposal accurately reflects the approaches and/or risk assessments made in the technical and management approach as well as the risk that the Applicant will provide the supplies or services for the offered prices/cost; and c) assess the degree to which the cost included in the cost/price proposal accurately represents the work effort included in the technical proposal. Instructions for Submission Please submit a proposal of no more than 12 pages in length addressing the points in Section IV, consistent with the evaluation criteria in Section V, and addressing the points in the attached application form. The 12-page limitation does not include the application form, budget proposal, or related cost notes. The application must be typed with a minimum 11-point font. Please do not include any hyperlinks to external documents, websites, videos, or other sites in your proposal as these will not be considered by the reviewers. Any information about your proposed program should be captured in the technical proposal. Applicants may submit questions to innovation@fintrac.com until September 14, 2018 at 11:59 PM EDT. Responses will be posted at no later than September 17, Please note that all questions and answers will be published publically for all Applicants. All submitted documents related to this request for applications shall be in English and all costs shall be expressed in US dollars. Non-US entities should specify the exchange rate used in their budget proposal. Applicants must set forth full, accurate and complete information as required. The penalty for making false statements to the United States government is prescribed in 18 U.S.C (Making false Statements). All applications must be submitted in English via to innovation@fintrac.com with the name of your organization and PI-SNAP-BFS-01 in the subject line. Receipt of submitted application will be confirmed. Only documents in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, or PDF format will be accepted. All budget spreadsheets must be submitted in an unlocked Excel spreadsheet. Zip files, other executable files, and files that are larger than 5 MB will not be reviewed. USAID and Partnering for Innovation reserve the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted. Issuance of this solicitation does not constitute an award or commitment on the part of USAID or Partnering for Innovation, nor does it commit the US government or Partnering for Innovation to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of an application. Page 8 of 9

9 Applications must be received by October 3, 2018 before 11:59 PM, Washington DC USA. Applications will not be considered if delivered in hard copy form, nor will incomplete applications or submissions received after the deadline. Review of applications is expected in October The program expects successful partnerships to begin implementation in January 2019, with exact timing to be determined based on the completion of negotiation. Page 9 of 9