Request for Proposal (RFP) at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is an organisation that seeks to transform African agriculture from a subsistence model to strong businesses that improve the livelihoods of the continent’s farming households.

Applications are invited for:

Title: Request for Proposal (RFP) - Program and Cost Model for Adapting SeedSAT/CESSA Approach in Non-AGRA Core Countries

Reference No: RFP/065/PID/2022

Background
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is a dynamic partnership working across the African continent to help millions of smallholder farmers out of poverty. AGRA is seeking to catalyze an agricultural transformation in eleven (11) key focus countries namely, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria in West Africa and Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda in East and Southern Africa. AGRA’s mission is to trigger an African-led green revolution based on smallholder farmers in Africa with key goals of increasing the incomes of at least 30 million farm households through productivity improvements and access to markets and finance and ensuring all focus countries are on a pathway to attain and sustain an agricultural transformation.

AGRA strategy 2030 is focused on investing in countries beyond 11 and probably 30 countries in Africa.Seed systems are quite diverse in the continent ranging from informal seed sector which is predominant in some countries to a highly formalized setting in others. AGRA intends to start seed systems interventions in DRC, Angola, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Togo, Benin, Cote D’Voire, Zambia, Senegal, Burundi, Madagascar among other In line with this, AGRA will need to have a strategy and an investment plan to roll out the seed sector of the new countries. The development of a sound investment strategy for these new countries requires detailed and accurate baseline, stakeholder involvement, and investment plan. This will need a baseline survey and scooping report. AGRA will engage a consultancy firm to carry out a baseline survey and a scoping study of the new target countries’ seed systems. This is expected to detailed baseline data and information needed to develop seed systems’ interventions and investment strategies to address identified the bottlenecks in the seed sector. The assignment will involve survey on the current institutional structure, regulatory and operational frameworks that guide and support each country’s seed systems. The outcome of the study will undergo stakeholder review and validation for ownership. Stakeholder commitment will be sought for AGRA strategic direction for each country on the findings and recommendations of the study and in line with the country’s development strategies.

The primary outcome is a program and cost model for adapting SeedSAT/CESSA approach in non-AGRA core countries. The overall goal of the project is to strengthen seed systems across Africa so that farmers can access seed of improved resilient varieties that give better yields for food security and incomes. We shall be targeting an expanded Africa program and avail technical support and resources to selected additional countries who have shown positive interest to fixing elements of the seed systems that are broken following the recently concluded country seed studies.

Objectives of the Assignment
The specific objectives of this initiative would be done in:

• Validate with partners and stakeholders’ findings from a recently concluded country seed system studies in the new countries
• Develop a customized and prioritized roadmap for seed investments and their sequenced rollout that would lead to the development and strengthening of the in the seed systems in new countries, while mapping the key institutions and costing
• Develop and ratify investment plans with ministries of agriculture as documents to present to governments and development partners to fix gaps identified in the seed systems

Scope of Services
The report will focus on Key findings and learnings from the study and& form a basis for seed investment plans in new countries.

• Develop and document a country consultation platform for engagement: Key seed stakeholders will be identified and convened to discuss and validate findings. An inclusive methodology will be used to ensure all the stakeholders participate.
• Crop prioritization: The prioritization will specify all the key staple crops to focus on for seed production and promotion, against the stakeholder mapping and influence
• Develop a road map for seed intervention and priorities: Based on key areas identified, a sequenced roll-out plan with timelines for short-, medium-, and long-term interventions will be prioritized including the rationale and provisional costing
• Development and ratification of investment plans with ministries of agriculture.: The investment plans shall be ratified with relevant government agencies, as a country document to present to governments and development partners.
• A publishable investment plan document for each country: The documents will be published as case studies for learning and anchored on CESSA website.;

Deliverables and Measurable Outputs of the Work Assignment
The consultancy will significantly contribute to achieving outcome of the seed system workstream through providing the below outputs:

• Develop and document a country consultation platform for engagement: Key seed stakeholders will be identified and convened to discuss and validate findings. An inclusive methodology will be used to ensure all the stakeholders participate.
• Crop prioritization: The prioritization will specify all the key staple crops to focus on for seed production and promotion, against the stakeholder mapping and influence
• Develop a road map for seed intervention and priorities: Based on key areas identified, a sequenced roll-out plan with timelines for short-, medium-, and long-term interventions will be prioritized including the rationale and provisional costing
• Development and ratification of investment plans with ministries of agriculture: The investment plans shall be ratified with relevant government agencies, as a country document to present to governments and development partners.
• A publishable investment plan document for each country: The documents will be published as case studies for learning and anchored on CESSA website.

Qualifications of the Consultancy Firm

• Minimum 10-year experience in similar assignments
• Proven evidence in program design and costing model
• Experiences and evidence in Africa continent.
• Geographical presence within the African continent
• Pool of qualified and experienced experts
• Strategic vision, strong technical and analytical capabilities.

Application Closing Date
2nd May, 2022.

Submission of Documents
Proposals SHALL be submitted via email to: procurement@agra.org Please include “RFP/065/PID/2022” on the subject line on the email.

Note

• The Proposals shall be prepared in English Language.
• The technical proposal shall not exceed 20 pages.
• The proposal and ALL Attachments submitted via email SHALL NOT exceed 10MB.
• VALIDITY of the proposal shall be for a period of 90 days from the date of bid closure.
• Financial proposal shall be sent as a separate attachment and MUST be password protected. The password shall be requested from firms that meet the minimum technical score of 75%).

Click Here (Ms Word) for a detailed description of the RFP.