391-RFI-021122-CSA.pdf

Request for Information (RFI)

To: All Interested International or Local Pakistani Organizations

Subject: Climate Smart Agriculture Activity (CSA)

Reference Number :

Release Date :

Response Due Date :

391-RFI-021122-CSA

February 11, 2022 5:00pm Pakistan Standard Time March 11, 2022

1. Request for Information

This Request for Information (RFI) is a preliminary call for expressions of interest to provide services for the activity titled, “Climate Smart Agriculture Activity (CSA)”.

The Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Activity is expected to be a $16 million, Four-year Award (2022-2026) award which is designed to introduce and promote climate smart technologies for sustainable growth of the agriculture sector and create resilience in communities associated with agriculture. CSA activity will also work on ways to increase public and private sector investment in research and innovation for adaptation and resilience in agriculture.

In addition, USAID seeks input regarding our proposed approach listed in Attachment A. The USAID/Pakistan intends to issue one Award for the provision of the required services. The period of performance under this award will be four years (extendable to five years) with an estimated award ceiling of $16 million.

The selected awardee will be required to successfully register their organization to operate in Pakistan and obtain the necessary No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the concerned host government agencies. Also, the organizations will be subject to partner vetting requirements. As per the USAID/Pakistan’s Vetting Mission Order, key individuals of the offeror and that of any proposed sub-awardees will be required to comply with the vetting requirement.

Interested parties wishing to participate should submit an expression of interest (5-10 pages) which addresses their capacity and capability for performing this activity. USAID relies on the recency and relevancy of past performance information when determining awards to recipients.

Recency is defined as the award's recipient has performance as either a prime or subrecipient within the last 3-5 years. Relevancy is defined as awards the recipient has received for projects with a similar scope and magnitude as this requirement. Please include three examples of past performance history meeting this criterion.

How to Submit a Response

Interested parties wishing to participate should submit their capabilities statements electronically to Muhammad Ali Bilal, at mbilal@usaid.gov with a copy to Zee Waqar Khan, at zwkhan@usaid.gov. Responses to this RFI will be accepted within the due date stated above. You will receive only an electronic confirmation acknowledging receipt of your response but will not receive individualized feedback or suggestions.

Responses may contribute to upcoming activity design(s). However, this RFI will not be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government (USG) to issue any solicitation, award any grant, or pay for any information submitted as a result of this request. Responders are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or restricted information contained in their response.

No basis for claims against the U.S. Government shall arise as a result of a response to this Request for Information or from the USG’s use of such information. Specific questions about this RFI should be directed only to the email addresses identified above. This office will not respond to any telephonic or other inquiries regarding this notice.

The submitted information must not exceed 10 pages. The submitted response should include:

Reference Number: 391-RFI-021122-CSA Name / Email Affiliation/ Organization Address

● Short narrative, including capabilities, strengths, and expected contributions.

● Comments on CSA Activity objectives and approaches.

● Questions/clarifications regarding our proposed strategy listed in Attachment A; and

● Experience - Past Performance references (3).

Please attach any documents that support your comments to the above questions. Please note USAID is not seeking technical or cost proposals at this time. Do not submit any proposal/application at this time in response to this RFI. Only the information as requested above or in Attachment A will be considered. Issuance of this notice does not constitute an award commitment to international or local Pakistani non-governmental organizations on part of the USG, nor does it commit the government to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation of comments. Questions regarding this notice can be directed to Mr. Muhammad Ali Bilal, Administrative Agreement Officer, at mbilal@usaid.gov with a copy to Zee Waqar Khan, at zwkhan@usaid.gov.

Issued By: USAID/Pakistan’s Office of Acquisition and Assistance (OAA).

mailto:mbilal@usaid.gov mailto:zwkhan@usaid.gov mailto:mbilal@usaid.gov mailto:zwkhan@usaid.gov

Attachment - A

1. BACKGROUND

Tackling climate change (CC) is one of the seven immediate priorities of the Biden-Harris Administration. The USG is committed to engaging with governments, the private sector, civil society, and communities to support transformational policies and programs and build human and institutional capacity to deal with CC. One of the areas identified for the intervention is ‘Supporting the Agricultural Innovation Mission for Climate’ - investments in agricultural research to accelerate global agricultural innovation and the use of climate smart technologies by smallholder farmers. The Government of Pakistan (GoP) is also working to tackle the impact of CC. The objective of these efforts as stated in CC Policy is to ensure that CC adaptation is mainstreamed in the economically and socially vulnerable sectors of the economy and to steer Pakistan towards climate resilient development.

Responding to USG policy requirements and GoP initiatives, this activity lays out how USAID Pakistan intends to tackle CC with the use of technology and private sector linkages to increase resilience in the face of the increasing threat.

2. OBJECTIVES

The overarching objective of the CSA is sustainable growth in the agricultural sector through private sector investment. This objective will be achieved through three sub-objectives:

● Sub-objective 1: Identify/Introduce and promote CSA technologies and practices for adaptation.

● Sub-objective 2: Increase the resilience and coping capacity of the smallholder farmers.

The activity will work with the government to mitigate risk and provide financial support to smallholder farmers in the form of either loan, subsidy on inputs/technologies and crop insurance. The activity will also give due consideration to women involved in agriculture at different stages of production and processing; identifying, highlighting, and addressing the challenges faced by them in the wake of CC and in adapting the CSA techniques.

● Sub-objective 3: The activity will create an enabling environment to promote public and private sector investment in research and innovation systems, leverage resources and build synergies to amplify impact, and strengthen institutional response to CC.

3. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

CSA is expected to be a $16 million four-year (extendable to five year) activity meant to introduce and promote CSA technologies for adaptation and resilience, and work on policies to promote investment in climate smart agriculture and improve institutional response to CC. To minimize the impact of CC and to build resilience while increasing productivity, the proposed activity will adopt a three-pronged approach. For changing climatic conditions, a) it will introduce technologies and practices that will help actors in the food system to adapt to CC, b) mitigate the risks associated with extreme climatic events, c) promote investment in research and innovation systems to tackle CC in the agriculture sector.

For adaptation, the practices may be introduced through traditional agricultural extension, and private sector collaborations, with an emphasis on Information and Communications Technology and audio-visual demonstrations. These activities include seeds, soil, nutrient and water management, pest and disease control, diversifying the production systems, improving institutional support/investment for research and innovation, and unlocking finance for climate-smart solutions. To increase the resilience and coping capacity of the farmers, the activity will work with the government and look for market solutions to mitigate risk and provide financial support to small holders. The activities may include diversifying economic opportunities, disaster preparedness, agricultural insurance, linking with safety nets and reducing food loss/waste. To increase investment, the activity will create an enabling environment to promote public and private sector investment in research and innovation systems, leverage resources and build synergies to amplify impact, and strengthen institutional response for sustainability.

The gender gap in agriculture is a pattern, documented worldwide, in which women in agriculture have less access to productive resources, financial capital, and to advisory services compared to men. Vulnerability to climate change will be determined by a community or individual’s ability to adapt. Studies have shown that women disproportionately suffer the impacts of disasters, severe weather events, and climate change because of cultural norms and the inequitable distribution of roles, resources, and power, especially in developing countries. In the context of CC and Climate- Smart Agriculture (CSA), this gap means that men and women are not starting off on a level playing field. This can have significant implications for the adoption and sustainability of practices under a CSA approach. Further, there is a risk that, if this gap is not taken into consideration, the development of site-specific CSA options could reinforce existing inequalities. Thus, the proposed Activity is expected to be mindful of these gender inequalities and make due efforts towards addressing them.

4. Requested Information/Questions

USAID/Pakistan is interested in gathering information on the following:

1. Identification of international or local Pakistani organizations with capability to successfully implement CSA activity.

2. Comments on the approach and identification of related challenges, constraints, and limitations while working in Pakistan.

3. Identification of activities under the above-mentioned approach and organizational best practices for these activities in Pakistan or similar environments.

4. Identification of similar activities being implemented by other development partners and how this project will compliment these efforts.

5. Identification of enabling environment factors such as policies and regulations that can stimulate public or private investment in CSA.

6. Identification of priority areas/locations for implementations of this activity.

7. Impacts of CC on women in agriculture and the issues and opportunities for adopting CSA techniques for women.

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