Attachment J.1 SOO.pdf

Attachment J.1

RFP 72011520R00003

Agribusiness Development Activity in Uzbekistan

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

1. PURPOSE

USAID’s previous on-farm production assistance helped to create a thriving private sector-led horticultural base. This assistance provided Uzbekistan with proven models for how the country can transition away from government-dominated, water-intensive monocultures, such as cotton and wheat, into higher-value horticulture offering more opportunities for private sector development using fewer water resources.

Over the past decade, USAID played a pivotal role in developing Uzbekistan’s horticulture sector; cold storage capacity; and supporting small, medium, and large facilities throughout the country, which are now able to provide a diverse array of offerings for different storage volumes and needs. While still growing, cold chain infrastructure has firmly taken hold and will enable the country to further increase domestic sales and exports of time and temperature sensitive horticultural produce. Having helped Uzbekistan’s agricultural sector reach this point, the next step is to ensure continued growth by moving up the value chain, supporting the development of the country’s private sector in scaling up investment and efficiency of agribusinesses while increasing their ability to add value beyond simple fresh produce and unprocessed commodities. Beyond that, USAID must continue to support the GOU’s reform work in the opening of trade and investment markets.

The Agribusiness Development Activity will seek to capitalize on these previous investments and advancements by increasing the quantity, quality, and diversity of goods and services made from various sources of agricultural production in Uzbekistan by private-sector firms. The activity will support an increasing role for Uzbekistan’s private sector, while enabling the country to create meaningful jobs in the formal economy for its burgeoning workforce, especially youth. These efforts will focus on four key components:

1. Increase value-added production within Uzbekistan;

2. Engage vulnerable populations, especially youth and women;

3. Link educational institutions with private sector demand;

4. Foster an enabling environment for agriculture.

2. PERIOD AND PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The expected period of performance for the Agribusiness Development Activity is five years.

The activity will be implemented throughout both urban and rural areas in Uzbekistan with potential to focus on regional and international trade partners. In the more developed agricultural regions, such as the Ferghana Valley, the activity will focus on off-farm, valued-added agribusiness activities. In more remote areas of the country, and with targeted populations, the activity may support on-farm production and/or off farm activities, depending upon the economic viability of those activities. The activity should have a main activity office in Tashkent, with the possibility of smaller field offices in strategic localities around the country, when desirable. While the activity will not work in Afghanistan, the activity will be encouraged to support connectivity between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan and to connect with other USAID programs in Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan, and the Caucasus.

3. BACKGROUND

Since December 2016, Uzbekistan has undertaken a number of economic reforms with the potential to transition the country from its former isolationist stance toward a regional leadership role with a thriving private sector-led economy. The Uzbek economy has grown at a high and steady rate with GDP per capita growth frequently exceeding 6 percent per year over the past 15 years. However, much of that growth is the result of aggressive government industrial policy and subsidization of key industries, which raises concerns about sustainability and competitiveness in the long run. Many state-owned enterprises (SOEs) will need to be privatized and new business creation and entrepreneurship encouraged as the economy continues to liberalize and open up to new markets. Over the past few years, Uzbekistan has demonstrated increased interest in market-based reforms, such as the liberalization of its currency exchange system in September 2017, the abolishment of the horticulture export monopoly, UzAgroExport, in June 2017, and the issuance of a presidential decree in August 2017 on improving business conditions for entrepreneurs. Such reforms offer promise for new business opportunities and private sector growth.

Uzbekistan needs technical assistance in transiting into a private-sector economy that can provide jobs for its growing workforce while serving as a reliable regional trading partner.

USAID can play an important role in this process, helping to guide this transition while building sound economic institutions. Nowhere is this more true than in the agricultural sector, which is a pillar of Uzbekistan’s economy and a source of income for millions of Uzbek citizens. USAID has a rich history of supporting the country’s agricultural sector, particularly in horticulture. Horticulture is an area of the economy with a particularly strong presence of the local private sector. Horticulture is also less water-intensive than other crops such as wheat or cotton, and it has faced fewer challenges with forced labor practices. USAID has already helped to prove the model for success in horticulture production and export, and further assistance will enable the country to increase the amount of value that is added to products in-country in order to create more jobs and capture more value in Uzbekistan. The Agribusiness Development Activity is designed to capitalize on the receptiveness of the government of Uzbekistan and its enthusiasm for transformational reforms.

Notable Diagnostic Research Studies

Uzbekistan World Bank Systematic Country Diagnostic (2016) ADB Private Sector Assessment for 2012-2016 World Bank Country Partnership Framework 2016-2020

4. RELATED ACTIVITIES

The Agribusiness Development Activity will need to coordinate its efforts closely with existing USAID projects, other donor efforts, and partner government agencies. The list of USAID funded programs mentioned below is not intended to be comprehensive, but merely to note some of the existing programs already taking place. The Agribusiness Development Activity should avoid any duplication of effort with these and other development programs, but should seek to find synergies with these efforts when appropriate.

Uzbekistan: Agricultural Value Chain Activity (AVC – 2015-2020) AVC is the third in a series of horticulture activities funded by USAID in Uzbekistan. It builds on the accomplishments of previous activities to address the standard and quality issues needed to increase access to high end local and export markets, improve production and post-harvest practices, expand investments in agro-processing, expand production of certified planting material, and build efficient extension services through privatized agro input dealers. AVC has a strong private sector orientation and market-driven approach. It focuses primarily on post-harvest issues and markets for fresh fruit and vegetable production.

Competitiveness, Trade, and Jobs (CTJ – 2016-2021) USAID’s Competitiveness, Trade, and Jobs activity in Central Asia (CTJ) aims to facilitate exports and employment in horticulture and strengthen transport and logistics services across the five Central Asian economies. CTJ recently added a third focus sector, which will be tourism. By incentivizing firms to become more regionally competitive and by addressing cross-border impediments to trade, CTJ helps to develop a more diverse and competitive private sector and generate export-driven growth. CTJ is a five-year project running from October 2016 through September 2021.

Future Growth Initiative (FGI – 2019-2024) The Future Growth Initiative (FGI), a five-year regional activity, which began in the fall of 2019, will support high-growth industries in order to create jobs and improve incomes, stemming the flow of outward migration. Notional sectors include information technology, light manufacturing, and tourism.

Judicial Reform in Uzbekistan Program (JRUP – 2018-2022) USAID’s Judicial Reform in Uzbekistan Program (JRUP) supports and responds to requests for cooperation and technical assistance made by the Ministry of Justice and other institutions to support GOU priorities for ensuring the rule of law, further reforming the legal system, and aiding in the growth and development of civil society in Uzbekistan. The project has the following objectives: (1) Support for rule of law development in Uzbekistan; (2) Development of the legal profession; and (3) Development of the legal enabling environment for civil society and non-government organizations (NGOs).

Other Donor Activities A number of bilateral and multilateral donors are supporting activities in Central Asia that may align with the Agribusiness Development Activity. The activity’s implementing partner will be responsible for staying abreast of these other activities and ensuring that the proposed activities do not duplicate those efforts. Leveraging resources and combining efforts will be encouraged, and the Agribusiness Development Activity should seek out these opportunities for collaboration where appropriate. The donor landscape is varied, and will also vary greatly according to the implementation approach and sectors chosen. Active bilateral donors include the European Union, the German Development Agency (GIZ), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

Active multilateral organizations include the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Asia Development Bank (ADB) including the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) project, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).

5. RELATIONSHIP TO REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION STRATEGY

(RDCS)

This activity will fall under the Mission’s RDCS Development Objective (DO) 1 for Expanded Diverse and Competitive Trade and Markets. This activity will directly support Intermediate Results (IR) IR1.1. More diverse and competitive private sector and IR1.2. Enhanced agricultural competitiveness and food security.

6. ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

The Agribusiness Development Activity is intended to support Uzbekistan’s ability to provide private sector-led growth in agriculture and related sectors. By ushering farmers, producers, processors, exporters, and entrepreneurs into higher-value utilization of natural and human resources, Uzbekistan will be able to ensure the creation of jobs while supporting inclusion for marginalized groups, leading to increased employment opportunities for the country’s growing youth population. These efforts will be focused around four key components: 1.) Increase Value-Added Production within Uzbekistan; 2.) Engage Vulnerable Populations; 3.) Link

Educational Institutions with Private Sector Demand; and 4.) Foster an Enabling Environment for Agriculture.

This statement of objectives was developed with the understanding that potential implementing partners would submit proposals outlining the geographic areas, as well as sectors and subsectors that could achieve the Agribusiness Development Activity’s stated objectives.

1. Increase Value-Added Production within Uzbekistan The term “value added” refers to improvements to goods and services that increase the overall “shelf-ready” value of the final product. Beyond on-farm agricultural production, there are numerous activities that can add value to agricultural products. While some commodities, such as fresh fruits, may fetch a high price in their original form, for many products, additional earnings can be captured by adding more value in-country, rather than exporting those raw materials to others. The Agribusiness Development Activity will seek to identify those opportunities for adding more value within Uzbekistan, thereby creating meaningful and sustainable wage jobs and increasing the role of the country’s private sector.

The activity will seek to support producer groups and other forms of cooperation among firms in order to achieve economies of scale in production. While the activity will not directly seek to increase the availability of finance, the activity will seek to connect Uzbek firms with financial lenders so that they can access the finance needed to grow their businesses.

Where appropriate, the activity should seek to create a data-driven approach to investment.

Calculations such as Return on Investment or Cost-Benefit Analysis should be understood when supporting one value-added approach vs. another. For beneficiaries as well, the activity should seek to assist firms in understanding the risks, costs, and potential benefits of investments and process improvements so that they can make informed decisions about their value-added activities.

1a. Increase Post-Harvest, Value-Added Processing of Horticultural Products The Agribusiness Development Activity will capitalize on previous USAID successes and take into account lessons learned while moving away from support to traditional, on-farm horticultural production. The activity will focus on post-harvest, value-added production and processing that creates a multiplier effect for meaningful, sustainable employment for the vulnerable and economically disenfranchised. For more than a decade, AVC and other USAID assistance efforts have served as on-farm providers of extension services. Consistent with Uzbekistan’s new Agro-Food Development Strategy, the Agribusiness Development Activity will support the development of GOU-led extension services throughout the country. This approach will see USAID step out of its extension role while building the capacity of local extension providers (public and/or private) to fill this void.

The activity will seek to build upon increased production capacity, while seeking opportunities to add further value to products before they are sold domestically or exported. Even incremental steps, such as improved sorting, grading and packaging can present an opportunity to increase jobs while creating additional value in-country. Eco-friendly packaging, organic certification, and other steps may help to return a premium for Uzbek products, but the activity will need to develop a comprehensive understanding of the international market in order to identify where those and other opportunities exist. International expertise will likely be required in order to help producers understand the demands of end-markets for their products.

Where appropriate, the activity may support producer organizations to help meet the needs of small and medium sized producers. The activity will take an end-market approach to identify those value chains that can most likely be expanded.

1b. Increase Post-Harvest Production of Non-Horticultural Goods Outside of horticulture, the activity will also seek to improve Uzbekistan’s competitiveness in global markets for other agriculture-driven products. The activity will seek to identify sector(s) where Uzbekistan can have a strategic advantage and can succeed against international competition. USAID-funded experts can share experience in meeting international market demands in terms of quality, quantity, packaging, and timing of product delivery.

Livestock, and subsequent leather goods, may present another potential area for growth. Other opportunities may also exist, but the activity will need to take a careful market-driven, systems approach to identifying the sectors and sub-sectors where is is engaged.

The activity may also seek to increase branding of Uzbek products. Labels such as “Made in Uzbekistan”, “Organic Uzbekistan”, “Fair Trade Uzbekistan”, etc. could help to establish Uzbekistan as a producer of quality goods that can fetch premium prices in global markets. To achieve this, branded products would need to adhere to strict quality standards in order to secure the integrity of the brand. The activity can explore the feasibility of establishing such brands while also gauging end-market demand for them.

2. Engage Vulnerable Populations While the horticulture sector itself has become a viable, self-sustaining industry, the benefits of these successes have not always been widespread. In particular, women remain underrepresented throughout the economy, and vulnerable communities in remote regions of the country remain disconnected from economic opportunity.

2a. Support Economic Opportunities for Women and Youth Outside of low-paying farm labor, women are largely absent from agribusiness. Smallholder farmers lack sufficient resources and production volumes to participate in market systems.

The Activity will seek to correct this imbalance by supporting women’s economic activity at all levels of the agricultural value chain. The activity will seek to engage women currently working in the agricultural sector to better understand existing circumstances and the potential for future economic advancement. The activity will seek to support women at higher levels of management in agribusiness with meaningful wages. The activity will support opportunities for women in training and education, research and development, product development, and other areas with the potential to provide meaningful organizational roles.

The Agribusiness Development Activity should seek to identify value chains where women play a significant role, or where they would be able to productively engage with proper training and support. The activity will take a culturally sensitive approach to women’s economic empowerment, recognizing cultural norms while simultaneously seeking to overcome the barriers that exist. These efforts will seek to close the gender pay-gap while improving the overall level of female workforce participation.

2b. Support Economic Activity in Vulnerable Communities Some regions of Uzbekistan have benefited far more than others from Uzbekistan’s horticulture sector productivity gains. The Ferghana and Samarkand regions have developed a robust agricultural industry that is able to create jobs and provide opportunities at various levels. While challenges remain in these areas, particularly for the employment of youth, a thriving agricultural sector does exist in these areas, and private-sector activity is increasing.

However, entire regions of the country are not connected with this development. In regions such as Karakalpakstan, Khorezim, Kashkadarya, and Surkhandarya, communities struggle to find connections to the national and global economy. These regions’ remote location, difficult growing conditions, and a lack of a skilled workforce present challenges to establishing a thriving, self-reliant economy in the region.

The Agribusiness Development Activity will seek to engage targeted communities in some of these remote regions by identifying and supporting value chains with the potential to provide economic opportunity for the region’s population. Target communities will be chosen based on low GDP, isolation, diversity of agricultural production, level of risk to U.S. and regional security, and other factors that present true development needs. Recognizing the development challenges of these regions, USAID will be mindful that interventions in these regions cannot be expected to immediately produce the levels of results that were seen by agricultural assistance activities elsewhere in the country. The activity should seek to improve economic opportunities while also supporting environmental improvements in these areas.

3. Link Educational Institutions with Private Sector Demand National Agricultural universities and vocational colleges are largely oriented towards the technical aspects of production and processing, with little focus placed on meeting market demand. AVC used demonstration plots and worked through research institutes and agrarian universities to communicate new technologies and practices to farmers. There are many possibilities for further linking agricultural universities with private enterprises: New curriculum could be developed on marketing and post-harvest activities; or internships could provide students with practical, real-world work experience to supplement classroom learning.

Special attention should be devoted to encouraging improved roles for women in business when structuring such on the job learning opportunities.

Research produced by educational institutions will be disseminated to producers so that they can capitalize on new innovations. Educational institutions could also be assisted in developing their ability to disseminate research and advisory assistance to private sector producers.

Facilitating these linkages will help to prepare the next generation of leaders while ensuring that Uzbekistan becomes more self-reliant and market-driven in its agricultural production.

4. Foster an Enabling Environment for Agriculture The Agribusiness Development Activity will take a demand-driven approach to supporting an agricultural enabling environment. While Uzbekistan is in the midst of unprecedented economic reform, those reform priorities continue to shift from month to month, and may continue to evolve throughout the life of the activity. The activity will seek to find its niche in supporting the GOU’s reform agenda in a way that will align with the activity’s objectives, GOU priorities, and U.S. Government assistance objectives. These efforts should be coordinated closely with efforts of other donor organizations, and USAID’s CTJ, FGI and JRUP programs.

4a. Support Agriculture Policy Development The Activity will directly support implementation of Uzbekistan’s Agri-Food Development Strategy for 2019-2030. The activity will assist the Ministry of Agriculture in implementing this policy and will also be capable of supporting the Ministry itself with organizational restructuring and capacity building, as needed to implement the Agri-Food Development Strategy and the country’s broader reform agenda. This assistance may include conducting assessments to guide priority sector policy reforms.

4b. Support Extension Service Development The Activity will support Uzbekistan in developing extension services that are capable of delivering quality advice and services to agricultural producers throughout the country. In contrast to previously funded agricultural activities, where the USAID project team served as the primary direct provider of these services, the Activity will seek to ensure that Uzbek institutions are capable of delivering these services moving forward. The Ministry of Agriculture’s planned eight agro-logistics centers across the country may present a good option for housing these services. Tashkent State Agrarian University with its four branches and the Mirzaev Horticulture Institute, may also be potential candidates for housing this assistance and disseminating it throughout the country. The private sector may also have an important role to play in delivering extension services throughout the country. The Activity will seek to identify appropriate models for sustainably delivering extension services, potentially supporting different models in different areas, depending upon the circumstances.

4c. Support Private Sector-Friendly Agribusiness Policies While creating a market economy, joining the WTO and seeking to compete internationally, Uzbekistan may need to undertake significant reform in the agribusiness sector. The Agribusiness Development Activity can play a key role in helping Uzbekistan to address legal and regulatory impediments to firm competitiveness, so that Uzbek firms are able to remain competitive under open-market conditions. The Activity will be able to assist Uzbekistan with improving its ranking on international indices, such as the World Bank’s Doing Business Report, as needed to support development in the agribusiness sector. They activity will also be able to help Uzbekistan address the underlying issues behind index scores, as well as the broader investment climate issues that may be inhibiting domestic and foreign investment in the agricultural/agribusiness sector.

7. PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

A. Goal

Theory of Change: If Uzbekistan increases value-added production while fostering the conditions for private sector-led development, then the country succeeds in creating jobs for its growing workforce while becoming a productive regional trading partner.

The Agribusiness Development Activity will seek to ensure that goods and services of increasing value and quality are made in Uzbekistan by private sector firms. The activity will support and increasing role for Uzbekistan’s private sector while enabling the country to create jobs for its growing workforce.

USAID has supported the agricultural sector of Central Asia for many years through both regional and bilateral programming. Considerable progress has been made in connecting producers to international markets and developing Uzbekistan’s cold storage capacity.

However, considerable opportunities remain for adding value to agricultural products in-country and increasing employment in value-added industries. The agricultural sector will undoubtedly remain a large employer in Uzbekistan for years to come. However, wages in the agricultural sector lag behind other promising industries, and both future increases in jobs and income will likely come from off-farm employment. This activity is intended to support Uzbekistan in increasing those employment opportunities in agribusiness.

The offeror will have the flexibility to recommend to USAID for approval a set of demand-driven interventions in its Performance Work Statement (PWS) aimed at generating rapid, broad-based, and sustainable economic growth with improved measures of business sales, employment, and incomes. This Activity is intended to work largely off-farm in the eastern regions of Uzbekistan (such as the Ferghana Valley), and will assess working directly with farmers in the historically underserved and desertifying communities in the western and southern parts of the country.

B. Performance Objectives and Results

Objective 1: Increased value-added production within Uzbekistan.

Result 1.1: Increased post-harvest, value-added processing of horticultural products.

Result 1.2: Increased post-harvest processing of non-horticultural goods.

Objective 2: Improved opportunities and outcomes for vulnerable populations.

Result 2.1: Improved economic opportunities for women.

Result 2.2: Increased economic activity in vulnerable communities.

Objective 3: Built and deepened linkages between educational institutions and private sector demand.

Result 3.1: Design and assist the implementation of demand-driven curricula, internships, training, etc., in consultation with public, academic, and private sectors.

Result 3.2: Identify and disseminate research and advisory assistance to private sector producers.

Objective 4: Fostered enabling environment for agriculture.

Result 4.1: Support agriculture policy development.

Result 4.2: Support extension service development.

Result 4.3: Support private sector-friendly agribusiness policies.

C. Illustrative Performance Indicators

The offeror’s performance will be evaluated based on progress in accomplishing the activities specified in their Performance Work Statement, annual work plans and Activity Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan (AMELP), and achievement of the contract targets for each performance measure set in connection with the indicators provided in this section. USAID and the successful offeror will use objectively verifiable indicators with periodic data collection to measure performance and adjust approaches as necessary. Below is an illustrative list of performance indicators for the Agribusiness Development Activity. Some of these high-level results may be beyond the manageable interest or complete control of this activity. However this data will be useful in tracking the overall progress toward the goal of increased jobs and incomes.

Illustrative U.S. Government Standard Indicators:

● EG.2-1 Person hours of USG-supported training completed in trade and investment;

● EG.3-1-12 Number of agricultural and nutritional enabling environment policies analyzed, consulted on, drafted or revised, approved, and implemented with USG assistance;

● EG.3.2-17 Number of farmers and others who have applied improved technologies or management practices with USG assistance;

● EG.3.2-20 Number of for-profit private enterprises, producers organizations, water users associations, women’s groups, trade and business associations and community-based organizations (CBOs) that applied improved organization-level technologies or management practices with USG assistance;

● EG5.2-1 Number of firms receiving USG-funded technical assistance for improving business performance;

● EG.5-2 Full-time equivalent employment of firms assisted under USG programs;

● EG.5.2-2 Number of private sector firms that have improved management practices or technologies as a result of USG assistance;

● ES.2-1 Number of host country tertiary education institutions receiving capacity development support with USG assistance.

Illustrative Custom Indicators:

● Volume of sales by targeted firms per year;

● Number of new jobs created by targeted firms;

● Number of new jobs created by targeted sectors;

● Number of public-private partnerships formed as a result of USG assistance;

● Number of entrepreneurs receiving funding from USG programs.

8. GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The Agribusiness Development Activity will be led by the following Guiding Principles:

A. Flexibility Given Uzbekistan’s rapidly evolving reform environment, the activity must be flexible in its approach, and capable of quickly responding to new opportunities as they arise.

B. Connectivity and Partnerships

Regional Connectivity The Agribusiness Development Activity will seek to increase economic connectivity among Central Asian nations and connect Uzbekistan firms with South Asia, including Afghanistan.

The Activity should build connections with USAID’s missions and office in Central Asia and the Caucasus and other donor projects from throughout the region to help facilitate these connections among firms and share information about emerging opportunities.

U.S. Technology and Innovation Where appropriate, the Activity should seek to utilize U.S. technology, innovation, expertise, and best practices in enhancing the competitiveness of Uzbekistan’s enterprises. The Activity can also help to facilitate mutually beneficial opportunities for U.S. and Uzbekistan firms.

Leveraging Resources for Impact The Agribusiness Development Activity will seek opportunities to leverage the resources of other partners to maximize development impact. Partner organizations may include other USAID programs, bilateral and multilateral donors, other USG agencies, private sector companies, universities, and bank and non-bank financial institutions, among others.

Innovative ideas for partnering with the private sector in achieving the Activity’s objectives will be considered.

C. Inclusive Growth Program success is not determined solely by improvement in aggregate outputs and outcomes.

Rather, economic gains must be inclusive of broad populations of society and not biased against any gender, geographic region, or socio-economic group. Preference will be given toward interventions that demonstrate the ability to benefit many segments of society and in particular those segments currently disadvantaged or otherwise excluded from the opportunities presented by private sector economic growth, job creation, and entrepreneurship.

The benefits for youth and other groups susceptible to outward migration and recruitment to illicit or malign groups should receive adequate consideration.

D. Rapid Startup The Agribusiness Development Activity is expected to be fully operational within the first three months of award. Offerors should describe how they will overcome any company and project registration issues so that performance will not be delayed or restricted. Work plans should also avoid lengthy assessment phases. While some assessment activity may be acceptable in order to guide and refine project implementation, initial performance cannot be delayed due to assessments that will not take place until after the project is operational.

E. Gender Equality and Female Empowerment The RDCS for USAID/CA identifies gender integration as a priority rooted in the evidence that women’s increasing participation in the economy will boost economic growth and better household spending decisions. As such, the offeror must integrate activities into each component of the work plan that measurably promote gender equality and female empowerment. Interventions implemented by the offeror must be responsive to gender considerations and seek to ensure that the assistance provided and the results achieved are beneficial to both genders.

As appropriate, impact and indicators must be disaggregated by gender. If applicable, the offeror must incorporate standard gender indicators into the AMELP. None of the interventions must inhibit the active participation of either men or women. Men and women must be treated as equal partners in their role as clients, entrepreneurs, businesspeople, and partners of USAID.

The Agribusiness Development Activity will be required to conduct a gender analysis so that activities to address gender-based constraints will be designed to be responsive to the current context. USAID Central Asia recently conducted a broad regional gender analysis that must be utilized when conducting the project-level analysis. All people-level data must be collected and all people-level indicators must be disaggregated by sex and age (to ensure the project is capturing youth) and appropriate gender-sensitive indicators should be included in the Project Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan as required by USAID policy.

Recommended F Standard Gender Indicators to report on include:

● GNDR-2 Percentage of female participants in USG-assisted programs designed to increase access to productive economic resources (assets, credit, income or employment);

● GNDR-8 Number of persons trained with USG assistance to advance outcomes consistent with gender equality or female empowerment through their roles in public or private sector institutions or organizations.

F. Legal Parameters

Interventions proposed by the offeror must be carried out within the legal parameters that are applicable to USAID and its implementing organizations. These parameters include statutory restrictions pertaining to adverse economic impact upon the United States such as providing incentives to U.S. business located in the U.S. to relocate causing impact on U.S. jobs, production of surplus commodities causing substantial injury to U.S. producers, and growth and production of agricultural commodities for export which would compete with a similar commodity grown or produced in the United States.

G. Environmental Compliance The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, Section 117 requires that the impact of USAID’s activities on the environment be considered and that USAID include environmental sustainability as a central consideration in designing and carrying out its development programs. This mandate is codified in Federal Regulations (22 CFR 216) and in USAID’s Automated Directives System (ADS), Chapter 201.3.4.5 and Chapter 204 (http://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/agency-policy/series-200) which, in part, requires that the potential environmental impacts of USAID-financed activities are identified prior to a final decision to proceed and that appropriate environmental safeguards are adopted for all activities. The offeror’s environmental compliance obligations under these regulations and procedures are specified in the following paragraphs in this solicitation. In addition, the offeror must comply with host country environmental regulations unless otherwise directed in writing by USAID. In case of conflict between host country and USAID regulations, the latter shall govern.

END OF ATTACHMENT J.1

http://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/agency-policy/series-200