MFA Cost Extension - Notice of Intent For Other Than Full and Open Competition.pdf

1. Action: Intent to Modify Contract

2. Product Service Code: R - SUPPORT SVCS (PROF, ADMIN, MGMT)

3. NAICS Code: 541990 - All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical

Services

4. Place of Performance: Ghana

5. Contracting Office Address: U.S. Agency for International Development

No. 24, Fourth Circular Rd., Cantonments P.O. Box GP 2288, Accra

6. Subject title of this project: Contract # 72064120C00003, Feed the Future Ghana Mobilizing Financing in Agriculture (MFA) with Palladium International

LLC

7. Contact Email: mark.lawrence@thepalladiumgroup.com

8. Important: No solicitation package will be issued. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals.

9. Description:

The United States Agency for International Development in Ghana (USAID/Ghana) intends to modify Contract #72064120C00003 implemented by Palladium International for the purpose of increasing the Total Estimated Cost (TEC) by up to $6,000,000.00 from the current TEC of $24, 998,292 to $30, 998,292 and extend the current period of performance and completion date specified in the contract (October 27, 2020 – October 26, 2025) by 18 months to April 26, 2026.

The statutory authority permitting this contract modification without providing full and open competition is AIDAR 706.302-70(a)(2), Citation; 40 U.S.C. 113, Impairment of Foreign Aid Programs, which states: “full and open competition need not be obtained when it would impair or otherwise have an adverse effect on programs conducted for the purposes of foreign aid, relief, and rehabilitation.” This authority pursuant to AIDAR 706.302- 70(b)(5) may be used for: “An award for the continued provision of highly specialized services when awarded to another resource would result in substantial additional costs to the Government or would result in unacceptable delays."

The proposed modification is within the general scope of the current contract. The Contractor will continue to provide expert technical services to increase access to finance in the agricultural sector in Ghana, including the provision of performance-based grants to financial institutions (FIs) and strategic mailto:mark.lawrence@thepalladiumgroup.com partners to stimulate loans and investment to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana’s agriculture sector. The modification has been necessitated by the severe drought recently experienced in northern Ghana, critical for staple crops, which threatens recent gains, with $1.375 billion (10% of agricultural GDP) at risk. Combined with Ghana’s fiscal crisis, this has spiked loan defaults among farmers, pushing financial intermediaries to extend terms or reduce rates—moves that strain resources and increase lending risks, potentially undermining USAID’s efforts to boost agricultural credit. This cost extension will intensify and expand key interventions which will allow USAID to mitigate the negative effects resulting from the current macroeconomic crisis and the drought in Ghana.

This Notice does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the Government, nor does it commit the Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and responding to the notice.

This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. No solicitation package will be issued.

Please refer any questions or comments to the attention of the Contracting Officer, Viktoria Stott Hollosy, with a copy to the Acquisition and Assistance Specialist, Zita Kusi, at the email addresses listed below, within the active time of the notice indicated above.

Sincerely, Viktoria Stott Hollosy Contracting Officer