A04 - Sole Source Justification.pdf

AOP No. 5, J&A-Other Than Full & Open Competition- Attachment 5 (Feb. 26, 2020)

Limited Source/Brand Name Justification United States Department of Agriculture

FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) – Simplified Acquisitions

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting office.

United States Department of Agriculture, Departmental Administration, Office of Contracting and Procurement, Procurement Operations Division, 301 S. Howes Street, Suite 321, Fort Collins, CO 80521.

2. Description of supply or service required to meet the agency’s needs.

The purpose of this acquisition is to establish a combination firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursable contract with the Agricultural Extension Center BRIDGES and the USDA 1) to increase Ukraine’s transparency and effectiveness in notifying SPS measures to the WTO; 2) to support commercial sector’s ability to engage effectively to leverage trade-promoting opportunities in cooperation with Ukraine government officials via SPS transparency disciplines to fully leverage opportunities for trade-related engagement in WTO for a; and 3) to promote the establishment of Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for pesticides and biopesticides in line with the United States and WTO standards.

The contract period should last until 8/10/2021.

BRIDGES and USDA/FAS will collaborate to strengthen the capacity of the Ukrainian commercial sector to engage in cooperation with government officials to improve Ukraine’s transparency and effectiveness in notifying SPS measures to the WTO.

Activity One: Generate Awareness on the Importance of WTO SPS Transparency

• Organize a CODEX webinar to train Ukrainian government officials on how the United States participates and utilizes CODEX

• Develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Enquiry and Notification Point (EP)

• Facilitate the establishment of an SPS Coordination and steering committee

Activity Two: Support the commercial sector to engage the Ukrainian government on SPS issues

• Capacity building webinar for association and industry groups

Activity Three: MRL Development

• Produce a webinar on MRL establishment and enforcement; development of primary regulatory documentation; and identifying roles and oversight for regulators.

• Produce a manual for the review and development of MRLs in both English and Ukrainian

• Conduct an in-depth follow-up webinar to answer any questions and support the creation of MRL manual

3. The rationale or circumstances for limiting competition.

The proposed contractor has the following unique qualifications which meet the Government’s requirements:

The Kiev-based agricultural extension center BRIDGES has 10 years of technical and professional experience promoting profitable and sustainable agribusiness in Ukraine through raising awareness among farmers of modern international standards and requirements, technical assistance with market research, as well as introduction and application of advanced state of the art American technologies in the production, processing, management, marketing and logistics of agricultural products, as well as in agricultural insurance, farm credit, trade and other areas.

Currently BRIDGES maintains good business relationship with hundreds of top managers of small, medium and large Ukrainian agricultural businesses and agriculture producer organizations, which represents more than half of all commercial size agricultural companies working in Ukraine

BRIDGES is a sustainable legacy organization that resulted from successful implementation of the USAID the Farmer-to-Farmer program, which launched the company into agribusiness development;

agribusiness products quality standards technical assistance; analytical policy research; tailored training and study tours. Most recently, in June 2016, BRIDGES successfully organized and supervised a US – Ukraine Agribusiness Trade Mission as a partner of USDA. The Mission was attended by more than 100 participants from both Ukraine and the US, including representatives of the US and Ukrainian businesses, USDA, Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture, US Embassy and the Department of State.

Previous project management and logistics coordination experience, like the US-Ukraine Trade Mission with USDA in 2016, demonstrates BRIDEGS’ ability to communicate to a broad range of audiences; its capacity to contribute to a team management structure; and its ability to work collaboratively with a wide range of professional counterparts at all levels. BRIDGES also demonstrates proven knowledge and understanding of the country’s regulatory policy and existing trade capacity building programs.

Finally, BRIDGES’ team possesses strong interpersonal skills and superior written and oral communication skills both in Ukrainian and English.

With its hand-on experience in organizing trade promoting events; its solid network of agricultural producers, as well as its focus on public awareness among farming community and agribusiness on modern international SPS standards and requirements for export and trade, BRIDGES is uniquely positioned to fulfill the mission of this assignment. Specifically, the mission is: (1) to support Ukraine’s commercial sector’s ability to engage effectively to leverage trade-promoting opportunities in cooperation with government officials via SPS transparency disciplines to fully leverage opportunities for trade-related engagement in WTO fora; and (2) to increase Ukraine’s transparency and effectiveness in notifying SPS measures to the WTO.

In addition to the qualification listed above, this agreement is a continuation of the work done under contract 12FPC219PC093 with BRIDGES. BRIDGES is the only source reasonably available.

4. A description of the market research conducted and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

This source was located as a result of previous work with USDA. No other sources were approached as these services are a continuation of the previous work done by BRIDGES under contract

12FPC219PC093.

5. Estimated price, including all options, if applicable.

The estimated value is $152,190.00.

6. Recommended source(s).

Agricultural Extension Center BRIDGES 21 Pushkinska str., office 39, Kyiv, Ukraine 01004

Certifications

Supporting data that is the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel and which form the basis for this justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge.

Eric Brownstein International Program Specialist

The information contained in this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief and in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 13.106-1(b)(1), I hereby determine the circumstances described above deem only one source, or limited sources, reasonably available and competition is precluded for the reasons indicated in this document.

Corey Murzyn Contracting Officer