Draft of SOW - Sol_72066025R00001.pdf

72066025R00001 DRAFT – Statement of Work (SOW) Feed the Future Democratic Republic of the Congo Resilient Food Systems

SECTION C - STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1. TITLE OF ACTIVITY

The title of this Contract is “Feed the Future Democratic Republic of the Congo Resilient Food Sys-tems (Resilient Food Systems)”

C.2. PURPOSE

This activity will work in two non-contiguous geographic regions identified as the Feed the Future (FTF) Zone of Influence (ZOI), one being the territories of Seke-Banza and Lukula in Kongo Central Province, and another one covering the territory of Dibaya plus the health zones of Masuika and Yangala, in Luiza territory, in Kasai Central Province, where BHA is programming its Resilience Food Security Activities (RFSAs).

The USAID Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (USAID/DRC), through the office of Economic Growth (EG), seeks to award a five-year contract to provide technical assistance, train-ing, materials, and other agricultural, financial and market services across all aspects of food sys-tems within the Feed the Future (FTF) Zone of Influence (ZOI). This assistance will strengthen resil-ience at the individual, household, community and systems level while increasing nutritional out-comes, food security, and incomes for beneficiaries–particularly women, youth and marginalized individuals throughout the ZOI. This support encompasses the facilitation and rational manage-ment of natural resources, large-scale adoption of value enhancing technologies, private sector engagement, and market system improvements for agriculture-led growth driving increased em-ployment, income and improved nutrition outcomes.

The Resilient Food Systems activity will be USAID/DRC’s flagship FTF implementing mechanism. It will pursue the goal, objectives and results identified in the Global Food Security Strategy (GFSS) DRC Country Plan (GFSS/DRC Country Plan).1 Furthermore, it will be the primary and largest con-tributor to achieving a 20% reduction in poverty and severe malnutrition (stunting) which USAID/DRC will measure through a population-based survey across the FTF ZOI.2 The GFSS/DRC Country Plan is implemented through activities and interventions which increase the productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness of the DRC’s agricultural sector; while concurrently strengthening the ability of target populations’ to protect and improve well-being despite shocks and stresses;

and improve both the access and utilization of nutritious food–particularly for pregnant and lac-tating women, women of child-bearing age and children under five years of age.

1 To be posted at feedthefuture.gov once finalized 2 Feed the Future ZOI Survey Methods Toolkit - Endline/Round 1 (2024) (https://agrilinks.org/post/feed-future-zoi-survey-methods-toolkit-endlineround-1-2024) https://agrilinks.org/post/feed-future-zoi-survey-methods-toolkit-endlineround-1-2024 https://agrilinks.org/post/feed-future-zoi-survey-methods-toolkit-endlineround-1-2024

C.3. BACKGROUND AND FEED THE FUTURE DRC CONTEXT

Despite tremendous agronomic potential, the DRC remains one of the poorest and most food in-secure countries in the world.3,4 Estimates suggest that DRC’s agriculture sector, if fully devel-oped, could provide enough food to feed the whole of Africa.5 Despite this, DRC does not even produce enough food to feed its own population.6 In 2022, DRC was host to the largest number of people in the world experiencing high-levels of food insecurity, with about 26.4 million people – over 26% of the population.7 As of 2020, 40% of the population is undernourished. Measures of poverty in DRC are equally grim, with nearly 70% of the population living on less than $2.15 a day.

The GDP per capita stands at just $577,8 and 37% of the population is experiencing severe multidi-mensional poverty.9 Multiple factors have aggravated the situation in the DRC, including: chronic wars and conflict; stagnated economic development; crumbling or non-existent infrastructure; de-pendence on food imports;10 Ebola, Mpox, COVID-19 and other pandemic-level outbreaks; and the lingering effects of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The DRC agriculture sector’s anemic growth is largely the result of underinvestment in fragmented agricultural market systems and poor sup-porting infrastructure, as well as broad lack of confidence due to policy or regulatory gaps, and widespread governance issues.11 Both the public and private sector have neglected to invest in agriculture, preferring to score quick wins in extractive industries and the commodities sector.

In 2022, DRC was identified as a Feed the Future target country, laying the foundation for a fo-cused approach for realizing a 20% reduction in extreme poverty and stunting over a five-year span within a defined geographic area–the Zone of Influence. Agriculture and food systems trans-formation and development sits at the crux of the FTF initiative which aims to reduce global hun-ger, malnutrition, and poverty through inclusive and sustainable agriculture-led economic growth while strengthening resilience among individuals, households, communities, and systems. The FTF Country Plan for the DRC was developed through an iterative process which engaged with the pri-vate and public sector, as well as other relevant stakeholders to align with national-level strategic

3 Reliefweb.int DRC Food Security Report (https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/achieving-long-term-food-security-drc-all-about-building-resilience) 4 IPC DRC Acute Food Security Report (https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1156611/?iso3=COD) 5 ITA DRC Commercial Guide (https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/democratic-republic-congo-agricul-ture#:~:text=With%20its%20exceptional%20agronomic%20potential,10%20percent%20is%20currently%20exploited.)

6 DRC is rich with farmland, so why do 22 million people there face starvation? (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/12/congo-famine-crisis-international-tribunal-drc-militias) 7 Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population) - Congo, Dem. Rep. | Data (worldbank.org) (https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS?locations=CD) 8 “Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing, Value Added (% of GDP),” World Bank Open Data, accessed 2023, https://data.worldbank.org/indica-tor/NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS.

9 Current practices in Labour Market Information Systems Development for, accessed 2023, http://www2.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_103881.pdf.

10 According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, DRC has an estimated annual food import trade deficit of $3.5 billion.

11 Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Agrifood System: Structure and Drivers of Transformation. Jan 2023 (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oM6uVjnj58-j9HirxXAAiPUvG_-UsIFq/view?usp=sharing) https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/achieving-long-term-food-security-drc-all-about-building-resilience https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1156611/?iso3=COD https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/democratic-republic-congo-agriculture#:%7E:text=With%20its%20exceptional%20agronomic%20potential,10%20percent%20is%20currently%20exploited.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/12/congo-famine-crisis-international-tribunal-drc-militias https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS?locations=CD https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS http://www2.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_103881.pdf https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oM6uVjnj58-j9HirxXAAiPUvG_-UsIFq/view?usp=sharing plans, including the Multi-sectoral Nutrition Action Plan12 and the government of the DRC’s (Go- DRC) strategic Agenda for Agriculture Transformation (ATA) and development priorities.13, 14 This Country Plan includes a defined ZOI that specifies the geographic area and populations where FTF interventions are to have the largest impacts on poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. The selected ZOI consists of two non-contiguous geographic regions, one being the territories of Seke-Banza and Lukula in Kongo Central, and another one covering the territory of Dibaya and health zones of Masuika and Yangala, in Kasai Central.

In addition to being a FTF Target Country, the DRC is also a USAID-designated Resilience Focus Country15. As both a FTF and Resilience priority for USAID, an overlap of investments is required to achieve a maximum impact in reaching the ambitious FTF goals of poverty and malnutrition re-duction. A full overlap of the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance’s (BHA) Resilience and Food Se-curity Activity (RFSA), named Tudituale, has been established in Kasai Central and within the broader FTF ZOI. As such, strong, frequent and intentional coordination and collaboration across program planning, implementation, and reporting between the Resilient Food Systems activity and the Tudituale activity is absolutely essential.

12 Multisectoral Nutrition Coordination Plan (https://scalingupnutrition.org/sites/default/files/2024-01/Plan%20Na-tional%20Strategique%20Multisectoriel%20de%20Nutri-tion%20de%20la%20RDC%20%28PNSMN%202023%20%E2%80%93%202030%29_2023.11.15.pdf) 13 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1whPpBhDFAQmEs8mcVrU2l_EZ6Y8KHDQg/view?usp=drive_link 14 See Section J Attachments for Le Conseil Consultatif Presidentiel pour le Pacte National de l’Agriculture et de l’Ali-mentation 15 USAID Resilience Policy, June 2024 (https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2024-06/USAID3090_USAID%20Resilience%20Pol-icy_062524_WEB%28508c%29.pdf) https://scalingupnutrition.org/sites/default/files/2024-01/Plan%20National%20Strategique%20Multisectoriel%20de%20Nutrition%20de%20la%20RDC%20%28PNSMN%202023%20%E2%80%93%202030%29_2023.11.15.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2024-06/USAID3090_USAID%20Resilience%20Policy_062524_WEB%28508c%29.pdf

Map of the FTF Zone of Influence and Resilience Focus Zones in the DRC

Major drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition in DRC

Food insecurity and malnutrition in the DRC are driven by a complex interplay of factors, some of the main drivers identified by the Mission include:

● Fragmented food and market systems: Poor transport and delivery systems, low access to en-ergy, limited post-production processing with basic technologies, and poor infrastructure, in-cluding roads and storage facilities, result in high levels of food loss and waste.16, 17

● Low agriculture productivity: A lack of technology and information transfer services, enabling resources, modern agricultural techniques, post-harvest technologies, and basic inputs–ferti-lizer, seeds18, and primary planting materials,19, 20, 21 in particular–lead to poor agricultural productivity and low yields, which are further exacerbated by droughts, floods, pests and dis-ease due to climate change.

● Low dietary diversity and seasonal production patterns: Over-reliance on staple crops produced twice a year leads to predictable “lean seasons” where the main sources of calories are scarce or expensive. A lack of off-season or year-round production of non-staple or cereal agricultural crops, particularly nutrient dense vegetables, contributes to low dietary diversity, as does the limited rearing of animals for animal meat protein.

● Poor Natural Resource Management: Forest conversion, slash-and-burn agriculture, no atten-tion to soil health, harvesting of wild meat, and unsustainable production of charcoal is greatly impacting the food system and biodiversity both within and outside of protected zones. Unsus-tainable management of natural resources results in poor soil health, unsustainable water use, negative climate impacts and low agricultural productivity.22

● Impact of climate change and climate variability: Significant disruptions in food security results from altered rainfall patterns, which affects crop yields and can lead to prolonged periods of drought or flooding. These changes in weather can increase the frequency of pests and dis-eases, further threatening agricultural productivity. Additionally, shifts in temperature and pre-cipitation can lead to soil degradation.

● Low access to information and technical assistance: Poor communication infrastructure and a fragmented extension system leaves farmer-producers unequipped to apply “good agricultural practices” (GAP), interpret market signals, establish risk management strategies, connect with

16 World Bank DRC Systematic Country Diagnostic (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_jxdMfOqANT- NryCNe0msozghcH-R1Mzf/view?usp=sharing) 17 See Section J for the IFC Agribusiness Deep Dive 18 Note: throughout this document, “seeds” refers not only to cereals or grains, but also to fruit and vegetables, as well as improved genetic varieties of animals–fish, poultry, livestock, or other animals.

19 Seed and Market Systems of the Eastern DRC: A Fragile State Case Study (https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00ZZBD.pdf) 20 Rapid Regulatory Constraint Assessment for Seed Firms Accessing Finance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA021DH6.pdf) 21 SEEDCLIR: Democratic Republic of the Congo https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00WCQT.pdf) 22 DRC Climate Risk Profile (https://www.climatelinks.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/20180716_USAID-AT- LAS_Climate-Risk-Profile_DRC.pdf) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_jxdMfOqANTNryCNe0msozghcH-R1Mzf/view?usp=sharing https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00ZZBD.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00ZZBD.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA021DH6.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA021DH6.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00WCQT.pdf https://www.climatelinks.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/20180716_USAID-ATLAS_Climate-Risk-Profile_DRC.pdf buyers, access business development services, or meet quality and volume requirements. At the community level, poor information access exacerbates health outcomes and contributes to low demand for diversified diets–this is especially true for women.

● Macroeconomic factors: Inflated prices, economic dominance by mining sector interests, low levels of private sector investment,23 a lack of finance utilization,24 poor employment opportu-nities, and widespread poverty stifles local and regional markets and limits access to afforda-ble, diversified, and nutritious diets.

● Social inequality and conflict: Insufficient opportunities for youth and discrimination against women, indigenous peoples, and other vulnerable or marginalized populations limit household access to resources and contribute to undiversified diets and skipped meals. Chronic armed conflict and ubiquitous sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) disrupts normal production cycles and leads to unsustained engagement in supporting household livelihoods. The Kamwina Nsapu conflict in the Kasai Central portion of the ZOI, previously distorted markets and dis-rupted food systems and a similar situation in the future could emerge and threaten agricul-tural production through violence, insecurity, and population displacement, leading to poverty, food shortages, and poor diets and community level health outcomes.

● Weak governance and corruption: A predatory tax system, unfavorable business enabling envi-ronment, and weak public institutions–particularly those delivering services capable of reduc-ing moderate and severe acute malnutrition–undermine development gains, exacerbate efforts to reduce stunting and reduce private sector investment interest. 25

C.4. ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

Led by USAID, FTF is a whole-of-government global hunger and food security initiative that seeks to address the root causes of poverty and hunger, reduce reliance on aid, and create economic opportunities to drive sustained change. The Resilient Food Systems activity endeavors to in-crease the income and nutritional status of the targeted population through an inclusive and sus-tainable food and market systems-oriented approach that facilitates agriculture-led growth and utilization of nutritious food. This activity is aligned with the CDCS26 Results Framework for the DRC and contributes to the Development Objective (DO) 2 - Resilience to Shocks and Stressors In-creased and DO 3 - Inclusive, Broad-Based and Sustainable Economic Growth. The Global Food Se-curity Strategy (GFSS) Country Plan for the DRC mirrors the three objectives of the GFSS Result

23 See Section J: Voice of the Private Sector in DRC Report 24 See Section J: A Private Sector Landscape Assessment for Humanitarian Good in Kasai & Kasai Central, DRC (https://agrilinks.org/post/private-sector-landscape-assessment-humanitarian-good-kasai-kasai-central-drc) 25 See Section J: ELAN: RDC Lessons Learned 26 DRC CDCS 2020 - 2025 (https://www.usaid.gov/democratic-republic-congo/country-development-cooperation-strat-egy#:~:text=The%20goal%20of%20USAID%2FDemocratic,Communities%20and%20Individuals%20to%20Thrive.)

Framework. The overarching aims of the FTF initiative in the DRC are: 1) Reduce the level of ex-treme poverty in the ZOI by 20% in 5 years; and 2) Reduce malnutrition and stunting in the ZOI by 20% in five years. These are also the primary ambitions of the Resilient Food Systems activity.

The USAID/DRC Mission considers strengthening resilience as paramount to sustained develop-ment in the country and has therefore incorporated it as a central component of the entire Mis-sion portfolio. The Mission will deploy a sequencing, layering and integration (SLI)-oriented ap-proach to improve the ability of individuals, households, communities, and systems to better withstand and recover from shocks and stresses.27

C.4.1. THEORY OF CHANGE (TOC)

Reflective of the DRC’s GFSS Country Plan strategic components, the theory of change for the Re-silient Food Systems activity is as follows:

IF inclusive and sustainable local systems and practices for agriculture-led economic growth are promoted; and IF sources of resilience among people, communities and systems increase; and IF the year-round consumption of safe, diverse and nutritious food increases; and IF prioritized cross cutting focus areas are thoroughly and thoughtfully integrated through every aspect, ap-proach and initiative of the activity; THEN strong and resilient local systems capable of sustaina-bly reducing poverty, hunger and malnutrition will become established and function more effec-tively across the zone of influence.

C.4.2. OBJECTIVES

The Resilient Food Systems activity will carry out targeted interventions and make strategic invest-ments within the agriculture and food system necessary to advance its theory of change. Broadly, the goal of the Resilient Food Systems activity is: “Strong and resilient local systems capable of sustainably reducing poverty, hunger and malnutrition effectively functioning across the zone of influence.”

The following four objectives are seen as necessary to achieve the desired goal for the Resilient Food Systems activity:

1. Promote inclusive and sustainable local systems and practices for agriculture-led economic growth;

2. Increase sources of resilience among people, communities and systems;

3. Increase the year-round consumption of safe, diverse and nutritious food; and

4. Effective integration of prioritized cross cutting focus areas within every aspect, approach and initiative of the activity.

27 See Section J: Sequencing, Layering and Integrating USAID’s Humanitarian and Economic Development Work in the DRC

C4.3 RESULTS FRAMEWORK AND PRIORITIES

The above stated components and the activity-level Results Framework mirrors the FTF Country Level Results Framework of the GFSS Country Plan for the DRC, and interventions and approaches under the Resilient Food Systems activity will align. USAID/DRC has identified the GFSS Country Plan Intermediate Results (IR) 1 – 5 for the DRC, and their respective sub-IRs, as the most manage-able and impactful pathways for FTF programming to contribute to the GFSS development objec-tives and where the preponderance of Resilient Food Systems activity resources should be allo-cated. The Activity-Level Results Framework (above) indicates components and result areas which the Mission has identified as the focus of this activity. The activity-level Results Framework will be further developed and finalized during the inception period of the activity. Yet, it is recognized that significant RFS investments, coupled with close, intentional collaboration and coordination with other stakeholders, will also be essential and needed to advance results across the activity components as necessary to meet activity objectives. Additionally, it is important to note that ap-proximately 77% of the population within the ZOI reside within a resilience focus zone, with 39% of the ZOI population residing within a newly awarded BHA resilience and food security activity (Tudituale), and that the majority of RFS resources dedicated to interventions in the field (at least 60%) shall be allocated to the portion of the ZOI located in Kasai Central. Approximately 40% of the field-focused level of effort will be dedicated to the Kongo Central portion of the ZOI. The Re-silient Food Systems activity-level results framework is presented in the figure below.

C4.4 PROGRAMMATIC APPROACH

The following programmatic approaches are foundational and shall be thoroughly integrated across activity implementation and the management approach and structure of the activity.

While many of these programmatic approaches are relevant across the ZOI, the HDP nexus and conflict sensitivity are especially important when working in Kasai Central. The Resilient Food Systems activity will pull each of these approaches together and into a coherent strategy for achieving activity objectives, results and for delivering necessary interventions.

Multi-zone Approach: Acknowledging that the agro-ecological, private sector landscape, market access, and comparative advantages and needs vary greatly between Kongo Central and Kasai Central provinces, different sets of interventions, choice of focus crops and animals, or market-based solutions necessary to advance the stated objectives are expected. Additionally, the por-tion of the ZOI located in Kasai Central fully overlaps with BHA’s Tudituale activity, but also has a significant portion located separate from and adjacent to the Tudituale activity. Interventions under the Resilient Food Systems activity will need to be carefully layered and integrated with Tudituale interventions and benefit many of the same beneficiaries. RFS interventions will bene-fit the same villages and locations as Tudituale without duplicating efforts and in a manner that plays to the strengths and comparative advantages that each activity is able to bring to bear. At the same time, the Resilient Food Systems activity must be acutely aware of the historical driv-ers of conflict in Kasai Central Province and deliver interventions and benefits in line with ‘Do No Harm” principles. For these reasons, the Resilient Food Systems activity will deploy three nu-anced sets of interventions under an overall programmatic approach: one set of interventions for the RFSA overlap zone in Kasai Central; one for the non-RFSA overlap zone in Kasai Central;

and another for the portion of the ZOI located in Kongo Central Province. Additionally, given the substantial breakdown in road infrastructure, especially in Kasai Central, proposals should also consider different approaches, interventions and products of focus for a certain radius or drive time of major urban centers, emerging peri-urban centers and mostly isolated micro-markets in very rural areas. The ways in which interventions and approaches may differ between each of these geographic zones must be clearly described in response to this solicitation.

Flexibility, Inception, and Learning Approach: The DRC hosts a complex operating environment with many development actors and projects operating within the selected ZOI. Within the scope of the contract, the Contractor must be able to adapt its management and implementation strategy to the changing political, economic, and security context, and as collaboration opportu-nities in the target geographies are identified.

The contractor shall incorporate a flexible and adaptive management approach - an intentional “pause and reflect” approach to making decisions and adjustments in response to new infor-mation and changes in context including coordination and collaboration opportunities.28

28 USAID's Collaborating, Learning and Adapting Framework (https://usaidlearninglab.org/system/files/resource/files/keyconcepts_two-pager_8.5x11_v7_20160907_0.pdf) https://usaidlearninglab.org/system/files/resource/files/keyconcepts_twopager_8.5x11_v7_20160907_0.pdf

Additionally, recognizing that sequencing, layering and integrating interventions and ap-proaches with the BHA Tudituale activity must be discussed and agreed upon in great detail and formalized with a cross-activity MOU with the Tudituale implementer, a 6 month inception phase shall be built into the programmatic approach. During this inception phase, and in addi-tion to an agreed-upon rapid mobilization plan, a series of field based analyses29 with minimal reliance on desk reviews, shall be completed for the following topics and areas of interest for the purpose of guiding and informing the first two years of activity interventions: Market Sys-tems and Market Linkages; Food Security, Food Safety and Nutrition Needs; Crop and Animal Analysis and Selection; Seed System and Seed Market; Post-harvest Loss and Food Waste Analy-sis; Resilience; Sequencing, Layering and Integration; Coordination and HDP Nexus; Localization and PSE; Business Enabling Environment; Gender and Inclusion; Conflict, Social Cohesion and Do No Harm; Climate and Environmental Adaptation and Mitigation; Communication Strategy and Action Plan. The inception phase will end with a workshop and launch event involving USAID, Tudituale staff, RFS staff and other interested stakeholders where summaries of the analyses will be presented and discussed. It is expected that the findings of these analyses, with input from key stakeholders will form the foundation for the year one work plan. A revision and review of each analysis will be conducted at the 2-year and 4-year mark to promote shared learning and adaptive management opportunities. USAID anticipates that the MOU between the USAID/BHA/RFSA activity will be completed on or before the Culmination Workshop and may be ceremonially signed at that time.

Leading, developing and participating in platforms that increase or support coordination, learn-ing, and integrated programing across USAID, USG, Government of DRC, and other develop-ment partner efforts related to agriculture, nutrition, food systems, social cohesion building, and the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) nexus is also expected. Additionally, the Con-tractor shall work closely with and provide all information to any third-party monitoring and evaluation team that USAID may hire in order to assess either the performance of the Resilient Food Systems activity or the FTF program as a whole.

Coordination for Humanitarian Development Peace (HDP) Nexus and Sequencing, Layering and Integration (SLI) Approach: The Resilient Food Systems activity will have a direct overlap of interventions and activities, as agreed upon in advance with Tudituale, in many of the same vil-lages as Tudituale, and with many other USG and non-USG development activities both inside of and outside of the Tudituale implementation area. The Resilient Food Systems activity must closely engage with other USG-funded investments, jointly planning activities to complement and supplement efforts to achieve results while avoiding the duplication of efforts, and to achieve ambitious objectives of the GFSS Country Plan for the DRC. Well-coordinated and SLI-oriented programming will act as a force multiplier of FTF efforts, with complementary inter-ventions that ensure sustained development gains.

29 More information on expectations for each analysis is included in Section F of the solicitation and may be agreed upon with the COR.

Conflict Sensitivity (CS), Social Cohesion and Do No Harm (DNH) Approach: In striving to reach sustainable results, ensuring interventions Do No Harm (DNH), and to support opportunities to increase community social cohesion and build peace that further FTF programmatic goals, the Contractor must design and implement interventions through a conflict sensitive (CS) approach.

A CS approach is essential for realizing the other Programmatic Approaches highlighted in this section including but not limited to: the Multi-zone Approach; Flexibility, Inception and Learn-ing; Sequencing, Layering and Integration (SLI); and the HDP Nexus coordination function. In-terventions must be designed and implemented with a thorough understanding of the conflict, cultural and political concerns of all stakeholders. The Contractor must demonstrate an under-standing of the political and socio-economic context in which interventions are working–partic-ularly as it relates to site selection for interventions. This is especially critical when activities are sequenced, layered and integrated in close proximity to the Tudituale activity. The Contractor must also recognize how the proposed interventions and services interact with the context and must continually revisit the programming approach to ensure interventions have positive out-comes contributing to increased community cohesion and resilience and do not inadvertently exacerbate division and tensions in the ZOI.

Humanitarian, Development Peace (HDP) Nexus and Coordination Function Approach: In 2024, the USAID/DRC Mission became a HDP Nexus Champion Mission with the objective to transition beneficiary populations out of humanitarian assistance by fostering resilient food sys-tems and agricultural markets, in alignment with other development partner programs and the private sector.30 The Contractor must design and implement interventions in-line with USAID/DRC’s HDP Nexus action plan and with the Kasai Central HDP Nexus Coordination Group.

This will include having Resilient Food Systems activity staff taking a leadership role in the pro-vincial HDP Nexus group, if needed, and have a Kasai Central-based staff position dedicated to leading coordination, communication and learning functions across USG and non-USG develop-ment activities, while also serving as a key interlocutor with the provincial government. Similar functions may become necessary in Kongo Central over time. Consequently, a robust manage-ment structure and flexible programming for efficient coordination and collaboration between multiple actors will be necessary.

Food Systems Approach: The Resilient Food Systems activity will apply a food systems approach that strengthens business-to-business relationships between the agriculture sector’s goods and service providers with farmer-producers, while working to accelerate adoption and use of im-proved inputs, sustainable agronomic practices, and policy or regulatory changes capable of benefiting the entire sector. A food system approach is inherently value chain or commodity ag-nostic and no specific crops or animals have been pre-designated or selected for this activity.

Rather, crops and animals of focus should be determined by which are best suited and most likely to achieve the stated objectives, and there is recognition that these may change over time for a variety of reasons. The food systems approach also means that interventions are not lim-

30 See Section J: A Private Sector Landscape Assessment for Humanitarian Good in Kasai & Kasai Central, DRC ited to working with farmer-producers and input suppliers, but is inclusive of any individual, en-terprise or organization that in some way intersects with the production, processing, transport, storage, distribution, marketing and consumption of food.

Resilience, Environment, Food Security, and Nutrition Approach: The Resilient Food Systems activity will prioritize efforts that strengthen people, communities and systems to better endure and overcome shocks and stressors, with particular attention to reinforcing resilient systems and the inclusion of youth, women and marginalized populations. It will also increase food se-curity as reflected by improved production, productivity, and year-round availability and access to safe, diverse and nutritious foods. The Resilient Food Systems activity will bring a strong fo-cus to reducing post-harvest loss and waste, extending shelf life, increasing processing and packaging capabilities, and employing productive use of energy tools and practices where ap-propriate. Undisputedly essential in achieving many of the most important results of the Resili-ent Food Systems activity, enhancing seed system efficiencies in a manner that increases access to, and utilization of, improved variety seeds will be critical. Improving the nutritional status among beneficiaries, particularly women of child-bearing age, pregnant and lactating women and children under five years of age–as reflected by improved food safety, increased dietary di-versity, and increased frequency of consumption–will be equally critical in achieving the ambi-tious nutrition, resilience and food security results expected under this contract.

Addressing the drivers and impacts of climate change and climate variability, as well as environ-ment considerations writ large, should also be addressed. Promoting soil health, soil fertility management, and good agricultural practices–including but not limited to, the vision for adapted crops and soils (VACS), integrated pest management and plant protection – will be crit-ical for achieving activity results, specifically ambitious FTF targets for the number of hectares under improved climate management practices. It will be necessary to promote food systems, agriculture or agroforestry-related initiatives and livelihood opportunities that advance USAID/DRC’s Climate Strategy, and there may be great value in advancing climate-smart or re-generative agriculture approaches, or approaches that offer alternatives to wild meat consump-tion or that reduce forest conversion.

Market System Approach: The Resilient Food Systems activity will take a market systems ap-proach, engaging and working through market actors (both public and private sector actors) to the greatest extent possible, rather than creating independent structures of support that will not remain post-implementation. The Contractor must seek to catalyze sustained change in markets through existing market actors or help cultivate them, in contrast to deploying contrac-tor staff for direct service delivery that attempts to bridge market failures (e.g., providing busi-ness development services directly through contractor staff) which displace market actors who should serve that market function. Therefore, the Resilient Food Systems activity must empha-size the importance of using facilitation practices whenever possible.

The activity must focus on market systems that have the greatest potential for achieving activ-ity objectives and results within the ZOI and identify how production and marketing efficiencies can be improved. The activity must help increase private investment within targeted agricul-tural value chains, disseminate and scale agricultural production best practices among farmer groups that increase sustainable agricultural productivity and supply, link farmers to domestic markets–including, but not limited to, overcoming transportation bottlenecks between produc-tion areas and urban or peri-urban markets. The activity will develop systems that communi-cate supply and demand needs across producers, vendors, and buyers and should prioritize dis-placing imported products with foods that can otherwise be produced locally whenever possi-ble.31 The Resilient Food Systems activity will focus on expanding markets and the customer base for input providers, producer organizations, farm-gate buyers, food transporters and pro-cessors, food storage, aggregators, wholesalers and retailers, financing institutions and other agro-enterprises throughout the agri-food system operating within the ZOI in a manner that ad-vances food safety, nutritional outcome, and poverty reduction goals.

The Resilient Food Systems activity should prioritize supporting the agri-food system while al-lowing flexibility to capitalize on market opportunities that align with economic inclusion objec-tives for populations with historically low economic participation. This includes expanding the access to, and utilization of, business development services that lead to successful applications for finance from the formal banking system and micro-finance institutions, with particular at-tention given to the inclusion of youth, women and marginalized populations, as well as closing the gender gap for women through the pursuit of gender parity in access to finance. Such utili-zation of finance should stimulate the establishment and growth of job-creating enterprises across all aspects of the agriculture and food system with particular attention to the inclusion of youth, women and marginalized populations.

Private Sector Engagement, Localization and Business Enabling Environment Approach: Work-ing through the private sector and in partnership with the public sector, FTF programming will advocate for agriculture sector policy and regulatory reform, and leverage market-based ap-proaches to create an enabling environment that facilitates MSME formalization, enhances ac-cess to finance and incentivizes new market entrants, boosting circular agribusiness investment across the food system. The activity will partner with the public sector and industry associations to identify and implement agriculture sector market-friendly reforms that improve the business operating environment, facilitate enterprise development, and incentivize investment in agri-food systems within the ZOI. This will result in an improved capacity of the agriculture sector to meet the needs of local markets and compete with foreign imports.

The Resilient Food Systems activity will identify opportunities to strengthen or develop local or-ganizations and platforms to a level where the organizations and systems will sustain beyond the life of the Resilient Food Systems activity and be able to receive funding directly from USAID/DROC in the future–that is, to become Non-U.S. Organization Pre-Award Survey (NUPUS) compliant. There is a need to support the establishment and growth of a network of commu-nity-level, sub-national or national-level agriculture and food system organizations or advocacy

31 Agrilinks, DRC Market Systems and Partnerships Value Chain Assessments for Soy, Poultry, and Rice (https://agrilinks.org/post/market-system-analyses-poultry-rice-and-soy-drc) https://agrilinks.org/post/market-system-analyses-poultry-rice-and-soy-drc groups with increasing levels of collective bargaining power and social capital capable of ad-vancing sector reform or addressing market needs. An example of a strategic local partner for USAID/DROC and organization that is capable of advancing a broad range of agri-food system development objectives, particularly around policy and investment facilitation at both national and sub-national levels, is the Southern Agriculture Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) Cen-ter Ltd32. The Songhai Center33 in Benin is another example of an organization that has sus-tained over time with a variety of revenue streams not solely dependent on donors, and has trained thousands of youth agriculture entrepreneurs in best agriculture practices, enterprise management and more. Both of these examples should be considered as reference points for what may be promoted through the Resilient Food Systems activity.

Grants Under Contract34 (GUC) Approach: The Resilient Food Systems activity will prioritize the achievement of ambitious development objectives through partnership and co-investment with the private sector. The Contractor is expected to use all tools available to implement program activities, including but not limited to, the use of a GUC mechanism. This will allow flexibility for effective program implementation while also permitting formal long-term partnerships under the GUC mechanism to further specific activity objectives. GUCs should generally be focused on local enterprises that will fall under one of the two following programmatic areas:

● Issuing GUCs to enterprises that will create jobs and grow markets in our areas of focus.

● GUCs that will support the formalization of industry associations and organizations.

Under these two broad areas, we anticipate the following types of activities. These activities are illustrative only, and the Contractor is encouraged to propose specific GUC activities that are in accordance with their technical approach:

● grants to support partnerships, with a focus on sustainable business models that do not require ongoing donor subsidies.

● grants to entrepreneurs engaging in innovative approaches to improving market and food system efficiencies, particularly to enhance economic participation of historically under-represented populations, such as women, youth, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

● grants to local businesses and organizations not eligible for traditional finance to cata-lyze markets or to create and expand employment that improves the agriculture sector and food system resilience.

● grants to organizations that provide support to businesses or strengthen market sys-tems, such as for creation or expansion of entrepreneur networks, business develop-ment training and services, financial transaction assistance, and policy analysis and re-form

32 SAGCOT Center website: https://sagcot.co.tz/index.php/en/ 33 Songhai Center website: https://sagcot.co.tz/index.php/en/ 34 USAID may consider other approaches similar to Grants Under Contract with strong justification and evidence that other approaches are in the best financial interests of USAID and are more likely to be effective at achieving sought-after activity results.

https://sagcot.co.tz/index.php/en/ https://sagcot.co.tz/index.php/en/

● grants to organizations that deploy innovative strategies which generate demand for healthy diversified diets and improve the accessibility, affordability, adequacy, and sus-tainability of safe and nutritious food on local and regional markets.

● grants to business development service providers to strengthen the capacity of SMEs, enabling them to improve operations, access finance, and scale their businesses.

USAID/DRC does not intend to restrict GUC eligibility to local organizations, however, it is antici-pated that this activity will primarily issue GUCS to local enterprises, including but not limited to Civil Society Organizations, NGOs, and private sector organizations. The Contractor should pro-pose a GUC budget for achieving these critical results and include their assumptions and justifi-cations in the budget narrative.

C4.4.1 COLLABORATION, LEARNING, AND ADAPTING (CLA)

The DRC is a dynamic context with histories of conflict, insecurity, and emerging opportunities.

What might be an appropriate response or intervention at one point in time may not neces-sarily be appropriate at another time. The challenge is to connect the appropriate conflict-sen-sitive interventions to the corresponding windows of opportunity or challenges. The Contrac-tor’s proposal must incorporate flexibility, adaptability, and responsiveness in both the initial work planning phase and subsequent annual work planning sessions that enable the Contractor to respond to changing environmental conditions and opportunities over the life of the Award.

● Flexibility refers to the ability to easily adapt to new conditions and particularly relates to short-term decisions concerning implementation, the use of resources, and course corrections as issues, insecurity, or conflict arise. This includes decisions pertaining to the deployment of staff, project monitoring, and relocation of activities as the need, or as new opportunities arise.

● Adaptability refers to an adjustment to the new conditions, shocks, crisis, or stabiliza-tion and its impact on long-term decisions and corresponding programmatic adjust-ments.

● Responsiveness ensures that the activity does not remain committed to one approach blindly but continually assesses whether the timing, selected approach, participants, lo-cation, and any combination therein are still appropriate, effective, and achieving the expected results. The Contractor must ensure that the approved activity and implemen-tation schedule are able to operate in changing and potentially increasingly insecure en-vironments. The Contractor should consider using scenario planning in its work plan-ning and reflection periods with corresponding triggers to signal the need to shift course.

In order to ensure that the Year 1 work plan is responsive to the requirements of the activity and the changing context of the DRC, once this activity is awarded the Contractor will immedi-ately enter a six-month work planning phase. This work planning phase will serve as an incep-tion period during which the Contractor and USAID/DRC will utilize a co-creation approach to work-planning as a means to refine the technical approach as well as provide significant input for the year-one and two work plans. This inception period will also serve as a time for exten-sive analysis. Several reports and assessments will be required and are itemized in Section F.

USAID/DRC staff from several technical offices will be substantially involved in the co-creation process–particularly in refining the set of interventions planned for the portion of Kasai Central where the ZOI overlaps with USAID/DRC/BHA’s Tudituale activity. USAID/DRC staff will work with the Contractor throughout the co-design process to better integrate the complex consider-ations of poverty and under-nutrition into the years one and two work plans and articulate how building resilient food systems will contribute to the expected results in post-conflict areas. The plan for sustainability, localization, coordination and the development of local organizations and platforms will be emphasized, and the selection of crops or commodities of focus will be agreed upon. Special attention will also be paid to examining power dynamics as a means of identifying opportunities to defuse potential flashpoints for reemergence of conflict and com-munity tensions.

In areas of the ZOI where complementary USG investments are lacking, RFS interventions must fill gaps to ensure beneficiaries across the ZOI advance toward FTF’s main goals. Strong, fre-quent, and intentional coordination across USG activities beyond Tudituale will also be im-portant, particularly with an in-design multi-sectoral nutrition activity from USAID/DRC’s Health Office, with the existing Fall Armyworm (FAW); Reinforcing Resilient Markets (RRM); Cassava Value Chain Development (CVCD); Power Africa, and USAID Invest activities, among others, as well as potential Department of Treasury interventions implemented through International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Leadership and participation in coordination plat-forms that bridge multiple non-USG organizations is also expected,35 as is the development of strong working relationships with other implementing partners and donor partner programs.

As such, the coordination role and function that the Resilient Food Systems activity will lead in the Kasai HDP Nexus, across various USG and non-USG activities and with DRC government en-tities will be clearly articulated during the inception phase and may require the development of MOUs with some entities to clarify roles.

As a part of the inception phase, it is expected that there will be a culmination workshop for the purpose of vetting the draft Inception Report with a broad cross-section of interested stake-holders. Feedback from the workshops shall be incorporated into the final Inception Report and feed into subsequent work plans. It will also serve as the formal launch event for the activity.

The workshop will share major findings and recommendations from the inception report and various analyses with mission staff and relevant partners. The workshop will also present the program strategies and approaches to be adopted for implementation. The Contractor should incorporate findings from the inception phase report and workshop into the Year 1 work plan and budget. This workshop should take place within 180 days of award. Due to the fundamental

35 See Section J: Attachments for the Kasai Central HDP Nexus Group Structure importance of the inception phase, the Contractor is expected to describe their intended ap-proach for the inception phase in response to the solicitation and as described in Section L of the contract.

C4.5 ACTIVITY COMPONENTS

C4.5.1 COMPONENT 1: PROMOTION OF INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS AND PRAC-

TICES FOR AGRICULTURE-LED ECONOMIC GROWTH

Under this component, activities will create and strengthen the local systems that enhance farm-level production productivity and improve agrifood-system efficiencies, leading to im-proved agribusiness performance, increased sales of producers and firms, increased access to finance (especially for women), increased engagement and investment from the private sector, increased hectares brought under improved management, and increased year-round presence and quality domestically produced food on local and regional markets that compete with ex-pensive imports. Interventions will support the introduction and scaling of technologies and practices, such as modern farm inputs and climate-smart innovations.