FINAL FY20 DFSA RFA for Mali - 12-20-2019_compliant.pdf

Issuance Date: December 20, 2019 Deadline for Questions: January 3, 2020 Closing Date: February 18, 2020 CFDA Number: 98.007 Closing Time: 11:59 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time)

Subject: Request for Applications for a Development Food Security Activity in Mali

Title: Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Development Food Security Activity in Mali

Funding Opportunity Number: 72DFFP20RFA00001

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Food for Peace (FFP) is seeking applications for funding for a Development Food Security Activity (DFSA) in Mali.

To be considered for a Community Development Fund (CDF)-funded award, the applicant must be a U.S. or non-U.S. Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) or consortium, or an organization designated by USAID as a Public International Organization (PIO).

Note the USAID ADS definition for NGO is: Any NGO or entity, whether non-profit or profit-making, receiving or providing USAID-funded assistance under an assistance instrument or contract.

Subject to the availability of funds, under this Request for Applications (RFA), FFP plans to make one award, as described in detail in the Program Description. Please refer to the Program Description for a complete description of possible locations and activities.

USAID reserves the right to use any assistance mechanism available to the Agency (e.g., grant, cooperative agreement, leader with associates award) and to adjust the number of awards, funding levels, sources of funding, and/or procedures. The funding source for the award will be CDFs. The applicant’s activity design informs funding levels, which FFP sets for successful applicants. Successful applicants will be notified of any changes or updates, accordingly.

FFP intends to award one cooperative agreement with the objective to improve food security and resilience of communities in conflict-affected areas through strengthening local systems and community participation in up to four regions of Mali: Mopti (all communes), Tombouctou (all communes), Gao (Gao and Ansongo cercles), and Segou (Niono cercle).

Subject to availability, the anticipated funding for the Mali multi-year DFSA is approximately $60 million ($60 million of CDF / $0 of Title II) over a five-year period.

Issuance of this RFA does not constitute an award commitment on the part of USAID, nor does it commit the U.S. Government to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation or submission of the comments/suggestions or an application. Applications are submitted at the risk of the applicant.

https://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/agency-policy/glossary-ads-terms

FY 2020 Development Food Security Activity in Mali RFA

Given the unique challenges related to conflict in the targeted geographies of Mali, FFP will follow a “three-phase merit review process” of application selection. Phase 1 is the submission and review of a written Initial Application. Applicants will be evaluated and scored based on the Phase 1 (Initial Application) and successful applicants will be invited to participate in Phase 2 (Oral Presentation). Applicants will be evaluated and one Apparently Successful Applicant will be notified and invited to participate in Phase 3.

During Phase 3, the finalist selected, referred to as the “Apparently Successful Applicant” from Phase 2, will collaboratively develop with FFP a Final Application for consideration and subsequently submit a written Final Application. Applicants not selected for the subsequent phase will be notified at the end of Phase I. Please See Section IV and V for more details on this process.

Final awards cannot be made until funds have been fully appropriated, apportioned, allocated, and committed. While it is anticipated that these procedures will be successfully completed, potential applicants are hereby notified of these requirements and conditions for award.

For the purposes of this award, the RFA consists of this cover letter and the following:

SECTION I – PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

SECTION II – FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

SECTION III – ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

SECTION IV – APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

SECTION V – APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

SECTION VI – FEDERAL AWARD AND ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

SECTION VII – FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACTS

SECTION VIII – OTHER INFORMATION

APPENDIX I: Definitions and Program Areas and Elements APPENDIX II: Past Performance Reference Questionnaire APPENDIX III: FY 2020 Pre-Award Co-Creation / Refine and Implement (R&I) APPENDIX IV: Annotated Bibliography of Key Resources for the Mali DFSA APPENDIX V: Maps of USAID Programming and Relevant Vulnerability Indicators APPENDIX VI: FEWS NET Enhanced Market Analysis Mali 2019

To be eligible for the award, the applicant must provide all required information in the application, including the requirements found in any attachments to this opportunity on www.grants.gov. Any future amendments to this RFA can be downloaded from www.grants.gov. This information may also be posted on the FFP website. It is the responsibility of the applicant to use the most up-to-date versions of all of the documents related to this RFA.

USAID may not award to an applicant unless the applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) requirements detailed in Section IV.2. The registration process may take many weeks to complete. Therefore, applicants are encouraged to begin registration early in the process.

http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/

Please send any questions to the email address identified in Section IV. The deadline for questions is January 3, 2020.

Applicants should refer to the Development Activity Application Guidance on the Development Activities section of the FFP website, including Technical References and the Monitoring and Evaluation Policy.

Per 2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 700, USAID regulations do not award profit under assistance instruments. However, all reasonable, allocable, and allowable expenses, both direct and indirect, which are related to the agreement activity and which are in accordance with applicable cost standards, may be paid under the agreement.

USAID may (a) reject any or all applications, (b) accept applications for reasons other than cost, or (c) accept more than one application (see Section V - Application Review Information).

USAID intends to award predominantly cooperative agreements, but reserves the right to award any other form of assistance agreement. USAID may waive informalities and minor irregularities in applications received.

In the event of any inconsistency between this RFA and the documents referenced in the RFA, the RFA takes precedence over any referenced documents (including the Technical References), except statutes and regulations. In the event of an inconsistency in the RFA documents or in the text of the RFA, it will be resolved at the discretion of the Agreement Officer (AO).

Thank you for your interest in USAID programs.

Sincerely, /S/

Clyde Hicks Director, Office of Food for Peace https://www.usaid.gov/food-assistance/what-we-do/development-activities https://www.usaid.gov/food-assistance/what-we-do/development-activities

Section I – Program Description

1. Overview

This RFA provides information on a funding opportunity for a multi-year DFSA in Mali.

Development activities are mandated in the Food for Peace Act and are aligned with the FFP 2016-2025 Food Assistance and Food Security Strategy. This funding opportunity is authorized under the Food for Peace Act, as amended. The resulting award will be subject to 2 CFR 200 – Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, and USAID’s supplement, 2 CFR 700, as well as the additional requirements found in Section F.

FFP intends to award one cooperative agreement with the objective to improve food security and resilience of communities in conflict-affected areas, through strengthening local systems and community participation in up to four regions of Mali: Mopti (all communes), Tombouctou (all communes), Gao (Gao and Ansongo cercles), and Segou (Niono cercle).

Subject to availability, the anticipated funding for the Mali multi-year DFSA is approximately $60 million ($60 million of CDF / $0 of Title II) over a five-year period. Applicants may request variable funding levels over the life of the activity. Any extension beyond the initial five-year award is subject to the Justification of Restricted Eligibility (JRE) approval process in USAID Automated Directives System (ADS) 303.

The Mali DFSA is expected to bridge humanitarian assistance and longer-term development programming in conflict-affected areas. FFP has not historically programmed development assistance in conflict-affected environments; however, levels of humanitarian need in conflict-affected areas have increased markedly in the last 10 years, both in Mali and globally. Because of this trend, FFP recognizes the need for different approaches to address such protracted and complex crises, including efforts to layer development programming onto humanitarian responses. To that end, the DFSA will be part of the USAID/Mali general resilience activities as described in the Country Development and Cooperation Strategy and the Global Food Security Strategy Mali Country Plan, and will be expected to complement and coordinate with other USAID humanitarian and development activities in the target geographic zones.

Given the unique challenges related to conflict in the targeted geographies of Mali, FFP will follow a “three-phase merit review process” of application selection. Phase 1 is the submission and review of a written Initial Application. Applicants will be evaluated and scored based on the Phase 1 (Initial Application) and successful applicants will be invited to participate in Phase 2 (Oral Presentation). Applicants will be evaluated and one Apparently Successful Applicant1 will be notified and invited to participate in Phase 3.

During Phase 3, the finalist selected, referred to as the Apparently Successful Applicant from Phase 2, will collaboratively develop with FFP a Final Application for consideration and

1 Per 2 CFR 700.1, Apparently Successful Applicant(s) means the applicant(s) for USAID funding recommended for an award after merit review, but who has not yet been awarded a grant, cooperative agreement or other assistance award by the Agreement Officer. Apparently Successful Applicant status confers no right and constitutes no USAID commitment to an award, which still must be executed by the Agreement Officer.

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1867/FFP-Strategy-FINAL%2010.5.16.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1867/FFP-Strategy-FINAL%2010.5.16.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/mali/cdcs https://www.usaid.gov/documents/1867/global-food-security-strategy-gfss-mali-country-plan https://www.usaid.gov/documents/1867/global-food-security-strategy-gfss-mali-country-plan subsequently submit a written Final Application. Applicants not selected for the subsequent phase will be notified at the end of Phase 2. Please See Section IV and V for more details on this process.

2. FFP Global Strategy and DFSA Background Information

FFP, an Office within USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA), is the U.S. Government lead operating unit overseeing international food assistance.

FFP works to reduce hunger and malnutrition and assure that adequate, safe, and nutritious food is available, accessible, and well-utilized by all individuals at all times to support a healthy and productive life.

Through FFP, USAID supports multi-year DFSAs to improve and sustain the food and nutrition security of vulnerable populations. These activities work at the individual, household, community, and institutional levels to address the underlying causes of food insecurity and strengthen transformative opportunities. Particular sectoral or activity focus under DFSAs are context dependent, but broadly encompass food access, nutrition, health, agriculture, livelihoods, natural resource management, WASH, early warning, and disaster preparedness and mitigation.

DFSAs are intended to strengthen resilience in populations vulnerable to acute, chronic hunger and recurrent shocks, stresses and crises, and to reduce future need for ongoing or emergency food assistance. These activities are increasingly integrated with other USAID efforts to promote resilience and reduce extreme poverty.

● Co-Creation within FFP Programming:

The unique challenges associated with long-term programming in a complex crisis necessitate new approaches to not only activity design, but also to approaches for collaboration, learning, and adapting. Based on these challenges and lessons learned from co-creation efforts in Mali and elsewhere, the Mali DFSA will include both pre-award co-creation and post-award Refine and Implement (R&I) approaches. The overarching purpose of this approach is to collaboratively develop an activity that responds to the unique challenges and goals of FFP in Mali, and that firmly establishes a process for collaboration, learning, and adapting required to succeed in the rapidly changing operating environment in the target geographic zone. Please see Section IV, Section V, and Appendix III for a detailed description of the pre-award co-creation process.

Since FY 2016, FFP has awarded DFSAs under a co-creation model2 called R&I3, which is intended to improve activity’s design, fit to context and implementation planning. In the case of the Mali DFSA, the goal of the two-fold approach to co-creation is to employ the FFP R&I approach in a way that is appropriate and beneficial to the changing context, with a significant emphasis on community consultations, trust building, and implementation-driven learning.

2 USAID/FFP (2017). Frequently asked question for Refine & Implement Pilot approach:

https://www.usaid.gov/documents/1866/frequently-asked-questions-refine-and-implement-pilot-approach 3 FSNNetwork-TOPS (2015). USAID Consultation on the FY2016 RFA Refine and Implement Pilot in the Democratic Republic of Congo: https://www.fsnnetwork.org/usaid-consultation-fy2016-rfa-refine-and-implement-pilot-democratic-republic-congo-0 https://www.usaid.gov/documents/1866/frequently-asked-questions-refine-and-implement-pilot-approach https://www.fsnnetwork.org/usaid-consultation-fy2016-rfa-refine-and-implement-pilot-democratic-republic-congo-0 https://www.fsnnetwork.org/usaid-consultation-fy2016-rfa-refine-and-implement-pilot-democratic-republic-congo-0

R&I includes multiple stages:

During an initial refinement, new awardees may carry out a number of activities including traditional start-up tasks and additional activities which may be, but are not limited to:

● participatory stakeholder engagement and community consultation for strengthened local partnerships;

● initial implementation of interventions that have clear evidence base and/or meet urgent needs;

● preparation for implementation through hiring;

● local capacity building;

● procurement of goods and services;

● pre-implementation activities that address evidence and knowledge gaps and strengthen understanding of local context;

● implementation research (e.g., pilots) of new approaches and implementation strategies;

● refining the staffing pattern to fit the programmatic needs; and

● refining the activity Theory of Change (ToC) and related documents.

At the end of the initial refinement period,4 the Theory of Change (ToC) and related documents may be revised in consultation with FFP and the implementation plan updated accordingly. FFP expects that throughout the award, as a matter of strong adaptive management and continued program quality improvement, awardees will continue with efforts to close knowledge gaps, refine planning, test innovative approaches, update the theory of change and related documents and continue stakeholder engagement and coordination with other relevant actors.

After an external evaluation in year four, R&I will allow highly successful activities to be extended. The R&I model creates the opportunity for FFP DFSAs to more closely align with FFP strategic and programmatic priorities (See Section 2). Any extension beyond the initial five year award is subject to the Justification of Restricted Eligibility (JRE) approval process in USAID Automated Directives System (ADS) 303.

3. FFP Strategic Priorities

In FY 2017, FFP launched a new Food Assistance and Food Security Strategy 2016-2025 (FFP Strategy) which laid out new priorities for the future around sustainability5, systems approaches, and a new set of cross-cutting areas of focus addressing gender equity and youth empowerment, social cohesion, and social accountability. In seeking improved and more sustained food and nutrition security for vulnerable populations, the FFP Strategy works through two parallel objectives: to protect and enhance lives and livelihoods while strengthening and transforming communities and institutions.

The FFP Strategy’s Results Framework is a global framing of FFP’s work, outlining what is considered within FFP’s mandate, as well as what is expected to be within the skill sets and

4 Please refer to Appendix III for description of Refine and Implement Process and Timeframe.

5 Sustainability: The degree to which services or processes continue once inputs (funding, materials, training, etc.) provided by the original source(s) decreases or discontinues.

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1867/FFP-Strategy-FINAL%2010.5.16.pdf capacities of our implementing partners. At the field level, the exact contours of a program will depend on context, needs, available resources and the skills, capacities and roles of other food and nutrition security actors working in that space. This RFA is also grounded in USAID’s Local Systems Framework6, which emphasizes a “systems approach” that focuses on multiple interconnected actors and relationships.

● FFP Strategic Objectives (SO)

SO1: Lives and livelihoods protected and enhanced FFP works to protect and enhance the lives and livelihoods of those affected by crisis, and those vulnerable to crisis due to chronic poverty and hunger. In acute emergency situations, this may be by meeting immediate food and nutrition needs of those most vulnerable to food deficits through direct resource transfers accompanied by complementary programming that seeks to maximize the impact of those resources. In recovery and development settings, the emphasis may shift more strongly towards improving the lives of the most marginalized and protecting development investments through capacity building, knowledge transfer, household asset-building, or other productive investments contributing to improved food and nutrition security outcomes across a range of sectors.

SO2: Communities and institutions transformed Even in the most acute crisis, work that avoids doing harm and succeeds in strengthening local systems - including both social dynamics and formal and informal institutions - can lay an important foundation for transformative change. Under SO2, FFP works to strengthen communities and institutions that then serve as catalysts for greater and more sustainable change in emergency response and long-term development settings alike. SO2 provides a pathway to address the root causes and drivers of food insecurity, through efforts at the community level and, where appropriate, up to national policy and planning, in ways that strengthen the capacity of both formal and informal institutions, reduce risks, and provide engines of growth, opportunity and change.

6 USAID (2014). Local Systems: A Framework for Supporting Sustained Development. Available:

https://www.usaid.gov/policy/local-systems-framework

● FFP Strategy Intermediate Results

The SOs in the FFP Results Framework (RF) are each supported by four Intermediate Results (IRs) that address social protection, nutrition, environmental management, and increasing incomes and assets. The IRs under SO1 focus on the individual- and household-level capacities required for positive change, while those under SO2 address the community and institutional capacities required to promote, support, and sustain those changes.

Across all IRs, FFP’s strategy calls for a broadened concept of risk management that, in addition to natural hazards such as drought and flooding, addresses risks posed by fragility, conflict, pandemic disease and climate change, as well as idiosyncratic shocks, such as the death of a household head. Working at multiple levels, protecting and enhancing the lives and livelihoods of individuals and households while also strengthening local systems, creates synergies between the two SOs and the IRs under them. It also increases the need for FFP and its partners to sequence, layer and integrate activities within FFP programs, as well as with other USAID, local government and donor-funded efforts.

● FFP Strategy Cross-cutting Intermediate Results

A set of cross-cutting IRs underpins the SOs and IRs, to support the empowerment of women, men, girls and boys, enhance social cohesion and strengthen social accountability. They are intended to bring new focus and clarity to work to positively influence the local systems – including both social dynamics and formal and informal institutions - in which FFP emergency and multi-sectoral development food security activities are implemented.

● FFP Strategy Corporate Objectives

The FFP strategy also includes three Corporate Objectives relevant to FFP and partners alike.

These are designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of FFP’s work through strengthening partnership and influence, capacities of staff and institutions, and the evidence base underlying work in food and nutrition security.

● Other U.S. Government and USAID Strategic Priorities

The FFP Strategy and programming contribute to a country’s Journey to Self-Reliance, by improving capacity and commitment of government and local systems, and USAID’s mission to end extreme poverty and promote resilient democratic societies; and to the DCHA Bureau’s strategic objectives, notably “supporting areas of recurrent crisis to become more resilient.”

The FFP Strategy also contributes to and reflects the USAID Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy 2014-2025; USAID policy and program guidance “Building Resilience to Recurrent Crisis;”

USAID’s policy on Gender Equality and Female Empowerment; USAID’s policy on Youth in Development; USAID’s “Local Systems Framework” and USAID’s Democracy, Human Rights and Governance Strategy. Notably, through FFP’s development food security activities, the Strategy also contributes to the U.S. Government Global Food Security Strategy, 2017-2021, launched in October 2016.

https://selfreliance.usaid.gov/ https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1867/USAID_Nutrition_Strategy_5-09_508.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1867/USAID_Nutrition_Strategy_5-09_508.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/USAIDResiliencePolicyGuidanceDocument.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/USAID-DRG_fina-_6-24-31.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/Youth_in_Development_Policy_0.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/Youth_in_Development_Policy_0.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/LocalSystemsFramework.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/USAID-DRG_fina-_6-24-31.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/USAID-DRG_fina-_6-24-31.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1867/USG-Global-Food-Security-Strategy-2016.pdf

The FFP Mali DFSA Goals and Objectives (sub-Section 5 below) align with the USAID Mali Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) with the goal: “Malians secure a democratic, resilient and prosperous future.” In particular, this RFA is expected to align with the CDCS Transition Objective 1: Stabilization of Conflict-Affected Areas Reinforced and Development Objective 2: Resilience – Adaptive Capacity of Vulnerable Communities and Households Improved. Furthermore, FFP aligns with and supports the Global Food Security Strategy (GFSS) Mali Country Plan with the goal: “Sustainably Reduce Global Hunger, Malnutrition and Poverty.”

In addition, FFP activities are expected to align with the planned USAID Health activities as described under the Request for Information “Integrated Community, Health, Nutrition, and Governance,” “Quality Improvement” and “Health Systems Strengthening.” FFP activities may further align with other USAID activities in the area of governance such as the Mission’s Peace, Democracy and Governance activities and Education activities that target youth leadership and livelihoods. Applicants are encouraged to review background documentation provided in Appendix IV, such as the Food Security Desk Review and Stakeholder Mapping for further USAID/Mali priorities and programming.

4. Country Background

Note: The following is meant to provide a brief summary of the programming context in Mali, with themes and analysis that are particularly salient to the DFSA goal and objectives.

Applicants are encouraged to consult the RFA appendices and attachments for more detailed analyses of the context: Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) Enhanced Market Analysis (Appendix VI); Annotated Bibliography of Key Resources (Appendix V).

Selection of Mali DFSA and Country Profile:

Mali7 represents a significant and ongoing caseload of humanitarian need for USAID, partially attributable to the deterioration in security and the increase in violent conflict since 20128.

Poverty, droughts, floods, and other climate-related shocks were large drivers of food insecurity before 2012, and continue to affect food security and malnutrition in much of the country. Many international development actors-- both humanitarian and development-- have a legacy of programming in Mali. USAID/FFP, in particular, has had a presence in Mali since the mid- 1960s, with responses that have ranged from urgent, humanitarian assistance (e.g. life-saving food and nutrition programming, treatment of severe acute malnutrition), to long-term, multi-sectoral development activities. Owing to the chronically high levels of food insecurity and malnutrition, USAID/FFP programming has been largely concentrated in the Sahelian agro-ecological zones of Mali, including Timbuktu, Gao, Mopti, and northern Segou. FFP’s current portfolio of programming includes both humanitarian and development assistance in these areas, including one DFSA in Mopti (2015- 2020).

7 UNOCHA (2019). Mali Humanitarian Response Plan 2019: https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/mali 8 Tronc, Grace, and Nahikian (2019). Realities and Myths of the ‘Triple Nexus’: Local perspectives on peacebuilding, development, and humanitarian action in Mali:: https://hhi.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/publications/haf_-_mali.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1860/Mali_CDCS_2015-2020.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1860/Mali_CDCS_2015-2020.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1867/Mali_Country_Plan.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1867/Mali_Country_Plan.pdf https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=313641 https://www.usaid.gov/mali/fact-sheets/mali-peace-democracy-governance-overview https://www.usaid.gov/mali/fact-sheets/mali-peace-democracy-governance-overview https://www.usaid.gov/mali/education https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/mali https://hhi.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/publications/haf_-_mali.pdf

In spite of such investments, Mali ranks 179 out of 188 on the United Nations Development Program’s 2015 Human Development Index, 4.6 million and 1.1 million Malians remain food insecure and malnourished, respectively.9 Across Mali, poverty and recurring shocks are pervasive, as are low education and literacy rates, high fertility, severe gender inequality, ongoing political instability, low levels of hygiene, sanitation, and access to safe drinking water, and conflict-driven internal migration and displacement.

In selecting Mali for a DFSA, FFP is responding to the acute vulnerability of many Malians, but is also responding to the increasing proportion and level of humanitarian assistance that is targeting conflict-affected areas. Drawing on the lessons learned from programming in Mali and similar contexts, the Mali DFSA is expected to bridge humanitarian assistance and longer-term development programming in conflict-affected areas (See 5. Activity Goal and Objectives).

Governance, Natural Resource Management, Inter-communal Violence, Violent Extremism, and Conflict Intersections: Mali has been engaged in political reform since 1993, but with limited progress to date towards democratizing institutions and decentralizing processes and resources.

In 1993, the country’s political and administrative units were broken out into eight regions, 49 Cercles, and 703 communes. However, continued political instability, uneven resource distribution, and economic and social inequalities have contributed to persistent degradation of these governance efforts, and increases in armed conflict and destabilization.

Historically, violent conflict was more common in northern Mali, rooted in its geographic isolation, ethnic and cultural divisions, and perceptions of economic and political neglect from Bamako. The desire for northern independence was a factor in the cycles of rebellions in the early 1960s, 1990-1995, and 2007-2009. Malian authorities were challenged to provide governance to the north in a manner that responded to northern Malians’ expectations for security, as well as economic and social development. This was a primary driver of the 2012 rebellion and its evolution into the current, multidimensional crisis.

The current dynamics of insecurity in central Mali are multifaceted. Though deeply connected to the conflict in northern Mali, the insecurity in central Mali is local and is fueled by anxieties related to the control of natural resources (e.g., land, pasture, water) and grievances toward the Malian state. Ethnic tensions between sedentary farmers and pastoralists and government repression are at the core of the region’s insecurity, and contribute to wide reaching poverty and food insecurity. The nature of the farmer-herder conflict is changing in the Inner Niger Delta region, with the emergence of non-state armed groups (NSAGs), including violent extremist organizations and local self-defense militias. These groups seek to exploit such inter-communal tensions and to endorse particular local factions in order to strengthen their hold on the region.

Since 2017, the increase in violence has been driven primarily by NSAG attacks on civilians, and to a lesser degree, clashes between opposing NSAGs. The recent increase in violence has been concentrated in Mopti and Gao regions, though dynamics differ by region. In Mopti, much of the inter-communal violence has been driven by farmer (often Dogon) attacks on herder (often Fulani) communities and vice-versa, although other ethnic groups and livelihoods are also

9FFP Mali Fact Sheet: https://www.usaid.gov/mali/food-assistance https://www.usaid.gov/mali/food-assistance implicated, including farmers (Bambara) from the Segou region. In Gao, violence is more directly tied to counter-terrorism operations, and trafficking in persons and illicit goods.

The proliferation of NSAGs, including violent extremists, in Northern and Central Mali contributes to a fragile and dynamic security situation that has displaced hundreds of thousands of Malians to southern Mali or adjacent countries. As of July 31, 2019, the Government of Mali and the United Nations estimate that there are now 168,515 IDPs within Mali, 138,623 Malian refugees in neighboring countries (Niger, Burkina Faso, Mauritania), and 73,989 refugee returnees.

The consequences of the increase in conflict include limited pastoralist mobility and reduced agricultural production and market activity through disruption of supply routes, labor shortages, lack of agricultural extension, and hampered humanitarian access. The conflict creates supply chains for conflict actors and potential recruitment into illicit markets which further affects potential for long-term development investments in the formal sector.

Nutrition: The Mali Demographic Health Survey indicates significant improvements in key health and nutrition indicators from 2012 to 2018, including a reduction in stunting from 38 percent to 24 percent and in wasting from 12.7 percent to 9 percent.10 The 2018 National SMART survey reported a prevalence of wasting at 10 percent.11 While acute malnutrition levels have not reportedly increased in the crisis-affected areas of Mali compared to previous SMART surveys, the available data may be constrained by access and other factors. At the sub-national level, the 2018 SMART survey reported wasting levels of 9 percent, 14.2 percent, 12.5 percent in Mopti, Gao, and Tombouctou, respectively.12 Infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices remain poor throughout Mali. As demonstrated by these statistics, there is continued, acute need for health and nutrition services, and nutrition-sensitive approaches in much of the country. In particular, there is a demonstrated need for continued support for prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition, and for approaches that protect optimal IYCF practices.

Economy: Mali is a vast land-locked country in the heart of the Sahel Region, with two-thirds of the country within the arid Sahara and semi-arid Sahel. The target geographic zones of the DFSA-- Mopti, Timbuktu, Southern Gao, and Northern Segou-- largely lie within the Sahelian agro-ecological zone. The rural economy in the target geographic zones is focused on agriculture, livestock, and fish production and marketing. Each part of the target geographic zone encompasses vastly different natural resources, agricultural production areas, market integration, and cultural practices which need to be considered in the design of a program. For example, the most important livelihood is pastoralism in the arid North (Timbuktu & Gao), but in Mopti it is mixed crop/livestock production. Rice is the most widespread irrigated crop and is a main staple in the Inner Niger Delta floodplain. However, labor income is the main source of income for

10 Mali Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), 2018.

11 2018 SMART Survey for Mali. Note: both DHS and SMART reported severe acute malnutrition (SAM) above 2%, which indicates an emergency level for SAM.

12 2018 SMART Survey for Mali.

very poor and poor households across the majority of livelihood zones. Regional migration also serves as a key source of income through remittances.13

Mali’s agrarian and pastoralism systems are highly sensitive to droughts and rainfall variabilities and count for 80 percent of employment. However, 95 percent of agriculture is rainfed, and rainfall is a major constraint for crop production. Smallholder production includes cereals such as millet and sorghum, market gardening, and export crops such as rainfed cotton.

Natural Resources and Environment: Land use has changed dramatically in Mali with large portions developed for agriculture or commercial use in Mopti, Segou, and across the south.

Some development has occurred within the borders of natural protected areas, which indicates the need for better protection and coordination with government and civil society, which is invariably of limited capacity for oversight. Population growth has increased demand for natural resources, and much of the encroachment into these undeveloped protected areas has been driven by agricultural expansion, both for food and cotton production.14 A series of political and economic opportunities to address root causes of environmental degradation in Mali have been identified, including support of local Malian and international environmental NGOs in generating policies and technologies encouraging growth of renewable energy sector and diversification of non-farm livelihoods).15

Mali is also particularly vulnerable to climate change. USAID has conducted numerous analyses16 to map and better understand climate vulnerability and adaptation options. Climate projections for Mali include an increase in temperature, increased variability for rainfall, and increased intensity and frequency of extreme events such as drought. It is anticipated that these projections will have detrimental impacts on agriculture, water availability, and human and ecosystem health.17

While multiple stressors affect the semi-arid landscapes, wetlands, as focal zones of resilience, are under threat and represent risks to encroaching agriculture, such as flood damage to crops.

Mali is fortunate to have 4.2 million hectares of wetlands of international importance, including the Inner Niger Delta, one of the largest Ramsar sites in the world.18 The delta provides a crucial habitat, flood protection, and water purification. The floodplain resources are utilized by over 1 million people for their livelihoods, including for rice cultivation, fishing, and livestock grazing, and are home to more than 140 bird species. These wetlands already face soil erosion, desertification, poaching, recurrent droughts, salinization, and desiccation, all of which may be

13 A full market analysis is included as an Appendix to this RFA: FEWS NET Enhanced Market Analysis. Refer to the Enhanced Market Analysis for more in-depth information on each region.

14 USAID West Africa Biodiversity and Tropical Forestry Assessment, 2018 15 USAID Mali Environmental Threats and Opportunities Assessment, 2015 16 USAID Climate Links knowledge portal on climate change and international development: Mali studies.

Available: https://www.climatelinks.org/countries/mali 17 Refer to the Mali Climate Risk Profile 2019 for more in-depth analysis of climate risks in the targeted geographic zone for Mali.

18The Convention on Wetlands, called the Ramsar Convention, is the intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. The Convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.

http://www.usaidgems.org/Documents/FAA&Regs/FAA118119/AF%2073_W_AFR_118_119_Revised_WithAnnex_FINAL_6August2018.pdf https://www.climatelinks.org/countries/mali exacerbated by climate change. Local conservation groups and government leaders have designated the Ramsar site, but capacity to protect and manage these sites are limited. Natural resource management challenges in Mali extend beyond wetlands and include the semi-arid ecosystems of the Sahel.

Youth: The median age of Mali’s population is 16.2 years, making it the third youngest in the world. It is estimated that over 60 percent of the Malian population is under the age of 25 and that the majority of these youth live in rural areas. Adolescent pregnancy and early childbearing are widespread, which increases the risk of child and adolescent stunting. Early marriage and pregnancy during adolescence is associated with adolescent malnutrition and contributes to the intergenerational cycle of stunting in Mali. The high prevalence of early marriage and childbearing combined with low access to education and high rates of violence, leave young people socially and economically vulnerable. With the rise in violent extremism since 2012, youth have become vulnerable targets for recruitment and radicalization by extremist groups and non-state actors.

Gender: Gender inequality is deeply entrenched in Malian society, and women and girls face significant barriers in accessing health care and livelihoods opportunities without prior authorization and financial support from their husbands. In traditional Malian society, women, girls, and youth have limited legal rights to land and productive resources as well as access to services, thus constraining their full engagement in social, economic, and political life.

Progress on improving gender equality in Mali has slowed over recent years in part due to the conflict, but also in part due to a reversal in national policies that undermines efforts to empower women. In 2012, the Government of Mali adopted a new family code that identified men as the heads of households further curtailing women’s rights, and the legal age of marriage was reduced favoring early marriage. In tandem with the conflict in the region this has increased the likelihood that more girls will be forced to marry in early adolescence and begin childbearing.

Mali ranks among the top ten countries with the highest prevalence of child marriage and is the second-highest ranked country in the world with the highest prevalence of early pregnancy, with 10 percent of girls giving birth before the age of 15, and 36 percent between the ages of 15 and

18. The average fertility rate has risen from 6.1 children per mother in 2012 (Mali DHS 2012) to

6.3 in 2018 (Mali 2018 DHS) and in 2018, nearly 60 percent of girls aged 19 had begun childbearing, indicating that early marriage and childbearing remains a widespread practice in the country. This is particularly important to consider in the context of programming for nutrition and food security, because the prevalence of childhood stunting is 20 percent higher among children born to adolescent mothers aged less than 18. In Mali, analysis of the 2012 DHS data suggests that the prevalence of stunting among children born to adolescent mothers is 48 percent for mothers aged 18 years or less compared to 26 percent among mothers aged 23 years or more.

Girls in Mali are deprived from completing their education in favor of early marriage, and this practice has been further exacerbated by mass school closings in northern and more recently central Mali as a result of the conflict.

In 2015, the Government of Mali also adopted a new land reform law in 2015 to better define customary land access and distinguish from government controlled land, however this law did not address gender discrimination and did not further secure women’s access to land. The only provision that was included was that groups of women and youth be allowed access to 15 percent of irrigated land. However, it is unclear how well this law has been implemented. The majority of women in Mali access land through marriage, and data show that they are more risk averse to investing in the land they are allocated as their land tenure is extremely insecure. More information is needed to understand how conflict and climate change are changing access to land for women and youth in Mali and what the implications of these changes are for food security.

Gender Based Violence (GBV) continues to be an important issue in Mali. In the 2012-2013 Demographic and Health Survey, 44 percent of women reported recent physical, sexual, or emotional abuse perpetrated by their husbands further indicating how deeply entrenched gender inequality is in Mali. It is likely that the current conflict in Mali has increased GBV and this is an important consideration in the context of improving food security and nutrition.

5. Activity Goal and Objectives

Activity Goal: Improved food security and resilience of communities in conflict-affected areas, through strengthening local systems and community participation.

The inclusion of local systems and community participation as strategies within the goal statement of the Mali DFSA intentionally reflects the need for approaches that account for social dynamics in the context of Mali’s Center and/or North. The DFSA goal statement is informed by significant lessons learned regarding the operating environment, challenges, and successes encountered by partners working in the target geographic zones. Active participation, buy-in, and strengthening of communities and local systems is envisioned at all stages of the DFSA, from planning, to design, and implementation. This strategy will be paramount to ensuring access to participants, communities, and services, improving social dynamics, and achieving the goal of improved food security and resilience. It is envisioned that community and systems strengthening efforts–both formal and informal–will be a critical link to bridging short- and long-term food security efforts, and to building a clear pathway for households to move from humanitarian assistance recipients to development participants within the DFSA. It is also envisioned that such community and systems strengthening approaches will require significant thought leadership to ensure they are conflict-sensitive and do not result in unintended, negative consequences (e.g., reinforcing biases, and inequities), but rather strengthen social cohesion and longer term stability at the local level. To that end, the DFSA can help local actors promote peace processes and peaceful co-existence.

All objectives of the DFSA seek the meaningful participation of young people and women for positive change, while responding to their unique needs.

With respect to the intended meaning of ‘local systems’, applicants have the discretion to select local systems of primary relevance to the stated goals of food security and resilience.

Objective 1: Stabilize vulnerable households by reducing the impact of shocks and connecting households to basic services.

In order to improve food security outcomes and reduce the damaging effect of conflict on food security and nutrition, it is imperative that vulnerable households basic needs are met. In the context of the center and north of Mali, an ongoing, complex crisis contributes to a wide range of intersecting shocks and stressors affecting vulnerable households (e.g., conflict, drought, floods, displacements/returns). This directly contributes to households’ inability to consistently meet basic needs without external support. Objective 1 of the DFSA is intended to stabilize the food and nutrition security of vulnerable groups, particularly those impacted by such shocks. A layered approach19 and a layering of objectives is envisioned for the Mali DFSA, and objective 1 is envisioned as a base layer that will address the acute needs and food security gap of those affected by the ongoing, complex crisis. One intended outcome of this objective is to maintain and/or prevent significant deterioration in the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable groups. A second intended outcome of this objective is to allow households to resume key activities that may have been impacted by shocks and/or reduced access. A third intended outcome is to create the conditions and stability needed for vulnerable households to enable them to invest time, energy, and resources into longer-term recovery and development activities. In the target geographic zones of Mali, the DFSA also seeks to respond to the unique needs of both sedentary and pastoral communities.

Within this objective, the DFSA will work through existing actors and platforms, wherever possible, to facilitate access to basic services.20 These could include formal government structures where present, but could also be informal local systems, USAID program platforms, etc. When and where possible, the DFSA will strengthen the ability of these existing actors and platforms to respond to shocks and to reduce the impact of future shocks. One example of this would be a ”community first” approach that mobilizes and encourages communities to plan for and respond to humanitarian needs, and that links communities to appropriate government, civil society, or non-governmental groups for advocacy and further support. These efforts should help build community level cooperation to help prioritize needs and accountability for the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Objective 1 approaches that work in alignment with ongoing government and civil society planning (e.g., Plans de Développement Économique, Social et Culturel - PDSECs) and the incorporation of traditional coping mechanisms and other appropriate shock response tools are desired.

Objective 1 of the DFSA will layer, sequence, and integrate with the substantial planned USAID/Mali health and nutrition investments in the target geographic zones,21 as well as other promising efforts to innovate on community-level nutrition approaches in Mali.22 Given the other planned USAID investments, especially in Mopti, any proposed health or nutrition approaches under the DFSA will work collectively with these activities to maintain and improve the nutritional status of vulnerable groups through tailored, sequenced approaches. Where

19 Please see Section IV for further description of Layering, Sequencing, and Integration of Activities.

20 ‘Basic services’ include, but are not limited to, general government administrative services (such as identification documents), health and nutrition services, basic education, agricultural extension services, safety and security, justice and dispute resolution.

21USAID (2019). USAID/Mali Health Request for Application (Household and Community Health and Health Systems Strengthening, Governance and Financing Activities, #72068819RFA00004): https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=313641 22 FFP Mopti Nutrition Partner assessment. (June, 2019).

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=313641 https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=313641 significant gaps exist, the DFSA will serve to fill gaps, if and where needed, in nutrition and nutrition-sensitive programming, but may not be a fully integrated health and nutrition approach throughout the entire zone of intervention. The applicant is expected to use analytical tools and assessments to identify gaps and opportunities to layer, sequence, and integrate activities in order to identify the required basic services.