Food for Progress Questions and Answers week ending April 05.2023.pdf

Food for Progress FY2022 Notice of Funding Opportunity

Questions and Answers

Questions received to PPDED@usda.gov through April 5, 2023

NOTE: Questions are answered in the order received. FFPr recommends using the document

“Find Text” function to find specific items.

The video recording of the Public Meeting is uploaded to FAIS and accessible to all FAIS registered users at this link:

https://apps.fas.usda.gov/fais/webapp/media/FY23%20IFAD%20NOFO%20Public%20Meeting %20Video%2020230323.mp4

1. Q. Are there any geographic restrictions for this NOFO in Nepal? USAID/The US Mission has specific Zones of Influence in country. Is the NOFO open to implementation in all locations relevant to aquaculture, regardless of USAID Zones of Influence?

A: To avoid duplicating efforts, applicants should propose target areas outside of the USAID Zones of Influence, and focus on current aquaculture production areas/zones, for example, Chitwan, Parsa, and Bara.

2. Q. Please confirm if USDA would like a separate tab for each Activity (Activity n) or should all activity costs be included on the same tab.

A: Yes, a separate tab may be created for each activity. The budget template has been updated with additional instructions.

3. Q. If we have a tab for Admin and one (or more) for Activities, please clarify what the tab called “Detailed Budget” is for and how it should be used.

A: The "detailed budget" should aggregate the totals from the Admin and Activity tabs.

This should detail the CCC provided admin funds and monetization proceed funds.

4. Q. The template only shows total costs per year and does not include a breakdown by funding stream. Should the total include cost share, if applicable, or only Monetization proceeds and

CCC?

A: In the Admin and Activities tabs, Applicants should include cost share on row 86.

5. Q. Is it possible to modify the template in any way in order to facilitate linking data to the Summary budget template?

A: Yes. Applicants may modify the template to facilitate linking data to the summary budget template.

https://apps.fas.usda.gov/fais/webapp/media/FY23%20IFAD%20NOFO%20Public%20Meeting%20Video%2020230323.mp4 https://apps.fas.usda.gov/fais/webapp/media/FY23%20IFAD%20NOFO%20Public%20Meeting%20Video%2020230323.mp4

6. Q. Specifically for Mauritania: Why is access to finance not included for Mauritania yet it is known that access to finance is a key constraint throughout the agricultural value chain, ranging from the microfinance needs of small farmers to formal financial institution access for medium and larger-scale farmers and processors, and formal bank loans and investor financing for larger processors?

A: Applicants should be responsive to the issues identified as priorities by the country guidance, however the country guidance itself is not exhaustive of all the underlying issues and potential interventions points that may be included by Applicants. In this example, Applicants can utilize the strategic analysis to detail the issues of access to finance and propose interventions under the plan of operations.

7. Q: Is the detailed budget template in Attachment A intended to be a consolidated budget capturing all costs across admin and activities?

A: Yes. Please see the provided template and updated instructions in Amendment 1 to the NOFO in Section D, Item 4 (g) Budget on page 30.

8. Q. The ‘Admin’ tab would be only the detailed line items allocated to Admin, with one copy of this sheet for Admin-Monetization costs and another for Admin-CCC/Cash costs?

A: Please review the Food for Progress Questions and Answers week of March 22, 2023, Question #28.

9. Q. Should a copy of the ‘Activity n’ tab be created for each activity proposed to capture the costs specific to those activities?

A: Yes, a new tab may be created for each activity. Please see the provided template and updated instructions in Amendment 1 to the NOFO in Section D, Item 4 (g) Budget on page 30.

10. Q: Page 29 of the NOFO stresses the importance of targeting at least 70% cost recovery.

However, for every priority country the ratio between the Anticipated Operating Budget and the Estimated Total Award Value is under 50%, suggesting a cost recovery far below the target. If applicants believe we can achieve a higher level of cost recovery within the Estimated Total Award Value, can we propose a higher operating budget than the anticipated operating budget in the NOFO?

A: Applicants should only propose an operating budget up to the total anticipated operating budget listed for each country in Appendix B. The estimated award level is to allow for the incorporation of commodity and freight price volatility. The 70% threshold is a reporting requirement in the Farm Bill. (See Q.3 in the March 29, 2023 Q&A)

The monetization plan needs to ensure that the monetization proceeds reach the operational budget per the country guidance. The estimated award level is to allow for the flexibility to respond to commodity and freight price volatility. The final award may be adjusted to account for current market realities. The monetization plan should be developed within the estimated award value to reach the project budget, taking into consideration a highly volatile commodity market and the relatively high cost of U.S.

flagged vessels. Cost recovery is based on the actual transaction and calculated based on final sales of the commodities.

11. Q: NOFO p. 11 states, “All proposals for country and priority areas in the NOFO that are identified in the U.S. Department of Labor’s report—List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor—must include a child and/or forced labor analysis.” Please confirm that if a proposal is for a country named in the DOL report (Côte d’Ivoire), but is not for the value chains named in the DOL report for that country (coffee, cocoa), that the proposal does not need to include a child and/or forced labor analysis.

A: If a value chain chosen for prioritization has not been named in the DOL report, it is not required to include a child and/or forced labor analysis in the proposal. However, we encourage applicants to incorporate established and novel methods of addressing Child Labor to prevent these issues in the proposed value chains.

12. Q: NOFO p. 11, Table 1: Country and Priority Areas lists Trade Enabling Environment as a priority area for Cote d’Ivoire. Please confirm that, consistent with the rest of the NOFO, this should be Food Security, not TEE.

A: The three prioritized technical areas of Climate Smart Agriculture, Trade Enabling Environment, and Strengthening Food Security are the broad areas of focus for Food for Progress awards. Not all technical areas are prioritized for each country and Table 1 on page 11 is illustrative. Applicants should refer to the priority technical areas listed and described in the country guidance provided in Appendix B.

13. Q: NOFO p. 12 notes a Projected Period of Performance Start Date of 10/01/2023. NOFO p.

16 notes an Anticipated Award Date of September 1, 2023. Please clarify if there is a discrepancy here.

A: It is anticipated that Awardees will be selected and notified by September 1, 2023, with the anticipation of the final signing of the Cooperative Agreement by September 30th. The project will then start no later than October 1, 2023.

14. Q: Please confirm that the one-page Cover Sheet (noted on NOFO p. 17, but not NOFO Appendix A) is a required attachment.

A: The cover sheet is a requirement per the NOFO page 17. Appendix A will be updated to correspond.

15. Q: Please confirm that an applicant may include a Table of Contents and list of Acronyms as additional pages to the Cover Sheet.

A: Applicants may, but are not required to, include a table of contents and acronyms list with no page limits.

16. Q: The following attachments are not included in FAIS in the list of attachments to upload.

Please confirm that the applicant should use the Generic option to upload each of these attachments.

•Cover Sheet •Plan of Operation and Activities •Commodity Management •Organizational Capacity and Staffing •Project-Specific Commitment Letters •Detailed Budget •SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

A: Yes, applicants should use the “Generic” option for each of these attachments and add the name or description in the Comment box as stated in the NOFO instructions under section D. Application and Submission Information 3. Content and Form of Application Submission c. Food Aid Information System (FAIS) on page 18.

17. Q: FAIS lists Introduction and Strategic Analysis as an attachment for upload. Please confirm that this attachment should not include an Introduction.

A: Correct. Per the FY 2023 NOFO an Introduction is not requested but please use this “Type” for the Strategic Analysis.

18. Q: Please confirm that the Organizational Chart and the In-Country Registration should not be uploaded into FAIS as separate attachments but should be included in the 4-page attachment for the Capacity and Staffing Narrative.

A: Yes, per the instructions in section D. Application and Submission Information 4.

Content Guidance d. Organizational Capacity and Staffing (4 pages) on page 21, the Organizational Chart and Key Personnel and In-Country Registration should be included within those 4 pages.

19. Q: Please confirm that Past Performance Records should be emailed to ppded@usda.gov, and that they should not be uploaded to FAIS (where Past Performance Records is listed as an attachment).

A: Yes, per the instructions in section D. Application and Submission Information 4.

Content Guidance d. Organizational Capacity and Staffing (4 pages) on page 21, Past Performance Reviews should be emailed to PPDED@usda.gov by the closing date of the NOFO (May 24, 2023 at 5:00:00 PM EDT). Those submitting Past Performance Reviews should include “Food for Progress” in the email subject line.

20. Q: FAIS lists AD-3030 as an attachment to upload. Please confirm that this form is not required.

A: Correct, this is not a required form per the FY2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity instructions.

21. Q: Please confirm that applicants may use their own budget templates, so long as they conform to the requirements in Section D, Item 4 (g) Budget on NOFO page 30.

A: No; applicants must use the document found under Attachment A: 3.Attachment A - Detailed Budget Template.xls found in the Related Documents tab on Grants.gov

22. Q: The "Evaluation Budget" bullet point on page 26 states, "The draft evaluation plan submitted with the proposal should include a short table showing the evaluation budget broken into key line items, including separate lines for the baseline, midterm, and final evaluation costs." Budget information is not typically allowed in a technical document, could USDA please reconfirm these instructions?

A: This is allowed to be included. Please follow the instructions in section D. Application and Submission Information 4. Content Guidance e. Monitoring and Evaluation (25 pages) under the final paragraph Evaluation Budget on page 26.

23. Q: Throughout "Section D.4 Content Guidance" of the proposal (pages 18-26), USDA provides page allocations for each section. In some cases, USDA states when a maximum number of pages such as "Performance Indicators (5-page limit);" while in other cases, such as "Commodity Management (10 pages)" it is unclear if this is a required number of pages or the mailto:ppded@usda.gov mailto:PPDED@usda.gov maximum. Could USDA please confirm if all page allocations given in the NOFO are a maximum page limit?

A: All references to pages indicate maximum page limits.

24. Q: Can USDA please clarify the specific scoring criteria for the budget proposal? For example, can USDA clarify how many points specific parts of the budget will be worth? Will budgets with a lower overall cost receive a higher score?

A: Proposed budgets will be evaluated holistically for their reasonableness and cost effectiveness to achieve the project objectives.

25. Q: Unlike in past years when USDA required a detailed budget described in a complex written narrative, this year’s NOFO now requires the submission a detailed budget in Excel. Can USDA confirm that the complex narrative describing the budgetary items line by line, with both descriptions and numbers, as well as subtotals, is no longer required for this year’s submission, given that the detail budget in Excel already provides that information? If so, can USDA also confirm that the budget narrative should only contain explanatory notes to support any items which are not obvious in the Excel budget and/or budget evaluation criteria?

A: Please follow the instructions in section D. Application and Submission Information 4.

Content Guidance g. Budget under the paragraph Budget Narrative on page 30 of the

NOFO.

26. Q: In the Q&A issued for the week of March 20, 2023, USDA’s answer to Q12 referenced Amendment 1 to the NOFO. That amendment has not yet been posted to grants.gov. Can USDA please upload the file or provide further clarification regarding Amendment 1 and its associated attachments?

A: Amendment 1 has been posted to Grants.gov as of April 5, 2023.

27. Q: Can USDA confirm the need for UEI numbers at the proposal submission phase given the ongoing USG challenges/delays with obtaining UEI numbers.

A: Per Section C. Eligibility Information 2. System for Award Management and Unique Entity Identifier on page 13, applicants are required to provide a UEI in their application.

This requirement must be met by the closing date of the announcement and will not be waived.

28. Q: Are applicants required to submit a detailed budget for subrecipients who will receive 20% or more of the proposed operating budget for the project?

A: No, a detailed subrecipient budget is not required. The total amount of each sub-recipient budget should be included in the detailed budget as a line item in the relevant activity(ies) tab(s). Please follow the instructions in section D. Application and Submission Information 4. Content Guidance g. Budget under the paragraph Budget Narrative on page 30 of the NOFO.

29. Q: For the opportunity in Bangladesh, when USDA refers to reducing emissions, are they referring to total emissions (i.e., reducing the total emissions of a given animal) or emissions intensity (i.e., reducing the emissions per unit of animal product – emissions/liter of milk, emissions/kg of meat, etc.)?

A: When referring to reducing emissions, we are referring to both a reduction in total emissions and a reduction in emissions intensity per unit of animal product. For example, if a project incorporates activities focused on both reducing animal morbidity and enhancing production practices. In this case, animal morbidity is reduced (e.g., reducing number of disease days) so the total emissions are reduced, and the emissions produced per unit is also reduced. If an applicant proposes to focus on one approach over the other, applicants are encouraged to justify this choice within their proposal.

30. Q: In USDA's answers to questions received through March 29, 2023, two of USDA's answers appear to contradict each other. Answer #3 states: "Applicants should only propose an operating budget up to the total anticipated operating budget listed for each country in Appendix B." Answer #8 states: "Applicants may propose a higher anticipated operating budget but will need to show how they will achieve additional funding, either through monetization or cost share." Would USDA please confirm whether or not applicants are permitted to propose a total operating budget higher than the anticipated operating budget in the NOFO?

A: Applicants are encouraged to propose an operating budget as outlined in the total anticipated operating budget. However, if the applicant wishes to propose a budget that is higher than the outlined operating budget then the applicant must demonstrate the source of the funds such as cost sharing and may not request additional commodity tonnage as the source of funding to exceed the proposed operating budget.

31. Q: On Page 45-46, Appendix B.1, Country Specific Guidance: Bangladesh, Component 1, states: “Proposed activities must reduce GHG emissions at the production level and demonstrate knowledge of what management practices are currently undertaken. There are nascent efforts in Bangladesh to collect data towards establishing emissions baselines at the country and value chain level. Activities and data collected on emissions reduction practices should contribute to these efforts, such as the research and pilot projects conducted by FAO.” The applicant respectfully requests guidance on calculating baseline and emissions reduced/removed (ERR). Is there a baseline and ERR measurement methodology or tool that USDA FAS currently utilizes and can recommend?

A: Applicants are encouraged to review the literature and apply a methodology to accurately measure emissions to calculate net changes as it relates to proposed project activities.

32. Q: Can USDA please confirm that applicants may use their own budget template given that it reflects the provided budget template’s structure and cost categories?

A: No. As stated in the NOFO on page 30, Section D, item 4.(g), applicants must submit a full budget in the application, using the template provided by USDA.

33. Q: The provided budget template indicates that costs should be presented per activity, however no activities are defined in the NOFO. Can USDA please confirm that components outlined in the country specific guidance of the NOFO serve as the activities and should each have their own “activity” budget tab in the Excel budget?

A: USDA has not defined the activities for applicants to propose. It is the responsibility of applicants to reflect the priorities outlined in the Country Specific Guidance in the design of their own activities. Please refer to section D, item 4. Content Guidance, for descriptions of where and how applicants should propose activities. Each activity proposed by the applicant should then be reflected in its own sheet of the budget.

34. Q: Budget summary instructions on page 30 of the NOFO direct applicants to include internal transportation, storage, and handling (ITSH) costs. Please confirm that applicant budgets will not include ITSH costs but should instead include freight costs.

A: Correct. FFPr projects do not include ITSH costs in the budget.

35. Q: Page 30 of the NOFO indicates that SF-424 is required but does not mention whether SF- 424A or SF-424B are required. Can USDA confirm that just the SF-424 is required?

A: Yes, only a signed SF-424 is required.