RFI poultry.doc

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Posting date: September 28, 2010 Closing date: October 28, 2010 Government point of contact:

NAME: John M. Gillette

EMAIL: john.m.gillette@afghan.swa.army.mil

PHONE 318-237-2905

This document shall be used for market research purposes to pulse the commercial market on considerations relating to the poultry industry. All comments, questions, and answers will commit neither the government nor the contractor in any way. The government intends to develop and refine future requirement relating to poultry operations in the area in and around Kabul, Afghanistan. Actual requirements released for competition in the future may be similar in nature, but shall be treated as standalone requirements with no assumptions made based on this RFI. Any insight is appreciated. All replies are requested to be in the English language only.

Objective: The objective of this request is to define the feasibility of creating an integrated poultry operation in support of the Afghan Ministry of Defense Dining Facilities and Commissaries within the greater Kabul area. In addition, the study should explore the practicality of expanding the operation in support of similar services for the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Defense has a long history of red meat slaughter operations in support of their dining facilities. However, given rising demand coupled with the extreme market fluctuations and seasonable price instability associated with imported products, the addition of a poultry operation would offer a sustainable, high protein food source, greater insulation from price fluctuations, a benefit to Ministry of Defense dependents and a could be a Ministry of Defense model for similar government or civilian operations throughout Afghanistan. In addition, there are potential beneficial effects across the Afghan agricultural system through the creation of demand for alternative crops (feed grains), fertilizer production (poultry litter) as well as additional jobs.

Scope: Produce a clearly defined conceptual study of the land & facility specifications, to include poultry specific construction requirements. This study will then be utilized, in-country, to design and construct an integrated poultry operation in the greater Kabul area whose mission is to support the Ministry of Defense with a goal of providing the following end products; eggs, chicks, slaughtered pullets (cooled and frozen) as well as live birds.

The study should assume a current production slaughter requirement of 5,000 pullets per day with modular expansion objectives assuming the site would, ultimately, raise & process up to 15,000 pullets per day. With that in mind the work will include a financial viability analysis assuming production requirements at the following incremental production levels; 5,000 birds per day, 10,000 birds per day and 15,000 birds per day.

It is essential that the study focus on the realization that this operation should feature the absolute minimum in automation throughout every phase of the final poultry operations! Hatchery and growing houses will not be automated and the slaughter/processing facility should be designed with the understanding that it feature manual labor with the absolute minimum machinery.

Ministry of Defense currently has significant refrigeration capacity. Therefore the scope of the study should be limited to forecasts of the square footage, to include a forecast electric requirement, for such refrigerated storage as is required at each specific production level.

This study will require conceptual operating layout schematics for proposed buildings but it will not include formal construction drawings.

Analytic Details:

Site/land requirements for a poultry operation capable of producing and slaughtering 5,000 birds per day (initially) with the capability to expand to, as much as, 15,000 birds per day.

QUESTIONS FOR INDUSTRY

What is the daily water requirement for a 15,000 bird operation considering all aspects to include the growth cycle, evaporative cooling and slaughter operations?

What is the daily electric requirement to operate the facility at each of the specified production levels?

What is the feasibility of supplementing traditional integrated poultry industry feed operations with free ranging feed operations in the greater Kabul area?

If free range feeding is viable, what is the growth cycle for slaughter birds utilizing free ranging birds with supplemental feeding vs. birds which are pen raised?

If free range feeding is not viable, what are the feed requirements for the specified production levels?

What is the most economical commercial feed mill required to sustain production at 15,000 birds/day?

What is the veterinary requirement?

What methods are available to dispose of viscera and other non-edible slaughter by products?

What are the requirements for a waste water treatment and attendant retention pond(s) to handle the presumed volumes of water?

What are the construction requirements for such waste water retention ponds?

Required (Estimated) square footage, basic specifications, work flow schematics and a forecast cost analysis based on known market models for any of the following:

1. Feed mill

2. Electric Control House

3. Workshop and storage building

4. Deep well pump and control house

5. Water tower; if required

6. Hatchery

7. Growing house

8. Slaughter/processing/shipping facility

9. Waste water treatment equipment & retention pond Goals for Data Gathering:

Financial viability analysis of the business model deemed most feasible by this study.

Requirements for each of the required integrated production facilities as well as the slaughter/processing/shipping building will include each of the following:

1. Square footage

2. Water flow requirement

3. Electric requirement

4. Ideal work flow schematics

5. Any poultry specific requirements that should be included in the final building design (e.g. evaporative water cooling in the growing house, sanitation requirements, scalding tanks heating etc.)

6. Anticipated viscera/slaughter waste volume/weight at each of the production levels.

Specify manufacturers of size appropriate commercial feed mills with consideration given to the geographic area of the project.

Required grain and supplement requirements for the production levels based on the recommendation of whether or not free feed is a viable part of the feed equation.

Appendix: References

The Poultry Industry in Iraq; USAID, November 2006, contract # 267-C-00-04-00435-00

Feed Mill Production Feasibility Study For Southern Afghanistan (Appendix 3 & 6); USAID, February 2005, contract # GS-23F-9800H

Food and Agriculture Organization Development of Rural Poultry Production Final Report; USAID, June 2006

Current State of Agriculture and Agri-Processing; Central Statistics Office, Government of Afghanistan

Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Food; FAO, Agricultural Prospects Report, Aug/Sept 2005

Poultry Section Action Plan; USAID January 2009, contract # 112-C-08-00002

Accelerating Sustainable Agriculture Program (ASAP); USAID, ongoing.

ISAF COIN Contracting Guidance; September 2010