Feed the Future Tajikistan Agriculture and Water Project

The purpose of Amendment 03 to this solicitation is to add new FAR clause and provision under Sections I and K.

Amendment #02 to the SOL-176-15-000005.

The purposes of Amendment 02 to this solicitation are to:

1) Revise Section L of the RFP;

2) Respond to follow-up questions as included in the following pages.

3) Extend the RFP submission date until April 20, 2015.

Amendment #01 to the SOL-176-15-000005.

The United States Government, represented by the United States Agency for International Development Regional Mission to Central Asia (USAID/CA), is seeking proposals from qualified organizations to implement a project entitled Feed the Future Tajikistan Agriculture and Water Project as detailed in Section C.

USAID anticipates awarding a cost plus fixed-fee completion-type contract as a result of this solicitation, covering an estimated base period of three years with an option period of one and half years, subject to availability of funds and satisfactory performance.  Offerors must propose costs that they believe are realistic and reasonable for the work described herein.

This procurement will be conducted under full and open competition procedures, pursuant to Part 15 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) (48 CFR Chapter 1). All types of organizations are eligible to compete. If your organization decides to submit a proposal in response to this solicitation, it must be submitted in accordance with Section L of this RFP.  Offerors must also carefully review Section M - Evaluation Factors for Award. Sections B through I of the solicitation will become a substantive part of the anticipated contract with blanks to be completed by the Contracting Officer upon award. Section K - Representations, Certifications and Acknowledgements must be filled out in full.

It is the responsibility of the recipient of this solicitation to ensure that the solicitation has been received from the FBO page in its entirety. USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from download or conversion processes.

Offerors can register and use the Interested Vendor List (IVL) on the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website, so that firms can contact one another for consideration of teaming arrangements and/or small business subcontracting opportunities in response to this solicitation.

Questions and comments related to this RFP must be submitted electronically to Ms. Kerry West, Contracting Officer, at kwest@usaid.gov, with copies to the attention of Ms. Natalia Portnyagina at nportnyagina@usaid.gov and AlmatyAAsolicitations@usaid.gov no later than March 17, 2015 at 10:00 am Almaty Time (UTC +6) using the following format for the email subject line: "SOL-176-15-000005, Feed the Future Tajikistan Agriculture and Water Project  - [Name of Organization] Questions/Comments".

USAID may consolidate and/or not respond to questions/comments and will publically post all responses as an amendment to this RFP.  All amendments to this solicitation will be issued and posted on the FBO website.  Offerors are encouraged to check this website (http://www.fbo.gov) periodically.

The Technical and Cost proposals must be separate and must be submitted according to Section L of this RFP.  Only electronic proposals will be accepted in response to this RFP. The subject line for Technical and Cost Proposal submissions must follow the following format: "SOL-176-15-000005, Feed the Future Tajikistan Agriculture and Water Project  - [Name of Offeror] [Technical/Cost] Proposal, [Email _ of _]. Proposals must be signed by an official who is authorized to bind the offeror's organization.

Proposals are due April 10, 2015 at 10:00 am Almaty Time (UTC +6).  Proposals received after the closing date and time will be processed as late and handled in accordance with FAR 15.208

Issuance of this RFP in no way obligates the U.S. Government to award a contract nor does it commit the U.S. Government to pay any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal.  Furthermore, the Government reserves the right to reject any and all offers, if such action is considered to be in the best interest of the U.S. Government.

USAID intends to issue a full and open solicitation for a multi-year contract for the USAID Tajikistan Agriculture and Water to Optimize Nutrition (TAWON) project.

This agricultural and water project is a key component in USAID Tajikistan's overall Feed the Future (FTF) program. USAID TAWON will directly support FTF objectives by assisting smallholder farmers to increase, diversify, and add value to their agricultural production to address dietary deficiencies and market surplus production. USAID TAWON will place special emphasis on engaging women in all activities. USAID TAWON's agricultural interventions will represent part of a broader portfolio of non-agricultural FTF Tajikistan activities implemented through separate mechanisms to address sanitation, hygiene, health behavior change, iodized salt, wheat fortification, and promoting private sector entrepreneurship.

USAID TAWON will address the lack of dietary diversity and poor nutrition by focusing on five (5) nutrition sensitive agriculture sectors. These five sectors will include Agriculture Extension, Vegetables, Fruits, Dairy, and Irrigation Water. This combination of activities will increase agricultural production which will directly address lack of Vitamin A, Iron, Zinc, and animal protein in the diet. Agriculture production activities must be linked and coordinated with on-going USAID nutrition activities to assure target beneficiaries properly consume adequate amounts of agricultural products targeted by USAID TAWON.

The solicitation is anticipated to be released by January 1, 2015 and will be made available electronically upon its release to www.fbo.gov.