Solicitation Number:
RFQ-STTA-003
Date of Issue of Request:
June 30, 2020
Deadline for Offers:
September 30, 2020
Description:
Agriculture Health and Safety Consultant
For:
USAID Agriculture Program
Funded By:
USAID
72011418C00001
Implemented By:
CNFA
Submit Proposals to:
Ms. Isabel Getz
Program Coordinator
1828 L St NW Suite 710, Washington, DC 20036
202-296-3920
igetz@cnfa.org
Section A: Offer Instructions
1. Introduction to Offerors: The USAID Agriculture Program is a USAID program implemented by CNFA in Georgia. The goal of the USAID Agriculture Program is to accelerate growth of agricultural sub-sectors that demonstrate strong potential to create jobs and increase micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) revenues.
As part of project activities, CNFA requires the services of an Independent Consultant to assist the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia (MEPA) and the National Food Agency (NFA) with the development of set of recommendation for successful and sustainable operation of pesticides’ and agrochemicals input suppliers. Section B provides full details on the required Scope of Work. The purpose of this solicitation is to solicit quotations from qualified offerors.
Offerors are responsible for ensuring that their offers are received by CNFA in accordance with the instructions, terms, and conditions described in this Solicitation. Only Independent Consultants are eligible for consideration in response to this solicitation. Failure to adhere with instructions described in this solicitation may lead to disqualification of an offer from consideration. Please reference the solicitation number in all responses.
2. Offer Deadline and Protocol: Offers must be received no later than 5:30 PM, EST, on September 30, 2020. Offers must be submitted by email to igetz@cnfa.org.
Offers received after the specified time and date will be considered late and will be considered only at the discretion of CNFA. The cover page of this solicitation summarizes the important dates of the solicitation process. Offerors must strictly follow the provided deadlines in the cover page to be considered for award.
3. Quotations: Quotations in response to this solicitation should be priced on a Level of Effort (LOE). Quotations must remain valid for not less than ninety (90) days. The offeror shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of the quotations up to the final award of the contract. CNFA will in no case be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the procurement process.
4. Taxes and VAT: All prices must be presented exclusive of any taxes, duties, and VAT. The selected offeror is responsible for all taxes in accordance with the applicable law.
5. Evaluation: The award will be made to a responsible offeror whose offer follows the solicitation instructions, meets the eligibility requirements, and is determined via a trade-off analysis to be the best value based on application of the below evaluation criteria. Best value determination will consider both technical and financial proposals, i.e., the best approach and anticipated results in combination with a reasonable cost. Proposed costs must reflect and clearly match the degree of sophistication of the technical approach. The relative importance of each individual criterion is indicated by the number of points below:
· Technical Capacity – 35 Points
· Past Performance – 30 Points
· Cost – 35 Points
Best-offer proposals are requested. It is anticipated that award will be made solely on the basis of these original proposals. However, CNFA reserves the right to conduct any of the following:
· CNFA may conduct negotiations with and/or request clarifications from any offeror prior to award;
· While preference will be given to offerors who can address the full technical requirements of this solicitation, CNFA may issue a partial award or split the award among various suppliers, if in the best interest of the USAID Agriculture Program;
· CNFA may cancel this solicitation at any time;
· CNFA may contact a shortlist of offerors for additional screening interviews following review of initial offers received.
Please note that if there are deficiencies regarding responsiveness to the requirements of this Solicitation, an offer may be deemed “non-responsive” and thereby disqualified from consideration. CNFA reserves the right to waive immaterial deficiencies at its discretion.
6. Payment and Award: The award will be awarded to the offeror whose quotation represents the best value to the Project. Award will be issued only to the entity which submits an offer in response to this solicitation. CNFA will not issue an award to different offerors, entities, or third-parties other than the selected offeror(s). Any award and payment resulting from this solicitation is anticipated to be in the form of an Independent Consultant Agreement. This award is subject to the USAID Agriculture Program’s terms and conditions as stipulated in Annex 3.
7. Offer Format Instructions: All offers must be formatted in accordance with the below requirements:
a) English language only
b) Include the offeror’s name, date, Solicitation number, and page numbers as a header or footer throughout the document.
c) The Official Offer must be in the format provided in Annex 1 (Official Offer Template)
d) Cover letter signed by the offeror (see Annex 2)
e) CV/Resume
f) Provide three contacts for references from organizations/individuals for which the offeror has successfully performed similar work
Section B: Scope of Work
1. About CNFA:
Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), an international development organization, specializes in designing sustainable, market led agricultural initiatives. We build strong local and global partnerships, incorporate innovative approaches into our programs, and foster inclusive development to offer enhanced opportunities to under-served groups. Since 1985, CNFA has managed more than $600 million in donor funded agriculture development programs and has worked in 46 countries across the world in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
2. About the USAID Agriculture Program:
The goal of the USAID Agriculture Program is to accelerate growth of agricultural sub-sectors that demonstrate strong potential to create jobs and increase micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) revenues. The Program selected the following sub-sectors: berries, culinary herbs, perishable vegetables, pome fruits (apples), stone fruits, table grapes, nut crops and mandarins. The USAID Agriculture Program plans to deliver firm-level investment and tailor-made technical assistance to market-driven enterprises, production clusters and supporting associations and service/information/extension providers in the selected value chains to foster inclusive and sustainable market systems development. To support Government of Georgia in improvement of agricultural policies, including plant protection and safe pesticide use, procedures and related functions is among the priorities of the USAID Agriculture Program.
3. Assignment Summary:
In 2011, USAID/Georgia developed a Pesticide Evaluation Report (PER) and Safer Use Action Plan (SUAP) for all USAID projects. Serving as a guiding document to implementers the PERSUAP informs all parties of the acceptable pesticides and their appropriate application and safe usage. Since then, the document is being updated regularly and evaluates background and risks across the inputs sectors in Georgia, and promotes the use of preventive and curative Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Good Agriculture Practices (GAPs). Currently the next revision of PERSUAP is being developed under the direction of the USAID Agriculture Program. The aim of this revision is to provide updated information related with the best practices, strategies for monitoring and management of different pests and diseases.
Since 1997, Georgia has operated a pesticide and agrochemical registration system. This system is harmonized with key requirements of 1107/2009/EC regulation as it is defined by Approximation Plan for the period of 2018-2023[1]. The import, circulation and use of pesticides and agrochemicals are regulated by a number of Laws and by-laws of Government of Georgia. In total, there are 26 normative acts currently in force. The Resolution #451 currently in force and adopted in 2013, is the key regulatory document defining “the rules for storage, transportation, sale and use of pesticides and agrochemicals”. Since 2013 the resolution underwent numerous revisions, however, many of them are already outdated and were adopted without the aim of approximation with EU regulations.
LEPL National Food Agency (NFA) represents the authorized body for the registration of pesticides and agrochemicals in Georgia. NFA is also responsible for the control of circulation of agricultural chemicals (chemicals and pesticides) across the country.
Currently there are up to 1,700 agricultural chemicals registered in Georgia and 520 agricultural input suppliers operating in the country, from those the majority does not meet the requirements of public and environmental health, and can’t ensure the delivery of information to the farmers/agribusinesses on effective and safe use of pesticides and agrochemicals. In addition, the existing practice of packing and distributing these chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers by input suppliers to be further utilized by small scale farmers (households owning between 0.5-1.25 ha of land, representing 75% of total land area) does not meet current regulations (government decree №437 regarding the “rules for organizing and packaging small quantities of pesticides”) that in turn requires modification to comply with best practices and EU requirements.
Recently the National Food Agency (NFA) established the working group aiming to support Government of Georgia in drafting the amendments in pesticide related legal framework (laws, by-laws, regulations, rules) to ensure that input supply operations are maintaining safe environment for their employees and they obey best practices for chemicals/pesticides safe use, distribution and storage. The working group is composed of representatives of NFA, different divisions of Ministry of Environmental Protections and Agriculture (MEPA), as well as local and international experts.
Development of standards for input supply operators will support MEPA (NFA) to improve policies and management practices of an important and a broad area such as pesticides/chemicals safe distribution and use represent. USAID/Georgia’s PERSUAP and in particular its Safe Use Action Plan section will be fully utilized as it provides a succinct, stand-alone statement of compliance recommendations for pesticides application and related risks’ reduction.
The purpose of this assignment is to contract qualified International consultant to contribute to the development of set of recommendations on elaboration of regulations and rules in line with PERSUAP and EU regulations on safe storage, transportation, sale and use of pesticides and agrochemicals. As a result, the unified standard should be established for large farm service centres which currently operate in regional centres, participating in both wholesale and retail sales, and for smaller establishments in rural areas which operate mainly in retail sales.
4. Period of Performance:
The consultancy is expected to begin on/around September 30, 2020 and will be completed on/around December 10, 2020, with the total LOE of 25 days. Besides the remote consultancy, the in-country visits are desirable, depending on the status of COVID 19 related restrictions on international travel.
5. Roles and Responsibilities:
The USAID Agricultural Program seeks services of several consultants to assist MEPA and NFA with the development of set of recommendation for successful and sustainable operation of pesticides’ and agrochemicals input suppliers. Present SOW is for an individual international consultant which will assume the role of a key resource person leading intellectual work of the consultants’ team by bringing international knowledge of pesticide application patterns successfully used in various European countries, guiding principles of Safe Use of Pesticides and Agrochemicals acceptable in the EU and US, and international conventions related to pesticides currently in force or under development.
The consultant is expected to work as a key member of the working group established at the National Food Agency, lead and facilitate roundtable discussions within the working group and main stakeholders. Specific tasks of the international consultant will imply:
· Research legal and institutional framework currently being applied to Pesticide use, study related legal laws, by-laws and regulations currently in force (Law of Georgia on Pesticides and Agrochemicals; Resolution #451 regarding the “rules for storage, transportation, sale and use of pesticides and agrochemicals” and №437 regarding the “rules for organizing and packaging small quantities of pesticides,” of Government of Georgia), highlighting the existing gaps, non-constituencies, outdated information etc.in the light of EU requirements in accordance with Georgia’s Approximation Plan in order to learn the national context within which the new regulations are to be developed;
· Based on the thorough analysis of the pesticide-related national policy and consultations with key stakeholders (input suppliers, farmers, agribusinesses, extension centers of MEPA, etc.), suggest several models of regulatory mechanisms existing in European countries (West or East), which may be taken as the closest example for Georgia to follow, and point out which key elements of recommended legal systems are relevant in the Georgian context and why;
· Develop a thorough set of recommendations for elaboration of general rules for the arrangement and successful operation of pesticide and fertilizer input suppliers: storage /warehouses and sales facilities;
· Qualification/competences benchmarks and minimum knowledge/skills requirements for personnel employed by Input Suppliers (sales representatives, consultants) in the area of plant protection, public health and environmental health and safety;
6. Anticipated Deliverables:
In accordance with this consultancy, the Consultant shall present the following deliverables:
· The main outputs to be produced by the consultant are the first[2], and the final draft[3] of the recommendations on general rules for the arrangement and successful operation of pesticide and fertilizer input suppliers;
· The Consultant will be required to develop a final report that will include findings, gaps, and recommendations for elaboration of general framework for the arrangement and successful operation of pesticide and fertilizer input suppliers: storage /warehouses and sales facilities.
7. Summary of Skills/Minimum Qualifications:
· The consultant must hold university degree in Law, Agriculture or Natural Science and have extensive work experience in legal and/or institutional aspects of Safe Pesticide Use; · Experience of working in the area of environmental and/or public health in agriculture sector, as well as agricultural legislation is an asset; · Good command of EU standards and regulations and of pesticide-related international agreements (conventions, treaties, protocols) currently in force or in works is essential; · Acquaintance with the legal and institutional patterns of sustainable operations of input suppliers (Pesticides and Agrochemicals) in the EU countries, is required; · Familiarity with USAID’s Pest Management Guidelines and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations is an advantage; · Experience of working in Georgia or NIS countries is an advantage;· Excellent writing skills and proficiency of English language is required.
8. Assignment Location:
The consultant’s work location will be remote, and may potentially involve visits to Georgia depending on the status of COVID 19 related restrictions on international travel.
Annex 1 Official Offer Template
Offerors are required to complete this Annex 1 in order to be considered for award:
1. Section 1: Offeror Information
Offeror’s Full Name:
Current Physical Address:
Phone Number:
Email address:
2. Section 2: Qualifications and Availability
Briefly describe how you meet or exceed the qualifications required while demonstrating your capability to perform the services outlined as part of the SOW above.
Please summarize your availability during the anticipated period of performance, specifically noting any dates in which you would be unavailable for the assignment. Describe your availability during standard work week (hours, days).
This offer should additional include the following attachments to demonstrate qualifications and past performance:
· Copy of current CV/Resume
· Three contacts for references from organizations/individuals for which the offeror has successfully performed similar work
3. Section 3: Quotation
Please provide the proposed hourly or daily rate for this assignment:
A
Hourly/Daily Rate (USD)
(Select one)
B
Level of Effort (Hours/Days) Required to Complete Assignment
C
Total Assignment Cost
(A x B = C)
This proposed rate is exclusively for the offeror’s level of effort. Other assignment-related costs will be approved on a reimbursable basis in accordance with CNFA’s Consultant Expenses Policy, which may be shared with the offeror upon request and will be incorporated into the final executed award with the successful offeror.
*Note: if the assignment requires international travel, the offeror should exclude the price of airfare from their all-inclusive offer as CNFA will procure and provide airfare for the selected offeror as per CNFA policy.
Annex 2 – Offeror Cover Letter
The following cover letter must be placed on letterhead and completed/signed/stamped by the offeror:
To: The USAID Agriculture Program
47 Kostava Street
0179 Tbilisi, Georgia
Phone: +995 322 2982207/12/14/18
Cell: _995 595 18 63 50
Reference: Solicitation No. RFQ-STTA-003
To Whom It May Concern:
I, the undersigned, hereby provide the attached offer to perform all work required to complete the activities and requirements as described in the above-referenced Solicitation. Please find my offer attached.
Furthermore, I hereby certify that, to the best of our knowledge and belief:
· I have no close, familial, or financial relationships with any CNFA or USAID Agriculture project staff members;
· I have no close, familial, or financial relationships with any other offerors submitting proposals in response to the above-referenced solicitation; and
· The prices in my offer have been arrived at independently, without any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror or competitor for the purpose of restricting competition.
· All information in my proposal and all supporting documentation is authentic and accurate.
· I understand and agree to CNFA’s prohibitions against fraud, bribery, and kickbacks.
· I understand and agree to CNFA’s prohibitions against funding or associating with individuals or organizations engaged in terrorism or trafficking in persons activities.
I hereby certify that the enclosed representations, certifications, and other statements are accurate, current, and complete.
Printed Name: __________________________________
Date: _________________________________________
Signature: _____________________________________
Annex 3 – CNFA Terms and Conditions
1. Ethical and Business Conduct Requirements. CNFA is committed to integrity in procurement, and only selects suppliers based on objective business criteria such as price and technical merit.
CNFA does not tolerate fraud, collusion among offerors, falsified proposals/bids, bribery, or kickbacks. Any firm or individual violating these standards will be disqualified from this procurement, barred from future procurement opportunities, and may be reported to its Client.
Employees and agents of CNFA are strictly prohibited from asking for or accepting any money, fee, commission, credit, gift, gratuity, object of value or compensation from current or potential vendors or suppliers in exchange for or as a reward for business. Employees and agents engaging in this conduct are subject to termination and will be reported to its Client. In addition, CNFA will inform its Client of any supplier offers of money, fee, commission, credit, gift, gratuity, object of value or compensation to obtain business.
Offerors responding to this RFQ must include the following as part of the proposal submission:
· Disclose any close, familial, or financial relationships with CNFA or project staff. For example, if an offeror’s cousin is employed by the project, the offeror must state this.
· Disclose any family or financial relationship with other offerors submitting proposals. For example, if the offeror’s father owns a company that is submitting another proposal, the offeror must state this.
· Certify that the prices in the offer have been arrived at independently, without any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror or competitor for the purpose of restricting competition.
· Certify that all information in the proposal and all supporting documentation are authentic and accurate.
· Certify understanding and agreement to CNFA’s prohibitions against fraud, bribery and kickbacks.
Please contact Isabel Getz at igetz@cnfa.org with any questions or concerns regarding the above information or to report any potential violations. Potential violations may also be reported directly to CNFA at to FraudHotline@cnfa.org or to CNFA’s Global Complaint Hotline at 202-991-0931.
2. Terms and Conditions: This solicitation is subject to CNFA’s standard terms and conditions. Any resultant award will be governed by these terms and conditions; a copy of the full terms and conditions is available upon request. Please note the following terms and conditions will apply:
(a) CNFA’s standard payment terms are net 30 days after receipt and acceptance of any services or deliverables. Payment will only be issued to the entity submitting the offer in response to this solicitation and identified in the resulting award; payment will not be issued to a third party.
(b) No services may be supplied that are otherwise involving any of the following countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria.
(c) United States law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. The selected offeror under any award resulting from this solicitation must ensure compliance with these laws.
(d) United States law prohibits engaging in any activities related to Trafficking in Persons. The selected offeror under any award resulting from this solicitation must ensure compliance with these laws.
3. Disclaimers: This is a solicitation only. Issuance of this solicitation does not in any way obligate CNFA, the USAID Agriculture Program, or CNFA’s Client to make an award or pay for costs incurred by potential offerors in the preparation and submission of an offer. In addition:
(a) CNFA may cancel the solicitation and not award;
(b) CNFA may reject any or all responses received;
(c) Issuance of the solicitation does not constitute award commitment by CNFA;
(d) CNFA reserves the right to disqualify any offer based on offeror failure to follow the solicitation instructions;
(e) CNFA will not compensate offerors for response to the solicitation;
(f) CNFA reserves the right to issue award based on initial evaluation of offers without further discussion;
(g) CNFA may negotiate with short-listed offerors for their best and final offer;
(h) CNFA may reissue the solicitation or issue formal amendments revising the original specifications and evaluation criteria before or after receipt of proposals;
(i) CNFA may modify the specifications without issuing a formal notice to all offerors when the revisions are immaterial to the scope of the solicitation;
(j) CNFA may choose to award only part of the activities in the solicitation, or issue multiple awards based on multiple activities;
(k) CNFA reserves the right to waive minor proposal deficiencies that can be corrected prior to award determination to promote competition;
(l) In submitting a response to this solicitation, offerors understand that CNFA’s Client is not a party to this solicitation and the offeror agrees that any protest hereunder must be presented – in writing with full explanations – to the USAID Agriculture Program for consideration. CNFA’s Client will not consider protests regarding procurements carried out by implementing partners. CNFA, at its sole discretion, will make a final decision on any protest for this procurement.
4. Source/Nationality/Manufacture: All services offered in response to this RFQ or supplied under any resulting award must meet USAID Geographic Code 937 and 110 in accordance with the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 22 CFR §228. The cooperating country for this RFQ is Georgia.
Offerors may not offer any services that involve any of the following countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, or Syria.
5. Eligibility: By submitting an offer in response to this solicitation, the offeror certifies that it and its principal officers are not debarred, suspended, or otherwise considered ineligible for an award by the U.S. Government. CNFA will not award a contract to any individual that is debarred, suspended, or considered to be ineligible by the U.S. Government.
[1] This plan considers to adopt 128/2009 /EC regulation - Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009, establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides in 2020.
[2] The first draft, intended for internal review by the USAID and MEPA, is due by end of July 2020
[3] The final draft is due by end of August 2020
About CNFA:
CNFA is a not-for-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to stimulating economic growth in the agricultural sector by nurturing entrepreneurship, private enterprise and market linkages. CNFA specializes in fostering private sector investments in training, new technologies and marketing as a means to increase the overall competitiveness of agricultural value chains, to expand exports, and to develop skills in the rural workforce. CNFA assists smallholders in increasing household-level food security and nutrition through improved agricultural practices, introduction of new varieties, diversification of crop production, food preservation and storage, development of farmer-based organizations (FBOs) and strengthened linkages to markets.
