USAID awards $78M agriculture contract to DAI

Prime contractor Development Alternatives, Inc. has won yet another large project from the U.S. Agency for International Development, this time to help improve food and economic security for rural Afghans. The five-year Regional Development Program-North is a cost-plus-fixed-fee completion-type contract, which required DAI and other bidders to propose a fixed price to meet program objectives and deliver an end product. The proposed fee may be adjusted should the scope of work change. The key personnel for this $78 million contract — or the positions considered to be essential to the work being performed — were identified as chief of party, deputy chief of party, value chain adviser, director of finance and compliance officer. In addition to personnel and cost, USAID evaluated each bidding organization’s technical approach, key personnel and staffing plan, and contractor performance information. USAID has spent more than $13 billion in development assistance to Afghanistan over the past 12 years. “Sustainable agriculture-led economic growth” is one strategy the aid agency is employing to improve the performance and solidify the legitimacy of the Afghan government. USAID launched RAPD-N to improve food and economic security for rural Afghans in Jowzjan, Balkh, Kunduz, Badakhshan, Samangan and Baghlan provinces. The goal is to scale up production and productivity of high-value crops and livestock, which could then be viable economic alternatives to poppy cultivation. In managing RAPD-N, DAI will be building on previous USAID-funded agricultural initiatives such as the Afghanistan Farm Service Alliance, which was awarded to CNFA; Incentives Driving Economic Alternatives for the North, East, West managed by ACDI/VOCA and DAI; and Irrigation and Watershed Management Program, an ongoing project being implemented by Perini Management Services, Inc. RAPD-N will also complement programs sponsored by other donor agencies such as the World Bank’s National Horticulture and Livestock program and the U.K. Department for International Development’s Comprehensive Agriculture and Rural Development Facility. Founded in 1970, DAI — a Maryland-based international development consulting firm — has implemented more than 250 contracts in over 160 countries. It has an office in London and divisions in Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan and the Palestinian territories. Initially, DAI’s portfolio consisted mainly of government-funded research and analytical studies. But three years after its inception, DAI won a contract to conduct a comparative study of 36 USAID projects in Latin America and Africa — jumpstarting a decadeslong partnership between the contractor and the U.S. aid agency. DAI has significant presence in Afghanistan, having managed more than 12 USAID projects in the region such as the Alternative Development Program/Eastern Region, Afghanistan Capacity Development Program and Afghanistan Local Governance and Community Development, to name a few. Some of DAI’s past agriculture and rural development-related programs include Institutional Strengthening of the Irrigation Management Entities, Indonesia – Agribusiness Market and Support Activity and Agricultural Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project in Moldova — all funded by USAID. Join the Devex community and gain access to more in-depth analysis, breaking news and business advice — and a host of other services — on international development, humanitarian aid and global health.