Relaunched: Selection of Service Provider to Support On-Farm Climate Adaptive Water Management Activities within Talent Retention for Rural Transformation Program

The Government of Republic of Moldova has received financing from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Adaptation Fund towards the cost of Talent Retention for Rural Transformation Project and intends to apply part of the proceeds for the recruitment of consulting services.

The use of any IFAD financing shall be subject to IFAD’s approval, pursuant to the terms and conditions of the financing agreement, as well as IFAD’s rules, policies and procedures. IFAD and its officials, agents and employees shall be held harmless from and against all suits, proceedings, claims, demands, losses and liability of any kind or nature brought by any party in connection with TRTP.

Project’s objectives and nature of the services to be procured:

CPIU IFAD will hire a capable Service Provide (SP) that will help reaching project’s objectives.

The consulting services (“the services”) include implementing a set of activities during the period 2022 – 2023 with possible contract renewal for the years 2024-2027 in case of successful performance of the selected Service Provider’s (annual renewal based on performance evaluation).

The main target group for this support will be smallholder farmers (owning and processing of up to 10 hectares of land), youth entrepreneur (YE) and women. Both YE and women shall represent minimum 40% of all project’s beneficiaries for each category.

These project’s objectives and the activities to be implemented by the SP during the total period of project implementation (2022-2027) include:

• SP will conduct a mobilization campaign that will consist in a seria of primaria-based workshops in the geographic locations more prone to climate risk and to target areas showing a relative higher concentration of poverty, based on the Small Areas Deprivation Index (SADI). The scope of the campaign is to spread the information regarding the possibilities/grants offered by CPIU IFAD and to identify the eligible and willing beneficiaries in order to reach the potential beneficiaries and fulfill the numeric objectives of the project. Minimum 30 mobilization events will be conducted.
• UCIP IFAD will provide Adaptation Fund’s grants of up to 300,000 USD (not including beneficiaries’ contribution of 10% and VAT) for building Climate Resilient irrigation infrastructure that will include small scale irrigation schemes connected to the existing Central Irrigation Systems of Apele Moldovei or local community water sources. The minimum number of the smallholder beneficiary farmers (owning and processing up to 10 hectares of land) connected to the irrigation infrastructure schemes is 5 and the total number of the beneficiaries during the project’s duration is 400. The task of the SP is to identify the eligible groups beneficiaries and to help them applying to IFAD irrigation infrastructure grants.
• SP will assist in identifying beneficiaries and setting up 10 to 40 demo plots demonstrating to on-farm irrigation and adaptive agricultural practices, which will be established with financial support of CPIU IFAD. The support will include preparation of the grant application packages including business plans and feasibility studies, technical assistance and post-installation support. These demo plots will be further used for training farmers in irrigation/water management and other climate adaptive techniques. The demo plots will be put in place before training starts. The maximum grant amount is USD 7,500 per one demo plot and a 30% in-cash beneficiary’s.
• SP will identify and train trainers (ToT), who in their turn will train beneficiaries (small farmers) within Farmer Field Schools hosted by the established demo plots. The total number of the farmers trained on climate-adaptive techniques will be 5000, including minimum 400 farmers trained on efficient irrigation practices. For this, the SP will develop curriculum and simple to use manuals.
• UCIP IFAD will disburse 885 small grants for climate adaptive on-farm practices during the project’s lifetime, from which minimum 400 grants will go for on-farm small and micro irrigation equipment (and the remaining 485 can be used for other type of climate adaptive equipment if will be decided by IFAD). The maximum amount of the grant is USD 2500 excl. VAT with the beneficiary’s cash contribution of at least 30%. SP will identify, provide extension support and help to prepare necessary application packages for the potential beneficiaries. SP will facilitate the applicants’ formal documentation to be in proper condition, and correspond to legal requirements, so not to be further rejected. This will include technical schemes, drawing for on-farm irrigation set-up and simple investment plans. SP will also provide to the beneficiaries technical assistance/consulting related to post-installation support.
• The SP will disseminate the information on climate smart and water saving technologies as well as about the support provided by the project in local and national mass media and social media.

Procurement details

This request for expressions of interest (REOI) follows the general procurement notice that appeared on the UN Development Business website on 1 Feb 2022, on CPIU IFAD website on 31 Jan 2022, pe MAFI website on 1 Feb 2022, in Logos Press no. 5 (1411) din 11 Feb 2022 and Facebook și Instagram on 31 Jan 2022.

The CPIU IFAD (“the client”) now invites eligible consulting firms (“consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the services. Interested firms should fill the template for expressions of interest, submit and send it to the address indicated below.

The attention of interested consultants is drawn to IFAD’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Policy[1] and the Revised IFAD Policy on Preventing Fraud and Corruption its Activities and Operations[2]. The latter sets forth IFAD’s provisions on prohibited practices. IFAD further strives to ensure a safe working environment free of harassment, including sexual harassment, and free of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) in its activities and operations as detailed in its IFAD Policy to Preventing and Responding to Sexual Harassment, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.[3]

The consultant shall not have any actual, potential or reasonably perceived conflict of interest. A consultant with an actual, potential or reasonably perceived conflict of interest shall be disqualified unless otherwise explicitly approved by the Fund. A consultant including their respective personnel and affiliates are considered to have a conflict of interest if they a) have a relationship that provides them with undue or undisclosed information about or influence over the selection process and the execution of the contract, b) participate in more than one EOI under this procurement action, c) have a business or family relationship with a member of the Purchaser’s board of directors or its personnel, the Fund or its personnel, or any other individual that was, has been or might reasonably be directly or indirectly involved in any part of (i) the preparation of this REOI, (ii) the shortlisting or selection process for this procurement, or (iii) execution of the contract. The consultant has an ongoing obligation to disclose any situation of actual, potential or reasonably perceived conflict of interest during preparation of the EOI, the selection process or the contract execution. Failure to properly disclose any of said situations may lead to appropriate actions, including the disqualification of the consultant, the termination of the contract and any other as appropriate under the IFAD Policy on Preventing Fraud and Corruption in its Projects and Operations.

A consultant will be selected in accordance with the QCBS procurement method set out in IFAD’ project procurement handbook that can be accessed via the IFAD website at www.ifad.org/project-procurement.

QUALIFICATION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR SHORT LIST

Only companies (maximum of 6) that will be selected in the Short List (passing score is 70%) will be invited to submit the technical offer and the financial offer.

Consultants can associate with other firms in the form of a joint venture or a sub-consultancy to enhance their qualifications. To be eligible to be included in the shortlist or sign a contract, the applicant/bidder should not have more than two ongoing contracts signed with CPIU IFAD at the time of issuing the shortlist or signing the contract whichever is applicable.

Any request for clarification on this REOI should be sent via e-mail to the address below procurement@ucipifad.md  no later than 25 August 2022, 17:00 13  September 2022, 17:00 (Moldova Time). The client will provide responses to all clarification requests by 26 August 2022, 17:00 14 September 2022, 17:00 (Moldova Time).

Expressions of interest must be delivered in written form using the forms provided for this purpose. EOIs shall be submitted to the address below no later than 29 August 2022, 17:00 15 September 2022, 17:00 (Moldova Time).

  CPIU IFAD Moldova

Attn: Nadejda Russu, Senior Procurement Specialist

Ștefan cel Mare și Sfînt bd. 162, Chișinău, MD-2004

E-mail: procurement@ucipifad.md

Tel. (022) 22 – 18 – 80

[1] The policy is accessible at https://www.ifad.org/en/document-detail/asset/41942012.

[2] The policy is accessible at www.ifad.org/anticorruption_policy.

[3] The policy is accessible at https://www.ifad.org/en/document-detail/asset/40738506.