Please make sure to submit the below listed information to above mentioned address no later than May 10, 2016 to have Compound access:

Transcription

1 May 03, 2016 Extension Request for Proposal (RFP) No. Building Agribusiness Capacity in Marketing and Sales Dear Sir or Madam, Chemonics Afghanistan Limited Management and Implementation Services (hereinafter referred to as Chemonics ), under the Regional Agricultural Development Program (RADP-West), USAID Contract No. AID-306-C , is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Needs Assessment and Improvement of Capacity of Agribusiness Companies to Increase Commodity Sales. RADP-West is proposing to support agribusinesses to increase their business capacity and to improve the final processing and sale of commodities to increase their profitability. Many Afghan agribusinesses lack sufficient skills to operate effectively, which limits their sales potential. Some of these internal constraints limiting effective business operations are: a lack of financial management and oversight; limited experience with effective branding and marketing techniques; and poor inventory control and warehouse requirements, which leads to product loss and loss of revenue. The attached RFP contains all the necessary information for interested Offerors. The objective of the Regional Agricultural Development Program West (RADP-West) is to improve food and economic security for rural Afghans in Badghis, Farah, and Herat provinces. The focus will be on improving the productivity and profitability of targeted value chains in the wheat, high-value crop, and livestock sectors. This sustainable agricultural development program will support the consolidation of licit economies to fuel economic growth and provide alternatives to poppy cultivation. RADP-West will achieve its objective through a longer-term agricultural value chain approach designed to address sustainability as well as by supporting policy, legal and regulatory development. Chemonics realizes that Offerors may have additional questions after reading this RFP. Interested Offerors can submit their questions to Chemonics according to the instructions in I.8 of the RFP. If necessary, Chemonics will provide answers to all relevant questions received in an amendment that will be posted to ACBAR and ed directly to all interested Offerors who registered with subcontractproposals@radp-w.com. A pre-bid meeting will be conducted for Offerors at RADP-West offices in Herat on May 12, 2016 from 14:00.a.m. to 15:00 p.m. The meeting will include technical and contract representatives from RADP- West to discuss the details of the RFP and take questions from prospective Offerors. Please make sure to submit the below listed information to above mentioned address no later than May 10, 2016 to have Compound access: 1- Name of Visitor 2- National ID card 3- Phone No 4- Vehicle Information 5- Drive name and Tazkera Note: Electronic device such as camera, laptop, USB flash or hard disk, etc are not allowed to be carried in RADP-W offices. Base AFG.LPRT.FT.002, Rev.004, 4 November 2015

2 Page 2 of 64 This RFP does not obligate Chemonics to execute a subcontract nor does it commit Chemonics to pay any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of the proposals. Furthermore, Chemonics reserves the right to reject any and all offers, if such action is considered to be in the best interest of Chemonics. Sincerely, Subcontracts Team Regional Agricultural Development Program (RADP-West)

3 Page 3 of 64 Request for Proposals RFP # For the provision of Building Agribusiness Capacity in Marketing and Sales Contracting Entity: Regional Agricultural Development Program (RADP-West), Chemonics Afghanistan Limited Management and Implementation Services Sikandar Compound, Street 4, Phase 1, Industrial Park, Airport Road, Guzara District, Herat, Afghanistan Funded by: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Funded under: Regional Agricultural Development Program (RADP-West) Prime Contract Number: AID-306-C ***** ETHICAL AND BUSINESS CONDUCT REQUIREMENTS ***** Chemonics is committed to integrity in procurement, and only selects suppliers based on objective business criteria such as price and technical merit. Chemonics expects suppliers to comply with our Standards of Business Conduct, available at Chemonics 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 both USAID and the Office of the Inspector General. Employees and agents of Chemonics 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 USAID and the Office of the Inspector General. In addition, Chemonics will inform USAID and the Office of the Inspector General of any supplier offers of money, fee, commission, credit, gift, and gratuity, object of value or compensation to obtain business. Offerors responding to this RFP must include the following as part of the proposal submission: Disclose any close, familial, or financial relationships with Chemonics 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 Chemonics prohibitions against fraud, bribery and kickbacks. Please contact Steve Warnock Deputy Chief of Party, Operations RADP-West swarnock@radp-w.com with any questions or concerns regarding the above information or to report any potential violations. Potential violations may also be reported directly to Chemonics at to BusinessConduct@chemonics.com or by phone/skype at

4 Page 4 of 64 RFP Table of Contents List of Acronyms Section I Instructions to Offerors I.1 Introduction I.2 Offer Deadline I.3 Submission of Offers I.4 Requirements I.5 Source of Funding and Geographic Code I.6 Chronological List of Proposal Events I.7 Validity Period I.8 Evaluation and Basis for Award I.9 Negotiations I.10 Terms of Subcontract I.11 Privity Section II Background, Scope of Work, Deliverables, and Deliverables Schedule II.1. II.2. II.3. II.4. Background Scope of Work Deliverables Deliverables Schedule Section III Firm Fixed Price Subcontract (Terms and Clauses) Annex 1 Annex 2 Annex 3 Annex 4 Annex 5 Sample Proposal Cover Letter Guide to Creating Financial Proposal and Sample Budget Required Certifications DUNS and SAM Registration Guidance Proposal Review Check List

5 Page 5 of 64 List of Acronyms CFR CO COP COR CV FAR M&E NICRA NGO RFP SAF U.S. USAID USAID/Afghanistan USG VAT Code of Federal Regulations USAID Contracting Officer Chief of Party USAID Contracting Officer s Representative Curriculum Vitae Federal Acquisition Regulations Monitoring and Evaluation Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement Nongovernmental organization Request for Proposals Strategic Activities Fund United States U.S. Agency for International Development USAID Mission in Afghanistan U.S. Government Value Added Tax

6 Page 6 of 64 Section I. Instructions to Offerors I.1. Introduction Chemonics, the Buyer, acting on behalf of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Regional Agricultural Development Program (RADP-West), under contract number AID-306-C is soliciting offers from companies and organizations to submit proposals to RADP-West to build agribusinesses capacity in Afghanistan and improve marketing and sale of commodities with the aim of enhancing their profitability. The objective of the Regional Agricultural Development Program West (RADP-West) is to improve food and economic security for rural Afghans in Badghis, Farah, and Herat provinces. The focus will be on improving the productivity and profitability of targeted value chains in the wheat, high-value crop, and livestock sectors. This sustainable agricultural development program will support the consolidation of licit economies to fuel economic growth and provide alternatives to poppy cultivation. RADP-West will achieve its objective through a longer-term agricultural value chain approach designed to address sustainability as well as by supporting policy, legal and regulatory development. Chemonics will issue an award to one or more companies or organizations. The awards will be in the form of a firm fixed price subcontract (hereinafter referred to as the subcontract ). The successful Offerors shall be required to adhere to the statement of work and terms and conditions of the subcontract, which are incorporated in Section III herein. Offerors are invited to submit proposals in response to this RFP in accordance with Section I Instructions to Offerors, which will not be part of the subcontract. The instructions are intended to assist interested Offerors in the preparation of their offer. Any resulting subcontract will be guided by Sections II and III. This RFP does not obligate Chemonics to execute a subcontract nor does it commit Chemonics to pay any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of the proposals. Furthermore, Chemonics reserves the right to reject any and all offers, if such action is considered to be in the best interest of Chemonics. Unless otherwise stated, the periods named in the RFP shall be consecutive calendar days. Objective of the RFP: to enhance the capacity of 50 agribusinesses for improved processing, packaging, accounting, exporting and custom clearness, marketing strategy and campaign to increase sales and profitability. I.2. Offer Deadline Offerors shall submit their offers electronically only. ed offers must be received no later than by 17:00 p.m. on May 25, 2016 at the following address: Grants and Subcontracts Team subcontractproposals@radp-w.com Faxed offers will not be considered.

7 Page 7 of 64 Offerors are responsible for ensuring that their offers are received in accordance with the instructions stated herein. Late offers may be considered at the discretion of Chemonics. Chemonics cannot guarantee that late offers will be considered. I.3. Submission of Offers Proposals must be submitted electronically only. A. Instructions for the Submission of Electronic Copies Separate technical and cost proposals must be submitted by no later than the time and date specified in I.2. The proposals must be submitted to the point of contact designated in I.2. The Offeror must submit the proposal electronically with up to 3 attachments (5 MB limit) per compatible with MX Word, MS Excel, readable format, or Adobe Portable Document (PDF) format in a Microsoft XP environment. Offerors must not submit zipped files. Those pages requiring original manual signatures should be scanned and sent in PDF format as an attachment. The technical proposal and cost proposal must be kept separate from each other. Technical proposals must not make reference to pricing data in order that the technical evaluation may be made strictly on the basis of technical merit. I.4. Requirements To be determined responsive, an offer must include all of documents and sections included in I.4.A and I.4.B. A. General Requirements Chemonics anticipates issuing a subcontract to a company or organization, provided it is legally registered and recognized under the laws of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and is in compliance with all applicable civil, fiscal, and other applicable regulations. Such a company or organization could include a private firm, non-profit, civil society organization, or university. Companies and organizations that submit proposals in response to this RFP must meet the following requirements: (i) (i) (ii) Companies or organizations, whether for-profit or non-profit, must be legally registered under the laws of Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan upon award of the subcontract. Companies or organizations, whether for-profit or non-profit, must have a DUNS number in order to receive a subaward. 1 Companies or organizations must have a local presence in Government of the Islamic Republic of 1 If offeror does not have a DUNS number and is unable to obtain one before proposal submission deadline, Offeror shall include statement in their cover letter as follows: Offeror certifies that should it be the successful offeror with whom a subcontract is negotiated, Offeror will obtain a DUNS number prior to receiving a subaward. Contact Dun & Bradstreet to obtain a number: Guidance on obtaining a DUNS number is included as Annex 4 of this RFP.

8 Afghanistan at the time the subcontract is signed. Building Agribusiness Capacity in Marketing and Sales Page 8 of 64 (iii) Firms operated as commercial companies or other organizations or enterprises (including Nonprofit organizations) in which foreign governments or their agents or agencies have a controlling interest are not eligible as suppliers of commodities and services. Offerors may present their proposals as a member of a partnership with other companies or organizations. In such cases, the subcontract will be awarded to the lead company in the partnership. The leading company shall be responsible for making all partnership arrangements, including but not limited to division of labor, invoicing, etc., with the other company (ies). A legally registered partnership is not necessary for these purposes; however the different organizations must be committed to work together in the fulfillment of the subcontract terms. B. Required Proposal Documents 1. Cover Letter The offeror s cover letter shall include the following information: i. Name of the company or organization ii. Type of company or organization iii. Address iv. Telephone v. Fax vi. vii. Full names of members of the Board of Directors and Legal Representative (as appropriate) and copies of Tazkera for all owners of the organization to facilitate vetting compliance in accordance with USAID Mission Order viii. Taxpayer Identification Number ix. DUNS Number x. Registered in SAM? Yes/No (circle one) xi. Official bank account information xii. Other required documents that shall be included as attachments to the cover letter: a) Copy of registration or incorporation in the public registry, or equivalent document from the government office where the offeror is registered. b) Copy of company tax registration, or equivalent document. c) Copy of trade license, or equivalent document. d) Evidence of Responsibility Statement, whereby the offeror certifies that it has sufficient financial, technical, and managerial resources to complete the activity described in the scope of work, or the ability to obtain such resources. This statement is required by the Federal Acquisition Regulations in A template is provided in Annex 3 Required Certifications. e) Applicable documents listed in I.4.A. A sample cover letter is provided in Annex 1 of this RFP. 2. Technical Proposal The technical proposal shall comprise the following parts:

9 Page 9 of 64 Part 1: Technical Approach, Methodology and Detailed Work Plan. This part shall be between 15 and 25 pages long, but may not exceed 15 pages, and should outline the proposed approach for achieving the scope of work in Section II. The technical approach should include the following: a) Proposed approach in the development, review, piloting and delivery of training curriculum and associated training materials including manuals, PowerPoints, handouts etc. b) The proposed course outline covering the objective of the training. c) The proposed course delivery methodology both practical and theory d) Proposed quality and quantity of coaching and mentoring for each target group e) Proposed methodology and approach for conducting agribusiness assessment f) Proposed approach for agribusiness and exporter linkage development programs g) Proposed mechanism to securing MoUs and Contracts between producers and buyers to ensure sales of agriculture products h) Proposed methodology in development of marketing campaign for 17 agribusiness exporters Part 2: Management, Key Personnel, and Staffing Plan. This part shall be between 2 and 5 pages long, but may not exceed 5 pages. CVs for key personnel may be included in an annex to the technical proposal and will not count against the page limit. Offerors shall propose staff for the following key personnel positions necessary for the implementation of the scope of work: Team Leader /Marketing Specialist - The individual should have a minimum of 3 years of marketing experience particularly in the agriculture sector; a bachelor degree from business or economic school is required a Master or a PhD in the same field of study is preferred. Business Specialist/Trainer - The individual should have a minimum of 3 years of business experience in marketing campaign and sales; at least 2 years of practical training experience in marketing; a business Bachelor s Degree is required a Master degree or a PhD is preferred. Financial Specialist/Trainer - The individual should have experience in basic accounting and practical training experience in one of the following topics: financial management/basic accounting;;at least 2 years of practical training experience in one of the above mentioned specialties; a Bachelor s Degree is required a Master degree or a PhD is preferred. International Trade/Export Specialist/Trainer - The individual should have experience with export of agriculture commodities including custom clearness; at least 2 years of practical training experience in one of the above mentioned specialties; a Bachelor s Degree is required a Master degree or a PhD is preferred. Agricultural Specialist/trainer- The individual should have experience in post-harvest including sorting, grading and packaging; at least 2 years of practical training experience in vegetable and fruit post handling: a Bachelor s Degree is required a Master degree or a PhD is preferred. For all above positions the candidates must have the ability to travel to RADP-West target provinces, districts, and selected villages, if needed, to deliver training - list of districts and villages is provided in Article II.2.2.

10 Page 10 of 64 Part 3: Corporate Capabilities, Experience, and Past Performance. This part shall be between 2 and 7 pages long, but may not exceed 7 pages. Part 3 must include a description of the company and organization, with appropriate reference to any parent company and subsidiaries. Offerors must include details demonstrating their experience and technical ability in implementing the technical approach/methodology and the detailed work plan. Additionally, offerors must include five past performance references of similar work (under contracts or subcontracts) previously implemented as well as contact information for the companies for which such work was completed. Contact information must include at a minimum: name of point of contact who can speak to the offeror s performance, name and address of the company for which the work was performed, description of the work performed, and and phone number of the point of contact. The Corporate Capabilities, Experience, and Past Performance should address the following: Company Background and Experience Does the company have experience relevant to the project Scope of Work? Does the offeror have experience in agribusiness training module development and delivery for the agribusiness sector Does the offeror have experience in delivery of structured coaching and mentoring? Does the offeror have experience in development linkage and marketing campaign for agribusiness and exporters? Does the offeror have experience in guiding and advising agribusiness and exporters in improvement of sorting, grading packaging, marketing and sales? Does the offeror have relevant past experience in the same geographic area? Chemonics reserves the right to check additional references not provided by an offeror. The sections of the technical proposal stated above must respond to the detailed information set out in Section II of this RFP, which provides the background, states the scope of work, describes the deliverables, and provides a deliverables schedule. 3. Cost Proposal The cost proposal is used to determine which proposals represent the best value and serves as a basis of negotiation before award of a subcontract. The price of the subcontract to be awarded will be an all-inclusive fixed price. No profit, fees, taxes, or additional costs can be added after award. Nevertheless, for the purpose of the proposal, offerors must provide a detailed budget showing major line items, e.g. salaries, allowances, travel costs, other direct costs, indirect rates, etc., as well as individual line items, e.g. salaries or rates for individuals, different types of allowances, rent, utilities, insurance, etc. Offers must show unit prices, quantities, and total price. All items, services, etc. must be clearly labeled and included in the total offered price. All cost information must be expressed in Afghan Afghanis. See Annex 2 for a sample cost structure. Offerors must assess and include in their total cost of proposal the Business Receipt Tax (BRT) or any other tax required by Afghanistan income tax law. Chemonics will not allow an awarded entity to add taxes (including BRT taxes) or any previously unanticipated costs to the budget after an award is made.

11 Page 11 of 64 Pursuant to Article 72 of the Afghanistan Income Tax Law, Chemonics is required to withhold taxes from the gross amounts payable to all Afghan subcontractors. In accordance with this requirement, should an award be made to a successful offeror and an agreement is successfully negotiated with that offeror, Chemonics will withhold two percent (2%) tax from the entity s gross invoices if the entity is in possession of an active business license issued by any of the following entities - the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA), Ministry of Information and Culture, Ministry of Education or Ministry of Public Health - at the time the awarded entity submits invoices for payment, and the invoices are successfully reviewed and approved by Chemonics. If the entity provides services contrary to approved by-laws or it does not possess a business license issued by any of the aforementioned public entities, but possesses licenses issued by other local or national government entities or municipalities, Chemonics will in this case withhold a seven percent (7%) fixed tax on the gross amount payable to the awarded entity, subject to Chemonics review and approval of the subcontractor s invoices. In either case, this tax is withheld by Chemonics from the gross amount payable to the awarded entity and subsequently remitted to the Ministry of Finance. Chemonics will maintain records of all of such remittances. Because RADP-W is a USAID funded project and is implemented under a bilateral agreement between the GIRoA and the U.S. Government, offerors must not include VAT and customs duties in their cost proposal. The cost proposal shall also include a budget narrative that explains the basis for the estimate of every cost element or line item. Supporting information must be provided in sufficient detail to allow for a complete analysis of each cost element or line item. Chemonics reserves the right to request additional cost information if the evaluation committee has concerns of the reasonableness, realism, or completeness of an offeror s proposed cost. If it is an offeror s regular practice to budget indirect rates, e.g. overhead, fringe, G&A, administrative, or other rate, Offerors must explain the rates and the rates base of application in the budget narrative. Chemonics reserves the right to request additional information to substantiate an Offeror s indirect rates. Under no circumstances may cost information be included in the technical proposal. No cost information or any prices, whether for deliverables or line items, may be included in the technical proposal. Cost information must only be shown in the cost proposal. I.5. Source of Funding, Authorized Geographic Code, and Source and Origin Any subcontract resulting from this RFP will be financed by USAID funding and will be subject to U.S. Government and USAID regulations. All goods and services offered in response to this RFP or supplied under any resulting award must meet USAID Geographic Code 937 in accordance with the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 22 CFR 228, available at: vol1-part228.pdf. The cooperating country for this RFP is Afghanistan. Offerors may not offer or supply any products, commodities or related services that are manufactured or assembled in, shipped from, transported through, or otherwise involving any of the following countries: Burma (Myanmar), Cuba, Iran, North Korea, (North) Sudan, Syria. Related services include incidental

12 Page 12 of 64 services pertaining to any/all aspects of this work to be performed under a resulting contract (including transportation, fuel, lodging, meals, and communications expenses). I.6. Chronological List of Proposal Events The following calendar summarizes important dates in the solicitation process. Offerors must strictly follow these deadlines. RFP published May 03, 2016 Deadline for written questions May 08, 2016 Answers provided to questions/clarifications May 10, 2016 Pre-bid meeting May 12, 2016 Proposal due date May 25, 2016 Subcontract award (estimated) June 30, 2016 The dates above may be modified at the sole discretion of Chemonics. Any changes will be published in an amendment to this RFP. Written Questions and Clarifications. All questions or clarifications regarding this RFP must be in writing and submitted to Subcontracts Team, at subcontractproposals@radp-w.com no later than 17:00 p.m. on May 08, Questions and requests for clarification, and the responses thereto, will be circulated to all RFP recipients who have indicated an interest in this RFP. Only written answers from Chemonics will be considered official and carry weight in the RFP process and subsequent evaluation. Any answers received outside the official channel, whether received verbally or in writing, from employees or representatives of Chemonics Afghanistan Limited Management and Implementation Services, the Regional Agricultural Development Program (RADP-W) project, or any other party, will not be considered official responses regarding this RFP. Proposal Submission Date. All proposals must be received by 17:00 pm, May 25, Late offers will be considered at the discretion of Chemonics. Oral Presentations. Chemonics reserves the option to have select offerors participate in oral presentations with the technical evaluation committee. Interviews may consist of oral presentations of offeror s proposed activities and approaches. Offerors should be prepared to give presentations to the technical evaluation committee at the RADP-W project office within 2 days of receiving notification. Subcontract Award (estimated). Chemonics will select the proposal that offers the best value based upon the evaluation criteria stated in this RFP. I.7. Validity Period Offeror s proposals must remain valid for 90 calendar days after the proposal deadline. I.8. Evaluation and Basis for Award An award will be made to the offeror whose proposal is determined to be responsive to this solicitation document, meets the eligibility criteria stated in this RFP, meets the technical, management/personnel, and corporate capability requirements, and is determined to represent the best value to Chemonics. Best value will be decided using the tradeoff process.

13 Page 13 of 64 This RFP will use the tradeoff process to determine best value. That means that each proposal will be evaluated and scored against the evaluation criteria and evaluation sub-criteria, which are stated in the table below. Cost proposals are not assigned points, but for overall evaluation purposes of this RFP, technical evaluation factors other than cost, when combined, are considered approximately equal to cost factors. If technical scores are determined to be equal or nearly equal, cost will become the determining factor. In evaluating proposals, Chemonics will use the following evaluation criteria and sub-criteria: Evaluation Criteria and Evaluation Sub-criteria Technical Approach, Methodology and Detailed Work Plan Technical know-how Does the proposal clearly explain, demonstrate understanding and respond to the objectives of the project, as stated in the introduction section of the Scope of Work? The technical approach should include the following: a) Proposed approach in the development, review, piloting and delivery of training curriculum and associated training materials including manuals, PowerPoints, handouts etc. b) The proposed course outline covering the objective of the training c) The proposed course delivery methodology both practical and theory d) Proposed quality and quantity of coaching and mentoring for each target group e) Proposed methodology and approach for conducting agribusiness assessment f) Proposed approach for agribusiness and exporter linkage development programs g) Proposed mechanism to securing MoUs and Contracts between producers and buyers to ensure sales of agriculture products h) Proposed methodology in development of marketing campaign for 17 agribusiness exporters Approach and Methodology Does the proposed program approach and detailed activities, fulfill the requirements of executing the Scope of Work effectively and efficiently? Timeliness Does the proposed implementation timeline meet RADP- West deadlines? Is the proposed timeframe realistic? Sector Knowledge Does the proposal demonstrate the offeror s knowledge related to the following technical sectors: Assessment of agribusiness processes and specific constraints identification Financial and Business Management training, including topics such as inventory tracking, and contract farmer management, sales Marketing development, export etc. Experience in conducting trainings and coaching in the above listed areas Experience with establishing business linkages between producer organizations and agribusinesses, and business linkages between Maximum Points 20 Points 10 Points 10 Points 10 Points

14 Page 14 of 64 exporters and international buyers Research and assessment skills Offeror demonstrates knowledge and connection with export market Offeror demonstrates knowledge of custom and export procedures Total Points Technical Approach Management, Key Personnel, and Staffing Plan Personnel Qualifications Do the proposed team members have necessary experience and capabilities to carry out the Scope of Work? Staffing Plan Does the proposed team have qualified staff to complete the task professionally and on time? Regional experience Does the proposed team have knowledge and experience in RADP-West districts. Total Points Management Corporate Capabilities, Experience and Past Performance Company Background and Experience Does the company have experience relevant to the project scope of work? Does the offeror have experience in agribusiness training module development and delivery for the agribusiness sector? Does the offeror have experience in delivery of structured coaching and mentoring? Does the offeror have experience in development linkage and marketing campaign for agribusiness and exporters? Does the offeror have experience in guiding and advising agribusiness and exporters in improvement of sorting, grading packaging, marketing and sales? Does the offeror have relevant past experience in the same geographic area? Total Points Past Performance Grand Total Scores 50 Points 15 Points 10 Points 5 Points 30 Points 20 Points 20 Points 100 Points Evaluation points will not be awarded for cost. Cost will primarily be evaluated for realism and reasonableness. If technical scores are determined to be nearly equal, cost will become the determining factor. This RFP utilizes the tradeoff process set forth in FAR Chemonics will award a subcontract to the offeror whose proposal represents the best value to Chemonics and the RADP-W project. Chemonics may award to a higher priced offeror if a determination is made that the higher technical evaluation of that offeror merits the additional cost/price.

15 Page 15 of 64 I.9. Negotiations Best offer proposals are requested. It is anticipated that a subcontract will be awarded solely on the basis of the original offers received. However, Chemonics reserves the right to conduct discussions, negotiations and/or request clarifications prior to awarding a subcontract. Furthermore, Chemonics reserves the right to conduct a competitive range and to limit the number of offerors in the competitive range to permit an efficient evaluation environment among the most highly-rated proposals. Highest-rated offerors, as determined by the technical evaluation committee, may be asked to submit their best prices or technical responses during a competitive range. At the sole discretion of Chemonics, offerors may be requested to conduct oral presentations. If deemed an opportunity, Chemonics reserves the right to make separate awards per component or to make no award at all. I.10. Terms of Subcontract This is a request for proposals only and in no way obligates Chemonics to award a subcontract. In the event of subcontract negotiations, any resulting subcontract will be subject to and governed by the terms and clauses detailed in Section III. Chemonics will use the template shown in section III to finalize the subcontract. Terms and clauses are not subject to negotiation. By submitting a proposal, offerors certify that they understand and agree to all of the terms and clauses contained in section III. I.11. Privity By submitting a response to this request for proposals, offerors understand that USAID is NOT a party to this solicitation.

16 Page 16 of 64 Section II Background, Scope of Work, Deliverables, and Deliverables Schedule II.1 Background RADP-West is a five-year project financed by USAID and implemented by Chemonics Afghanistan Limited Management and Implementation Services. The goal of the project is to improve food and economic security for rural Afghans in Herat, Badghis, and Farah Provinces. The overall objective of the program is to improve the productivity and profitability for targeted value chains in the wheat, high-value crop, and Livestock sectors. This sustainable agriculture program will support the consolidation of licit economies to fuel economic growth, including providing alternatives to poppy cultivation. RADP-West achieves its objectives through long term value chain approaches designed to address sustainability, as well as supporting the Afghan government in its ability to identify obstacles and adopt policies that enable open markets, support small farmers, uphold food safety and reduce environmental impact. Through this activity, RADP-West is proposing to support agribusinesses to increase their business capacity and to improve the final processing and sale of commodities to increase their profitability. Many Afghan agribusinesses lack sufficient skills to operate effectively, which limits their sales potential. Some of these internal constraints limiting effective business operations are: a lack of financial management and oversight; limited experience with effective branding and marketing techniques; and poor inventory control and warehouse requirements, which leads to product loss and loss of revenue. Additionally, many agribusinesses lack the necessary information and experience to effectively export their products to the international market. This impacts a wide variety of actors across the value chain, from producers that cannot sell their commodities, to the businesses who cannot meet sales targets. In particular, exporters face challenges with customs clearance and taxation, which limits their ability to export their commodities in a timely fashion. A lack of knowledge of freight, road, and sea transportation services limits their ability to ensure timely shipment and delivery of goods, resulting in high spoilage rates. Export markets require fresh products and therefore, the inability of exporters to address these challenges impact export revenues. Awareness of international food safety standards is another area in which Afghan businesses lack the required knowledge, which would allow them to compete in the export market. Furthermore, businesses lack international contacts and information needed to be competitive in the export markets, which undermines their profitability. Traders, exporters and processors have limited information on market demand, branding and marketing, packaging, labeling, and pricing. General Description In order to address this problem, RADP-West is undertaking an initiative which will assess the specific issues and constraints of 50 selected agribusinesses and provide technical assistance to improve business operations practices, efficiency and ability to increase sales and profitability. Of the 50 agribusinesses, 17 are specifically exporters requiring support to increase exports of locally produced Afghan products to the international market.

17 Page 17 of 64 II.2 Scope of Work The selected offeror will be supervised by the RADP-West Enabling Environment Team Lead and all activities will be carried out in coordination with RADP-West and Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (DAIL) representatives, as needed. The following statement of work includes a detailed description of the subcontract activity. However, offerors are welcome to propose innovative and unique activities, in addition to the activities outlined below, which will help achieve the outcome and objective of increased sales and profitability in 2016, for RADP-West identified agribusiness beneficiaries. The successful offeror will also facilitate increased linkages between producers and buyers, leading to the execution of new sales contracts to increase overall sales and profitability in In order to accomplish the objectives of this activity, the successful offeror will implement the following activities in support of RADP-West identified agribusiness beneficiaries: 1. Activities for all 50 RADP-West Agribusiness Beneficiaries: Assessment of current business processes and specific constraints identification for 50 RADP- West agribusiness beneficiaries. Provide training on business management topics including, but not limited to, financial management, inventory tracking, and contract farmer management, sales and any other topics identified, based on the assessment done to all 50 agribusinesses. Facilitate linkages between producer organizations and agribusinesses, to support new purchase contracts for quality commodities, from RADP-West program beneficiaries. 2. Specific Activities for 17 Exporter Agribusiness Beneficiaries: Provide training in export procedures, export market pricing and buyer contacts, commercial and regulatory formalities, registration procedures, shipment procedures including export clearance to 17 RADP-West exporter beneficiaries. Design and development of a marketing campaign for 17 exporters, to expand and accelerate their export of locally produced Afghan products to promote sales objectives. Provide marketing and demonstration sessions, that will include packaging and labeling, to 17 exporting companies. Facilitate linkages between exporters and international buyers, through buyers contacts with local representatives; support sales of locally produced Afghan products in the international market, through the execution of new sales contracts with international buyers The offeror will work with 50 agribusinesses, including 17 exporter companies, (A detailed list of all agribusiness beneficiaries will be provided by RADP-W to the successful offeror as part of the award) in RADP-West target Provinces and Districts which include: Herat: Guzara, Karukh, Injil, Kushk (Rabat Sangi), Pashtun Zarghan, Shindand

18 Page 18 of 64 Badghis: Muqur, Ab Kameri, Qala-I-Naw, Qadis Farah: Anar Dara, Farah, Pusht Rod. The specific commodities the offeror will support through this activity are outlined in the table below: RADP-W commodity table Herat Province Vegetables Fruits Nuts Wheat Herat (30 agribusinesses) Badghis (6 agribusinesses) Farah (14 agribusinesses) onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, sweet peppers, celery, squash, carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, green beans tomatoes, eggplants, okra, cauliflower tomatoes, cucumbers, onions grapes, apples, peaches, apricots, plums Apples pomegranates, watermelons, jujubes almonds and pistachios pistachios, walnuts pistachios wheat wheat wheat ** A detailed list of agribusiness beneficiaries will be provided by RADP-W to the successful offeror as part of the award RADP-West may award one or more awards for the completion of this activity, depending on quantity of offers received and proposed activity plan for achieving objectives. The activity will be divided into the following phases over the course of approximately 8 months, from June through January 2017: Phase 1: Agribusiness Business Needs Assessments and Recommendations for Improvement The successful offeror will complete an Agribusiness Business Needs Assessments of 50 RADP-West beneficiary agribusinesses, in order to identify constraints and improve business operations procedures, The Agribusiness Business Needs Assessments will include but not limited to a review of the following items: Financial management/basic accounting principles and systems Annual, quarterly and monthly plans Inventory tracking system Identification of the business current suppliers and identifying gaps in post-harvest handling techniques Assessment of current collection point processes Assess of current sorting, labeling and packaging procedures Identify current business sales outlets and buyers. To establish a baseline for tracking increase in sales, the successful offeror will be required to report on each businesses current financial situation, including current profit, sales revenue, losses, and cash flow. Once initial assessments are completed, the successful offeror will provide RADP-West with a written report, 5-10 pages in length, of assessment findings, and outlining recommendations for operational

19 Page 19 of 64 improvements. RADP-West will provide the successful offeror with templates for completing the assessment reports. RADP-West will coordinate with the successful offeror on any direct support or assistance which may be needed for each agribusiness to improve operations. Support for agribusiness needs identified by the successful offeror may be provided by RADP-West to the agribusiness directly and should not be included as part of this subcontract activity. Phase 2: Implementation of Training Program for Agribusinesses to Support Business Operations Improvements As a result of the Agribusiness Business Needs Assessments, the successful offeror will develop a practical training program in order to address constraints and to improve business operations, product quality and volume of sales. The training program will be develop in coordination with the RADP-West technical teams, The program will include training topics,, number of trainees, and name of trainers, materials, methodology, expected results, time lines and venues. Practical business operations training topics should include, but are not limited to: Financial management/basic accounting training (4 day- each topic one day): o Cash Flow o Balance sheet o Sales tracking o Record keeping Marketing (4 day each topic one day) o Branding o Packaging o Hygiene certification o Expanding market reach and developing new national and international clients Logistics (2 day each topic one day) o Freight, road and sea services o Cold storage arrangements Inventory control (2 day) o Warehouse management o Basics of distribution o Control/prevent spoilage, in the case of perishable products. The above topics are preliminary topics and could be specified in greater detail, based on assessment needs discussions, and approval by RADP-W technical team. Specific to Exporters, the training program should include, but is not limited to, the following export training topics: Export Procedures and Commercial and Regulatory Formalities (2 day): o Registration procedures o Pre-shipment procedures o Shipment procedures, including export clearance o Taxation o Export market information, including pricing and buyer contacts.

20 Page 20 of 64 Agribusiness trainees will be divided into groups of up to 5 agribusinesses in targeted provinces, each agribusiness with 2 representatives in attendance during the training session. Training will be delivered on topics outlined above, over the course of 12 days, 2 additional days will be scheduled for export training for the 17 agribusiness beneficiaries. Each day s training should not be less than 5 hours. RADP-West will review and approve the successful offeror s training plan and implementation timeline, in advance of training commencing. The estimated number of training groups, trainees, and training days required, per District, for the business operations training, is outlined below: Province Number of Total Total Number Total Number Agribusinesses Number of Training of Training of Trainees Groups Days Herat Badghis Farah The estimated number of training groups, trainees, and training days required per Province for the 2 days export training is outlined below: Province Number of Total Total Number Total Number Agribusinesses Number of of Training of Training Trainees Groups Days Herat The successful offeror should prepare and conduct pre and post-training assessments to gauge participants level of knowledge and skills, before and after the delivery of training programs. Training materials should include: Curriculum, PowerPoint presentations, practical demonstrations and visual training materials, such as handouts and fliers. All training materials must be translated into Dari/Pashto. RADP-West will approve training materials. Training materials should be delivered to RADP-W Enabling Environment team, two (2) weeks prior to the start of training and the feedback forms The subcontract must use feedback form which will provide reflection regarding the training program quality, schedule, trainers capacity and presentation skills, as well as facility and logistics. RADP-West will provide the subcontract with the feedback form. Track training participants: The successful offeror will track each trainee s attendance at the end of each day of training for completion of the full training program. Selected participants will be key leaders of their organizations, responsible for business development and management services within their respective organizations. In case, the key leaders can t attend due to any valid reason, the organization will nominate relevant staff of to the training program who will work on the same area of expertise. The successful offeror or must track training participants using RADP-West provided templates, including trainee names, titles, training topic, location of training, signatures of attendees, photos, Copy of Tazkera and Tazkera # and other identifying information. The successful offeror will provide all logistical support for training, for up to 15 participants in each session, including provision of trainers, training materials, venue, transportation, refreshments, and other

21 Page 21 of 64 logistical considerations. It is anticipated that trainings will be held in each District capital as a central location, to ensure representatives from each company can easily attend the training sessions. Each training will be assessed as per the training plan, (provided to the Enabling Environment Team three (3) weeks prior to delivery of training, to be approved by RADP-West), in addition to trainer performance, adherence to schedule, and delivery method. Performance feedback will be provided by RADP-West to the successful offeror within a week of training delivery. Staffing and Qualifications of Proposed Trainers It is up to the offeror to develop a team of experts required to deliver trainings as outlined above. The offeror should propose trainers who have at least 3 years experience in marketing, agribusiness and private sector operations, including financial management, marketing, logistics, and export procedures. Proposed trainers should meet the following criteria: Team Leader /Marketing Specialist - The individual should have a minimum of 3 years of marketing experience particularly in the agriculture sector; a bachelor degree from business or economic school is required a Master or a PhD in the same field of study is preferred Business Specialist/Trainer - The individual should have a minimum of 3 years of business experience in marketing and sales; at least 2 years of practical training experience in marketing; a business Bachelor s Degree is required a Master degree or a PhD is preferred Financial Specialist/Trainer - The individual should have experience in basic accounting and practical training experience in one of the following topics: financial management/basic accounting;; at least 2 years of practical training experience in one of the above mentioned specialties; a Bachelor s Degree is required a Master degree or a PhD is preferred International Trade/Export Specialist/Trainer - The individual should have experience with export of agriculture commodities including custom clearness; at least 2 years practical training experience in one of the above mentioned specialties; a Bachelor s Degree is required a Master degree or a PhD is preferred Agricultural Specialist/trainer - The individual should have experience in post-harvest including sorting, grading and packaging; at least 2 years of practical training experience in vegetable and fruit post handling: a Bachelor s Degree is required a Master degree or a PhD is preferred For all above positions the candidates must have the ability to travel to RADP-West Target Provinces, Districts, and selected Villages, if needed, to deliver training - list of districts and villages is provided in Article II.2.2 These positions will be considered key personnel. The offer must make no diversion or replacement of key personnel without Chemonics concurrence and written consent. Before removing, replacing or diverting any of the listed or specified personnel, the offer must: (1) notify Chemonics reasonably in advance and; (2) submit justification (including proposed substitutions) in sufficient detail to permit evaluation of the impact on this award; and (3) receive written approval from Chemonics for the proposed personal change.