PROGRAMME TO SUPPORT CLIMATE- SMART AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS IN JAMAICA SECTION I. CALL SUMMARY CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST REFERENCE #: CSA-OCT-2016-01 CLIMATE-SMART INVESTMENT CONCEPT PAPER(S) ACDI/VOCA, through the Jamaica Rural Economy and Ecosystems Adapting to Climate change project II (Ja REEACH II) seeks to identify promising projects which have the capability of, increasing agribusiness value chain competitiveness and market access for smallholder farmers; while building resilience to climate change. Ja RREACH II intends to support new models of how private sector engagement and public-private coordination can increase the adoption of Climate-smart Agriculture (CSA) strategies that improve agribusiness productivity and resilience. Through the Call, Ja REEACH II invites value chain actors (agribusinesses, financial institutions, and service providers) to submit investment proposals for financially viable project, that protect and sustain agriculture and natural resource-based livelihoods from climate change impacts. Successful proposals will also increase productivity, expand access to financing for technology upgrades, and improve market access. Proposals that reflect multiple partnerships, vertical linkages, demonstrate innovation, and new models for climate-smart financing for agri-businesses will be prioritized. Projects selected from the call will be considered for opportunities to receive: a) Ja REEACH II technical assistance and capacity development support, and/ or b) grant funding. Note US$ $400,000 is earmarked to fund up to five projects under this initial call for expressions of interest, based on availability of funds. Significant cost sharing will be negotiated under all agreements. Eligible Project Themes: Water Management Agribusiness risk prevention and management Climate information dissemination Climate-smart Agriculture Research and Development Market Linkage Development and Strengthening Training and Technology Transfer / Dissemination Climate smart technology agriculture innovations/upgrades to support supply chain management Targeted Partners: Individual private companies or consortia including at least one private company such as exporters, processors, input suppliers,, wholesale buyers, and service providers who: a) employ or engage small-
scale farmers in growing the crops that they need, or, b) sell needed inputs or provide services to farmers Information on the Ja REEACH II project, call details and illustrative projects, eligibility criteria and proposal submission guidance is attached. SECTION II. JA REEACH II PROJECT OVERVIEW The Ja REEACH II project is a four-year activity funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Jamaica, with the goal of increasing climate change resilience in targeted livelihoods and ecosystems. Ja REEACH II is implemented by ACDI/VOCA, private non-profit organization that advances broad-based economic growth, community development and standards of living in developing countries. Activities implemented to achieve the project s goal fall under one or more of the intermediate results (IR) below: IR 1.1 - increased investment in climate-smart agriculture, IR 1.2 - increased adoption of natural resource management best practices, and IR 2.1 - and improved Global Climate Change policy and planning and coordination structures. JA REEACH II CLIMATE-SMART INVESTMENT PRIORITY AREA The promotion of mutually beneficial relationships between market actors in targeted value chains culminating in significant upgrades in climate-smart technologies and practices is a significant objective of the project; that is linked to IR 1.1 primarily. To this end Ja REEACH II utilizes a marketsystems approach that facilitates mutually beneficial relationships between market actors and incentivizes the adoption of profitable climate change resilience strategies while improving the competitiveness and inclusiveness of target value chains. Priority value chains include, but are not limited to hot pepper, MD2 pineapple, onion and sweet potato. SECTION III. THE CALL FOR CLIMATE-SMART INVESTMENT CONCEPTS ACDI/VOCA, through the Ja REEACH II project is seeking to collaborate with selected organizations to support initiatives that will improve value chain competitiveness and demonstrate innovative ways of mitigating climate change. Such organizations may include exporters, processors, input supply organizations, wholesale buyers, and service providers who: a) employ or engage small-scale farmers in growing the crops that they need, or, b) sell needed inputs or provide services to farmers. All Concept Papers must contribute to Ja REEACH II s goal of increasing climate change resilience of targeted livelihoods and ecosystems. Each Concept Paper must address at least one (1) of the following areas: 1. Improve agribusiness support organizations (GOJ or NGO) capacity to provide products, services, technical assistance and market access to agriculture value chain actors, 2. Expand distribution networks for both inputs and/or outputs within target value chains,, 3. Expand supply chains within target value chains by increasing the number of producers they buy from, and 4. Facilitate access to financial services and or credit by value chain partners.
A clear rationale on the climate-change and resilience objective of the proposed project should be made. ILLUSTRATIVE AREAS FOR SUPPORT Examples of activities that could be supported include, but are not limited to, the following (the organization is responsible for organizing and managing these activities with technical and/or financial support from Ja REEACH II). Value chain operator training/extension activities a) Development of technical and business training modules that build capacity of target value chain operators to adapt to climate change stressors and shocks in the agribusiness environment as well as improve their ability to seek and access available financing b) Organization-led training/coaching of new or existing producers in improved production and post-harvest handling techniques c) Organization of demonstration plots to expose producers to improved production practices and/or new varieties d) Capacity building of organization staff / other relevant actors to provide improved extension and training services to other segments of the value chains e) Introduction of sustainable production and processes within the agribusiness enterprise f) Improve the capacity of value chain operators to access, interpret and apply climate services information to increase their ability to maintain and or improve productivity levels Research and Development a) The development of programmes for new and /or improved seeds materials and their subsequent registration - patents and Geographic Indications - coupled with the relevant business models and regulations, covering the introduction and distribution within the value chain. Market Facilitation a) Development, improvement, or expansion of outgrowing (contract farming) operations to include new / innovative procurement models for rural agricultural value chain actors b) Market survey c) Technical support to meet requirements of new markets d) Buyer-Seller Meets where organizations meet with potential buyers in person mostly for exports e) Organization conducts meetings to inform producers about the products they are interested in buying from, or selling to them. f) Development of promotional materials, catalogues, etc. g) Trade show participation Technology a) Introduction of new or improved tools/equipment for producers and other value chain actors b) Technical support in developing post harvesting techniques that will benefit producers organization c) Technical support for organization to develop or improve its final products - quality, packaging, labelling, product diversification, etc. d) Introduction of new methods for post-harvest storage, and/or methods to preserve product freshness and value.
Policy/Regulation a) Strengthening credit risks management processes that are more targeted at agricultural lending Note - This list is non-exhaustive. It is simply to provide examples of organization initiatives that could be supported by the Ja REEACH II project. Any combination of these activities is encouraged. All supported activities must show how they will create sustainable impact for the collaborating value chain actors and the market system as a whole. SECTION IV. JA REEACH II AREAS OF SUPPORT Ja REEACH II can complement private-public investments proposed through two main areas: 1. Capacity Building Technical Assistance and Training: a. Training needs assessment, program design and mentorship; including training of trainer programmes b. Leveraging third party training for producers and other value chain actors c. Improving access to technical information, including climate services d. Financial literacy and business management training e. Support for national and international certification programmes f. Institutional assessments, strengthening plans and action plan implementation g. Climate-risk assessment and adaptation responses 2. Grant Funding: In support of partnership efforts, Ja REEACH II will complement partner investments for up to five selected projects that facilitate any of the above relationships with value chain actors, from its pool of grants fund up to and initial US$ 400,000. All awards will be made based on availability of funds. Only ONE (1) award will be considered per partner organization or consortia with a maximum length of 18 months.
SECTION V. GRANT CONCEPT REQUIREMENTS & SUBMISSION GUIDE Interested organizations are invited to submit a project Concept Paper of not more than three pages (not including the budget). Eligibility and technical feasibility of the concept submission will be established based on the concept s responsiveness to the following: A. Applicant status & technical strengths / capabilities: Concepts must be submitted by a public or private, for-profit or not-for-profit entity, legally operating/registered in Jamaica. Where the submission is made by a consortium, a lead member should be named and other member details should be provided as an attachment, along with supporting documentation for each. B. Proposed activities: This should provide details on the proposed project, with demonstrated alignment with Ja REEACH II project goals and objectives, and one or more of the four areas of the call detailed in section III. At a minimum this should summarise: 1) The economic significance of the proposed value chain and the business model 2) The climate-driven challenges and other competitiveness constraints being faced by the member(s) involved in the proposed project 3) The actions proposed to address the challenges identified and the rationale 4) Details on where the project will operate 5) Anticipated resilience, investment and competitiveness outputs and outcomes of the project, detailing potential beneficiaries if available 6) The project management approach to be taken 7) Potential negative environmental impacts, and actions that will be taken to address this 8) The proposed or existing alliances partners that will be working together to execute the project, and their roles and responsibilities C. The request to Ja REEACH II: Outline the estimated cost to implement the project you and your partners' contribution and how much do you expect to request from Ja REEACH II. Remember Ja REEACH II s support should be used to complement viable projects, with demonstrated private-public partnership commitment in cash or in-kind contributions, that also support the activities being proposed. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Concepts, including an illustrative budget, will be received by Ja REEACH II on or before the following dates: Friday November 4, 2016, and Friday December 9, 2016. Concepts may be submitted in electronic or hard copy addressed to: Mr. Errol Cobourne, Grants & Contracts Manager ACDI/VOCA; 1A Braemar Avenue, Kingston 10 Email: ecobourne@jareeach.org and copied to Mr. Okley Coke / ocoke@jareeach.org
Information meeting An information meeting will be held on Wednesday October 19, 2016 at The Medallion Hall Hotel, 53 Hope Road, Kingston 6, @ 10:00am to facilitate questions and to provide answers on the concept preparation, submission and screening. Questions may also be submitted to the email address referenced above.
ANNEX 1. Ja REEACH II GRANT MAKING CYCLE Phase 1: Solicitation & Concept Submission Through the solicitation process, potential grantees will be invited to submit a concept paper which will be reviewed using the eligibility criteria below. To support evaluation of eligibility the concept should be accompanied by supporting documentation (e.g. to verify applicant s status and group technical capability statements). These requirements must be met prior to the submission of an application. Eligibility Requirements To be eligible for funding under the Ja REEACH II Grants program, the applicant must: 1. APPLICANT STATUS - Be a public or private, for-profit or not-for-profit entity focused on natural resources management, community governance, climate change or disaster risk reduction mandates, legally operating/registered in Jamaica. Examples include: a. Civil society organizations, b. Local business associations and professional associations, c. NGOs, d. Private and Public Sector institutions and organizations, e. Private universities, f. International educational institutions, and g. International research and development organizations. 2. TYPE OF PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES - Clearly show alignment with Ja REEACH II project goals and objectives as follows: Goal: Climate change resilience of targeted livelihoods and ecosystems increased Objective1: Agriculture and natural resource based livelihoods protected and sustained Result 1.1: Increased investment in climate smart agriculture Result 1.2: Increased adoption of natural resource management best practices Objective 2: Institutional capacity to mitigate and manage effects of GCC improved Result 2.1: Improved GCC policy, and planning and coordination structures 3. CLIMATE CHANGE SPECIFIC concept review considerations: a. What weather/climate-related challenge is being faced by the targeted community (e.g. drought, flooding, pest and diseases or hurricane damage)? Historical information on impact(s) may be provided, if available. b. What is the potential climate change adaptation or resilience benefit? c. Will the proposed activity build resilience at the community level? d. How will the project interventions outlined in the concept address the priority climate challenge faced? e. What is the group s capacity to implement the proposed project? f. What is the proposed project s sustainability strategy?
4. ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE - Must demonstrate that no negative environmental impact will result from the proposed activity that cannot be addressed through the application of mitigation measures. 5. GROUP LEVERAGE COMMITMENT - Must demonstrate the group s commitment to contribute to the total cost of the proposed activity, either through a cash or in-kind contribution with a minimum contribution of 30% of the overall budget. This leverage contribution, can also be tangible resources from other projects that will complement the project activities being considered. 6. GROUP s TECHNCIAL CAPABILITY - Applicant must be actively working in the technical area related to their concept. 7. REQUEST SUPPORT FOR AN ELIGIBLE ACTIVITY - Applicants must also ensure that concept submissions reflect use of funds for the following categories of eligible activities including: Technical assistance services; Relevant training courses, including trainers, course materials, site costs, etc.; Under certain circumstances, a portion of management and staff salaries and operating supplies; Equipment and machinery; Seminars, workshops, conferences and other grant activity-specific events organized by the Grantee; Other allowable direct costs as prior approved by the Program. Ineligibility Submission will be classified as Ineligible if: 1. APPLICANT STATUS - The applicant falls in any of the following groups, and is not eligible for grants: Political parties Foreign-based organization that is not registered to operate in Jamaica Faith-based organizations whose objectives are discriminatory and/or whose main objectives of the grant is of a religious nature Informal alliances without legal status or official affiliation 2. USG BARRED - If an organization or its key personnel appear on any of the following lists: Active exclusion in System for Award Management: http://www.sam.gov U.S. Treasury s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC): http://sdnsearch.ofac.treas.gov/ United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions committee established under UNSC Resolution 1267 (1999): https://www.un.org/sc/suborg/sites/www.un.org.sc.suborg/files/consolidated.pdf 3. REQUEST SUPPORT FOR AN INELIGIBLE ACTIVITY - Funding is being requested for any of the following ineligible activities: Fundraising and creation of endowments Establishing new organizations Any Grantee expenses that are not directly linked to implementation of the proposed project
Expenses of any training programs other than those integral to achievement of the targets specified in the proposed project The purchase of goods restricted and prohibited under USAID regulations Purchase of surveillance equipment, military equipment or arms whether new or surplus, police or law enforcement equipment, abortion equipment and services, weather modification equipment, luxury goods and gambling equipment Support for purchase of goods from terrorist, debarred or suspended organizations Any purchases or activities that is contradictory to the government of Jamaica development priorities or the specific project s scope and objectives. Any previous obligations by USAID to the Grantee The bad debts of the Grantee Fines imposed on the Grantee Penalties imposed on the Grantee Phase 2: Concept Paper Review & Application Evaluation Concept Paper Review An assigned ACDI/VOCA technical advisor, the grants team representative (the Grant and Contracts Manager and/or the Grants Assistant) will review the concept paper, discuss its contents with the potential grantee (if needed), and make a decision as to whether the concept paper as presented meets the stated eligibility criteria. If such eligibility criteria are met, the applicant will be asked to submit a full application as described below. If eligibility criteria are not met, the applicant will be advised of this fact. However, if the applicant s concept is consistent with certain project objectives but needs revision, the ACDI/VOCA technical advisor can recommend necessary changes. If the recommended changes are incorporated into the Concept paper satisfactorily, the applicant will be asked to submit a full application. Application Review A full application follows a successful concept paper review. ALL applicants must submit an application to the Ja REEACH II Grants and Contracts Manager using the following format: a grant application form, including the specified attachments and other supporting documentation (e.g. registration documentation or partner endorsements, engineering reviews and assessments or quantity surveyor s estimates, detailed budget, proforma invoices and environmental screening etc.). Verified applications are then considered for further processing. As an immediate next step, ACDI/VOCA s Grants team representative must schedule a meeting with the applicant. This meeting serves as a briefing session and question-and-answer opportunity. During this meeting, the ACDI/VOCA Grant representative will thoroughly review the application with the applicant to ensure that it conforms to the format required and to ensure their understanding of its content. Application Evaluation Evaluation of the application is done by either an Internal or External grant committee (based on the size of grant request). Size of Grants. The size of individual grants shall vary from activity to activity and will be specified in the respective Grant Agreements.
All Grants totaling USD50,000 or less must be evaluated by the Internal Grants Committee and then be recommended to the Chief of Party (or ACDI/VOCA-appointed, authorized official) for approval, with the concurrence of the USAID AOR. All Grants with values over USD 50, 000 (maximum value of individual grants) shall be reviewed and evaluated by the External Grants Committee. The award approved for funding shall be signed by the Chief of Party (or ACDI/VOCA-appointed, authorized official). The Internal/External Grant Committee members (evaluators) will score the application against the Application phase evaluation criteria. A decision will be made whether or not to recommend for funding based on an average score of 70% or more against the stated criteria. The Application should, therefore, be made with all evaluation criteria in mind. Should the Grants Committee request additional clarification or determine that the Application needs to be revised, it will be returned to the Applicant for revision. Once the necessary revisions are made, the Application will be resubmitted to the committee for review. If the Applicant does not make the necessary changes, the Application process will end. If the Grants Committee does not recommend an Application for approval (based on evaluation score), or if USAID does not provide concurrence, the Applicant will be notified of such. If the Application is approved, the Applicant will be informed by a letter together with a draft Grant Agreement with required attachments for review and signature. Phase 3: Grant Award & Administration (Implementation, Monitoring and Close-Out) Grant Award. Following evaluation and recommendation for approval, the Ja REEACH II Grant and Contracts Manager will prepare the documents for COP approval and AOR concurrence. Approved applications are then processed by the Ja REEACH II grants team in collaboration with ACDI/VOCA s Awards and Compliance unit based on ACDI/VOCA grant guidance and templates. Following the AOR s concurrence, the Grants team representative will document the negotiation process along with other pre-award determinations in a negotiation memo which will be prepared for each grantee. The memo will also document any restrictions or requirements to be included in the grant agreement based on the pre-award assessment and recommends the grant award type.