Call for proposals for the provision of an interactive digital platform for Iron Bean farmers in Kenya

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Company Information: About HarvestPlus and GAIN – The Commercialization of Biofortified Crops programme
At HarvestPlus
, we believe that hidden hunger should not be inevitable for the people most at risk. We break down silos between agriculture and nutrition to develop creative solutions to hidden hunger. Our food-based approach targets some of the most vulnerable populations around the world. We use a process called biofortification, which adopts conventional breeding to improve crops. This approach complements other nutrition interventions, and is evidence-based, cost-effective, and sustainable. We work across the entire value chain to develop and deliver nutrient enriched seeds, grains and foods to the people who need it the most via a large collection of innovative and traditional supply chain activities. HarvestPlus is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by its 15 research centres in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations.
The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)
is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the UN in 2002 to tackle the human suffering caused by malnutrition. Working with both governments and businesses, we aim to transform food systems so that they deliver more nutritious food for all people. At GAIN, we believe that everyone in the world should have access to nutritious and safe food. We work to understand and deliver specific solutions to the daily challenge of food insecurity faced by poor people. By understanding that there is no “one-size-fits-all” model, we develop alliances and build tailored programmes, using a variety of flexible models and approaches. We build alliances between governments, local and global businesses, and civil society to deliver sustainable improvements at scale. We are part of a global network of partners working together to create sustainable solutions to malnutrition. Through alliances, we provide technical, financial and policy support to key participants in the food system. We use specific learning, evidence of impact, and results of projects and programmes to shape and influence the actions of others. HarvestPlus improves nutrition and public health by developing and promoting biofortified food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals while providing global leadership on evidence and technology.
In May 2018, HarvestPlus and GAIN launched a landmark partnership to accelerate progress in improving access to biofortified seeds, grains and foods via commercial channels with the Commercialisation of Biofortifed Crops (CBC) programme. The CBC programme works with national partners to catalyse commercial markets for biofortified crops and foods in six countries with pervasive levels of malnutrition: Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Tanzania. Initial funding for ths program is from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The partnership brings together two leading actors in the global nutrition space. It combines the deep expertise of HarvestPlus in all aspects of biofortification with GAIN’s proven track record of working with fortification and food companies to create sustainable market models for nutritious food systems.
Biofortification programme in Kenya
Kenya has a total under-five population of 7 million--1.82 million children (26 percent) are suffering from chronic malnutrition, resulting in stunting or low height-for-age (Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) et al. 2015). Although malnutrition indicators are improving, it is estimated that from 2010–2030 undernutrition will cost Kenya approximately US$38.3 billion in GDP due to losses in workforce productivity (USAID 2017).
Kenya’s neonatal mortality and children under five mortality rates also remain high. In part, this is due to iron deficiency (26%) and anaemia (42.6%), which negatively affect the health and development of the mother and her unborn baby. Maternal deaths make up to 15% of all deaths among women of reproductive age, equaling approximately 7,300 women dying each year (Nutrition International).
Beans are a major staple crop of Kenya--per capita, bean consumption in Kenya is among the highest in the world with average estimates of between 50 – 60 kg per person per year, from 14 kg per year to 66 kg per year in the western regions, resulting in a total national consumption of 755,000 MT per year Because of high consumption, beans are the perfect vehicle to improve Iron intakes for the entire population.
Biofortification is the process by which the nutritional quality of food crops is improved through agronomic practices, conventional plant breeding, or modern biotechnology. It differs from conventional fortification, as in biofortification aims to increase nutrient levels in crops during plant growth rather than through manual means during processing of the crops. Biofortification may therefore present a way to reach populations where supplementation and conventional fortification activities may be difficult to implement and/or limited.
HarvestPlus and their partners have developed and released biofortified varieties of high iron beans in Kenya. Common bean has rapidly evolved from traditional subsistence to a modern, market-oriented crop with major impacts on household food and nutritional security, and incomes for the most marginalized communities in Africa which makes comercialisation of iron beans a greater oportunity to reach more people with a value added, no added cost product.
Beans are cultivated by 1.5 million smallholder farmers (92% of the bean producers) on about 1 million hectares​ and IB yields about 0.6 MT/ha but has a potential of 1.5T/ha​. Most farmers use own seed (recycling) which they also sell to prospective buyers with an annual production of 600,000 MT.
Biofortification reaches the hardest to reach farmers who consume their own crop, the low income urban consumer who are looking for cheap foods and consumption of value added, processed foods by the middle–class consumers looking convenience drives demand in the market.
HarvestPlus and GAIN have joined forces to drive comercialisation of IB in Kenya, each partner taking specific value chain activities. This project will link to many other comercialisation projects for iron beans that collectively aim to reach 3.4 million consumers in Kenya. This project is intended to provide modern, technical solutions for IB farmers which will incentivise more farmers to grow IB by providing access to markets at the same time creating better ways to monitor and evaluate production in specific regions.
Details of this request for proposals: Statement of purpose & Scope of work
As part of the greater CBC programme, HarvestPlus and GAIN are jointly issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP). HarvestPlus will be the lead organisation for this RFP. We seek a technical partner with extensive experience in farmer support utilising digital technologies. You will need a track record of proven results in international development scenario. The proposed digital partner should have readily available technologies that can be easily adapted to the needs of small and medium sized farmers growing biofortified iron beans.
The main objective of this RFP is to procure the services of a technical service expert to design, build, or adapt an interactive digital platform for IB farmers to access inputs and markets.
The specific objectives of this RFP are as follows:
Develop a digital platform with the following capabilities:
Collecting farmer data, such as: Name, gender, Location (Village, Block, District, State), Gender, Mobile Number
Collecting farm data, including: Location (Village, Block, District, State), Crop Planted, Crop Variety, Crop Planting Date, Plot Size, Plot Geo Coordinates, quantity of seed sown
Collecting other data, such as: demand for agri-input, quantities distributed & utilized.
Provide HP with an interactive dashboard & reports with real-time reports on web application, map-based interactive dashboards with multiple filter options, graphs & charts
Assess level of engagement and use by women farmers and analyze gender specific attributes
The platform should be available for use on mobile and tablet devices, making it easier for users, especially farmers.
The Platform will support farmers in the following aspects:
Training in the use of digital technologies, smart phone, tablet, PC use
Joining network
Agricultural support, such as: access to inputs, biofortified seeds, agronomy training or weather data
Access to information on seed stockists and agro-dealers in regions closest to farmers production sites
Access to markets by logging crop production and providing access to aggregators or buyers
The Platform will support HarvestPlus and the CBC program in the following aspects:
Recruit new farmers with an incentive to be part of the latest technology
Build the foundation of a traceable food supply chain
M&E – monitoring farmers seeds use, production and grain sales
Promotion of new standards for the levels of iron in beans (PAS 234)
Through the use of imaging, allow harvest prediction in specific hubs
HP may then wish to bolt on a small subsidy or incentive program for the farmers growing biofortified iron beans, for which the created digital network could be leveraged to disseminate the information to farmers.
Points to note
Partner must be able to start in time for the season
Partner must have a presence in Kenya and ability to work along side HarvestPlus expert agronomists and project managers
Partner must have a ready to use/easy to adapt platform with a solid track record of results
Partner must be licenced to operate in Kenya with immediate start, in August 2021
Digital platform must be developed in local language and be culturally sensitive
Consider gender and inclusivity and consider ways to ensure the technology is accessible to all
Information HP will provide
HarvestPlus will provide the chosen agency with full product information and training on IB. Training will cover agronomic traits, nutritional benefits, and available markets for the crops.
Target Region
The principal counties of HIB production will be Bomet, Elgeyo Marakwet, Machakos. Makueni,Nakuru and Trans Nzoia Counties. The regions of
Homabay, Narok could also be considered as these regions have farmers who are producing and aggregating grain.
TIMELINE OF THIS PROJECT
DELIVERABLE
DEADLINE
RFP issued
Tuesday, July 27
th
2021
Proposal submission
Friday, August 13
th
2021
Final response regarding selection of Service Provider
Friday, August 20
th
2021
Contracting process finalized
Friday, August 27
th
2021
Inception report including study methodology and data collection tools – meeting with CBC team
Friday, August 27
th
2021
Project start date
Friday, August 27
th
2021
Project end date
March 2022
Evaluation criteria
Proposals will be reviewed by the Selection Team. The following indicate a list of the significant criteria against which proposals will be assessed. This list is not exhaustive or 100% inclusive and is provided to enhance the applicants’ ability to respond with substance.
Applicants are required to submit the following information, conforming to the guidelines given in this section:
Understanding of the scope of work
Understanding of the target audience and consider all cultural and literacy requirements and sensitivities
Proposal shall demonstrate a clear understanding of the project objective and deliverables as outlined in Section I
Evidence of past experience in developing and integrating similar digital solutions for a specific audience
Demonstrate a clear understanding of the technical requirements of this RFP
The creative and methodological approaches required to implement each of the parts of the scope of work
Comprehensiveness of work plan and reasonableness of proposed time frame
Detailed budget and cost-effectiveness and return on investment of proposed approach
Identification of possible challenges and include creative approaches to addressing them
Management and personnel plan
The team members working on this project shall have the relevant qualifications and overall experience required to successfully implement the project
Roles and responsibilities of each team member shall be clearly defined, with one main contact person for HarvestPlus clearly defined in the proposal
Instructions for responding and queries
In the event of any questions please contact ****
Send RFP responses no later than 5 PM ET Friday, August 13 via TALEO on the IFPRI website:
Responses shall 2 documents:
Full work proposal including the points laid out in the evaluation criteria
Budget breakdown (financial proposal)
Terms And Conditions Of This Request For Proposals
Upon selection of Consultant, a detailed contract will be agreed by both parties.
NOTE: HarvestPlus retain the right not to pursue this project if enough proposals are not submitted or funding for the project is no longer available.
NOTICE OF NON-BINDING SOLICITATION
HarvestPlus reserves the right to reject any and all bids received in response to this solicitation and is in no way bound to accept any proposal. HarvestPlus additionally reserves the right to negotiate the substance of the successful applicants’ proposals, as well as the option of accepting partial components of a proposal if deemed appropriate.
CONFIDENTIALITY
All information provided as part of this solicitation is considered confidential. In the event that any information is inappropriately released, HarvestPlus will seek appropriate remedies as allowed. Proposals, discussions, and all information received in response to this solicitation will be held as strictly confidential.
RIGHT TO FINAL NEGOTIATIONS ON THE PROPOSAL
HarvestPlus reserves the right to negotiate on the final costs, and the final scope of work of the proposal. HarvestPlus reserve the right to limit or include third parties at HarvestPlus sole and full discretion in such negotiations.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Subject to the terms of the contract to be concluded between HarvestPlus and the applicant, the ownership of the intellectual property related to the scope of work of the contract, including technical information, know-how, processes, copyrights, models, drawings, source code and specifications developed by the applicant in performance of the contract shall vest entirely with HarvestPlus.

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