Global Alliance For Improved Nutrition (GAIN)- Request For Quotations For The Supply Of Agricultural Input And Assets In Kaduna, Oyo, And Benue States (17 Lots)

DEADLINE: 16TH DECEMBER, 2022
GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR IMPROVED NUTRITION (GAIN)
REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS FOR THE SUPPLY OF AGRICULTURAL INPUT AND ASSETS IN KADUNA, OYO, AND BENUE STATES

BACKGROUND AND SCOPE OF SUPPLY

(1) ABOUT GAIN

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.

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, GAIN has representative offices in Denmark, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In addition, we have country offices in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Tanzania. Programmes and projects are carried out in a variety of other countries, particularly in Africa and Asia.

(2) BACKGROUND

GAIN is implementing the Strengthening Nutrition in Priority Staples (SNIPS) Project which will add a nutrition lens to and deliver an integrated suite of activities to support GIZ’s Green Innovation Centre (GIC) in Nigeria. This nutrition project will strengthen the GIC priority value chains and improve food security and safety through improved diets for farmers, farmworkers, other workers in businesses in these value chains, and among the wider population in Nigeria. The following broad objectives for this programme are:

• To increase the consumption of safe, nutritious foods by smallholder farmers, their families, and the wider population
• To strengthen cassava, maize, sweet potato, and rice value chains in Nigeria which provide more, safe nutritious foods to consumers
• To increase the use of nutritious varieties of the target staples in processed foods
• To improve productivity & efficiency of farmers and other businesses to improve the production of safe, nutritious foods in the cassava, maize, sweet potato, and rice value chains

To reach our overarching goal of improving nutrition through improved diets, the project will build on the increased consumption of staple crops, which is the primary focus of the GIC, through the following related interventions:

• A workforce nutrition program to support farmers and workers in these value chains to improve and diversify their diets.
• Business support services to make a wide variety of nutritious and safe foods more accessible, affordable, and desirable; and
• Increased production and consumption of biofortified varieties of maize, cassava, and sweet potato.

Farmers’ nutritional health is directly linked to their productivity and earning potential in terms of their own household, farms, and businesses and their contribution to national economic growth. However, farming families and households are often not aware of the importance of the nutrient content of the foods they produce and consume, and they are often unaware of the importance of the consumption of a diverse diet. Farmers engaged in the production of the priority staples in focus may be able to access foods that meet their energy needs but even earning good income from their business does not usually translate to accessing a sufficiently diverse diet. The costs of poor nutrition on lost revenues to businesses in a context like Nigeria, where underweight, stunting, and anemia are prevalent in rural areas, and obesity rates are growing could mean as much as 2.7% of GDP is lost from lower worker productivity (Chatham House, 2020).

The Workforce Nutrition component (WFN) will support farmers and workers in these value chains to improve their diets. The Workforce Nutrition component aims to reach rice and maize value chain workers (from smallholder farmers to processing employees) with workforce nutrition interventions that aim to improve the consumption of nutritious foods as part of a healthy, diverse diet for workers, farmers, and their households. The Programme also aims to engage business owners in the supply chain, local government and state authorities on the importance of farmer/worker nutrition for greater resilience and productivity. Throughout the program, GAIN will lead regular advocacy and engagement with business managers, and government officials on the importance of workforce nutrition for both workers and farmers.

SMEs handle most of the food that is produced, transported, marketed, and consumed in low-income countries such as Nigeria. These SMEs are however hindered by a lack of business knowledge and skills and often lack the resources to take advantage of the opportunities around them to innovate and secure higher value from their smallholder investments. Lack of awareness of food safety regulations, good practices, and how to adhere to them, also means that many consumers are exposed to contaminated or otherwise unsafe foods.

The Business Support component will empower women and young people and unleash the creativity and energy of youth and women to support their families, succeed in agri-business, and attempt to tackle malnutrition, prevent foodborne illnesses as well as food and social insecurity. This component will increase women and youth involvement in value-added agriculture and entrepreneurship that directly addresses the specific challenges that women and rural youth face in the four focal states for this Project. It will respond to opportunities to harness the political will at local, state, and national levels in Nigeria to invest in creating economic opportunities for women and youth in the production, processing, and sale of nutritious and safe foods. This will be achieved by significantly increasing the knowledge and information available to women and young people about nutrition, food safety, increasing their participation in decision-making, and targeting business support and investments so they can bring forward innovations, increase livelihood opportunities and build nutrition sensitivity into the GIC value chains. This will be carried out using three interlinked approaches:

• Improving nutrition quality of staple foods produced by SMEs and farmers involved in GIC activities.
• Improving the capacity of food safety and value chain actors to adhere to standards and regulations on best practices.
• Supporting technical innovations for supply chains through innovation challenges and innovation clinics.

One in three people globally experiences vitamin and mineral deficiencies leading to severe health outcomes including premature and preventable death in infants and young children. Micronutrient deficiencies can also constrain work performance resulting in slower economic growth and widespread, intergenerational poverty. Nearly two-thirds of Nigerian children are at risk of vitamin A deficiency due to inadequate amounts of vitamin A in their diets (NDHS 2018) and generally inadequate access to a diversity of food at the household level due to rising levels of poverty. This “hidden hunger” is particularly acute in countries like Nigeria and among farming families who grow and eat their food and diets are overly reliant on staple foods, lacking in the diversity of foods needed to meet multiple nutrient requirements.

The Biofortification component works with farmers and farming households to promote the adoption, cultivation, and utilization of these staples by farming households and other food processors. The workstream will promote Vitamin A Cassava, Vitamin A Maize and Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) in Oyo, Kaduna, and Benue/Oyo states, respectively.

In order to increase the transition of women and youth cooperatives and groups to the production, consumption and utilization of more biofortified staples (Vitamin A Maize, Vitamin A Cassava, and Orange Flesh Sweet Potato), the project plans to distribute agricultural inputs and assets (Seeds, fertilizer, herbicide, Aflasafe, Maize Milling Machine, Cassava Grater) to all enrolled 5400 participants disaggregated as youth groups/cooperatives.

(3) SCOPE OF DELIVERABLES

The vendors shall provide the following:

The vendor is allowed to submit multiple quotes for items with the capacity to deliver the in Location supply all the items and as such the items have been grouped as follows:

(3.1) DELIVERABLES

The table below provides illustrative dates for the work:

(3.2) EXPECTED VENDOR

The vendor should be willing to supply to a designated location approved by GAIN in Kaduna, Oyo and Benue States Nigeria and should have the following:

(1) The vendor should have prior experience supplying agricultural inputs to organisations, most especially International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO) with good recommendations from clients.

(2) The interested vendor must have a legal right to operate in Nigeria, must be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and have a TIN number.

(II) INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESPONDING

This section addresses the process for responding to this solicitation. Bidders are encouraged to review this prior to completing their responses.

(1) CONTACT

Please direct all inquiries and other communications to flachang@gainhealth.org Cc: tolasunkanmi@.gainhealth.org and gehiabhi@.gainhealth.org

(2) SUBMISSION

Interested vendor should send: an expression of interest including reasons for interest in the task, qualifications, quotations and prior experience in undertaking similar supply to: John Pilaku (jpilaku@gainhealth.org) copying Godwin Ehiabhi(gehiabhi@gainhealth.org), Lachang Faden (flachang@gainhealth.org), and Olasukanmi Taiwo (tolasunkanmi@gainhealth.org) by December 16th 2022. Please use the subject line ‘Quotes for Agricultural input and Assets’ when responding.

(4) DEADLINE

Completed quotation should be submitted before December 16th, 2022, 23:59 West Africa Time.

(5) UNACCEPTABLE

The following quotations will automatically not be considered or accepted:

• Quotations that are received after the RFQ deadline at the specified receiving office.
• Incomplete Quotations.

(6) ACCEPTANCE

GAIN will not necessarily accept the lowest cost or any of the Quotations submitted. Accordingly, eligibility requirements, evaluation criteria and mandatory requirements shall govern.

(7) COMPLETION

• In case of errors in calculating overall costs, the unit costs will govern.
• It is the vendor’s responsibility to understand the requirements and instructions specified by GAIN. In the event that clarification is necessary, vendors are advised to contact the responsible person at GAIN under section II.1., prior to making their submission.
• While GAIN has used considerable efforts to ensure an accurate representation in this Request for Quotations (RFQ), the information contained in this RFQ is supplied solely as a guideline. The information is not warranted to be accurate by GAIN. Nothing in this RFQ is intended to relieve applicants from forming their own opinions and conclusions with respect to the matters addressed in this RFQ.

• By responding to this RFQ, the vendor confirms its understanding that failing to comply with any of the RFQ conditions may result in the disqualification of their submission.

(8) RIGHTS OF REJECTION

GAIN reserves the right to reject any or all submissions or to cancel or withdraw this RFQ for any reason and at its sole discretion without incurring any cost or liability for costs or damages incurred by any vendor, including, without limitation, any expenses incurred in the preparation of the submission. The vendor acknowledges and agrees that GAIN will not indemnify the vendor for any costs, expenses, payments or damages directly or indirectly linked to the preparation of the submission.

(9) REFERENCES

GAIN reserves the right, before awarding the contract to require the vendor to submit such evidence of qualifications as it may deem necessary, and will consider evidence concerning the financial, technical and other qualifications and abilities of the applicant.

(10) RELEASE OF INFORMATION

After awarding the contract and upon written request to GAIN, only the following information will be released: Name of the successful applicant.

(III) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS SOLICITATION

(1) NOTICE OF NON-BINDING SOLICITATION

GAIN reserves the right to reject any and all bids received in response to this solicitation and is in no way bound to accept any quotations. GAIN additionally reserves the right to negotiate the substance of the successful vendors’ quotations, as well as the option of accepting partial components of a quotation if deemed appropriate.

(2) CONFIDENTIALITY
All information provided as part of this solicitation is considered confidential. In the event that any information is inappropriately released, GAIN will seek appropriate remedies as allowed. Quotations, discussions, and all information received in response to this solicitation will be held as strictly confidential.

(3) RIGHT TO FINAL NEGOTIATIONS ON THE PROPOSAL

GAIN reserves the right to negotiate on the final costs, and the final scope of work of the quotation. GAIN reserves the right to limit or include third parties at GAIN’S sole and full discretion in such negotiations.

(4) EVALUATION CRITERIA

Quotations will be reviewed by the Selection Team using the following criteria. This list is not exhaustive or 100% inclusive and is provided to enhance the applicants’ ability to respond with substance.

• Understanding of the scope of work.
• Past experience undertaking similar work.
• Rate.

GAIN reserves the right to contact the individual in order to verify the information provided as part of the Quotations.

(5) REVIEW PROCESS

The review process will involve a Review Panel with Vendors selected by GAIN.

(6) LIMITATIONS WITH REGARD TO THIRD PARTIES

GAIN does not represent, warrant, or act as agent for any third party as a result of this solicitation. This solicitation does not authorise any third party to bind or commit GAIN in any way without GAIN’s express written consent.

(7) COMMUNICATION

All communication regarding this solicitation shall be directed to appropriate parties at GAIN. Contacting third parties involved in the RFQ, the review panel, or any other party may be considered a conflict of interest and could result in disqualification of the proposal.

(8) FINAL ACCEPTANCE

Award of a Quotation does not imply acceptance of its terms and conditions. GAIN reserves the right to negotiate on the final terms and conditions including the costs and the scope of work when negotiating the final contract to be agreed between GAIN and the applicant.

(9) VALIDITY PERIOD

The offer of services will remain valid for a period of 30 days after the Quotations closing date. In the event of award, the successful vendor will be expected to enter into a contract subject to GAIN’s terms and conditions.

(10) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Subject to the terms of the contract to be concluded between GAIN 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 vendor in performance of the contract shall vest entirely with GAIN.

(11) SCOPE OF CHANGE

Once the contract is signed, no increase in the liability of GAIN or in the fees to be paid by GAIN for the services resulting from any change, modification or interpretation of the documents will be authorised or paid to the vendor unless such change, modification or interpretation has received the express prior written approval of GAIN.

(IV) OFFER OF SERVICES

(1) Offer submitted by:
_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

(Print or type name and address)

(2) I (We) the undersigned hereby offer to GAIN, to furnish all necessary expertise, supervision, materials, and other things necessary to complete to the entire satisfaction of the Executive Director or authorised representative, the work as described in the Request for Quote according to the terms and conditions of GAIN for the following estimated fee:

(a) _____________________Units

(b) At_____________________ NGN per unit

(3) I (We) agree that the Offer of Services will remain valid for a period of thirty (30) calendar days after the date of its receipt by GAIN.

(4) I (We) herewith submit the following:

(a) 3 paragraph expression of interest including reasons for interest in the task, qualifications, prior experience with undertaking quotes, and unit cost

(b) This completed ‘Offer of Services’ form.

OFFERS WHICH DO NOT CONTAIN THE ABOVE-MENTIONED DOCUMENTATION OR DEVIATE FROM THE PRESCRIBED COSTING FORMAT MAY BE CONSIDERED INCOMPLETE AND NONRESPONSIVE.

Date this day of Click or tap here to enter text. in Click or tap here to enter text.

Signature (vendor)