United States Agency for International Development; Regional Center for Southern Africa/Gaborone, Botswana, Department of State; Washington, D.C. 20521-2170

R -- ZAMBIA AGRIBUSINESS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER (ZATAC) SOL 690-98-007 DUE 070198 POC Contact Point: Jay M. Bergman, Regional Contracting Officer; Tel: 011-267-324449; Fax: 011-267-324486; E-mail jbergman@usaid.gov The United States Agency for International Development Mission to Zambia (USAID/Zambia) is seeking proposals from qualified organizations to establish and operate a Zambia Agribusiness Technical Assistance Center (ZATAC) during a five-year period. Zambia has achieved impressive progress in reforming agricultural sector policies. Market forces now play an ever-increasing role in directing agribusiness and farm family resource investments. Significant obstacles to sector development, such as dilapidated economic infrastructure, high interest rates, and drought have not prevented remarkable gains in food security, export earnings and investment. Zambia is poised to grab a larger share of regional and international primary and processed agricultural commodity markets. To succeed, Zambia's 600,000 smallholder farmers must become more productive and Zambian agribusinesses must become more efficient. To improve agribusiness export competitiveness, and to increase input and output services to smallholders, Zambia's domestic agricultural markets must also become more competitive. The proposed ZATAC will provide business development services to agribusinesses that buy from or sell to smallholders. It is anticipated that ZATAC will increase the number and efficiency of Zambian agribusinesses competing for smallholder production, and marketing that production profitably and competitively in domestic and international markets. Based on its experience worldwide, USAID has identified a number of key variables necessary for agribusiness development to succeed. These include: (a) a commitment by government to agribusiness parastatal privatizaton; (b) an enabling environment (policies, public support institutions, and infrastructure); (c) an active private sector with reasonable entrepreneurial drive; (d) a need to increase the role of indigenous firms in agribusiness; and (e) NGOs or Private Voluntary Organizations that facilitate longer-term economic and technical growth through strong relations with farmers. All of thesevariables are present, to an appropriate degree, in Zambia. This will be a two- sgare, design-and-implement RFP. In the first stage, which will be competitive, offerors shall submit conceptual design proposals, from which USAID plans to award up to three purchase orders (not to exceed US$40,000 each) to acquire detailed design/proposals. These detailed design/implementation proposals constitute the second stage, which will also be competitive amongst the three recipients of the purchase orders, as well as any other organizations which wish to submit detailed design/implementation proposals even though they did not receive a purchase order. The most advantageous detailed design/implementation proposal will be awarded a five-year cost-plus-fixed fee, performance- based/completion contract to establish and operate the ZATAC for five years. First stage (conceptual design) proposals are due 45 days from issuance of the RFP. Second stage (detailed design/implementation) proposals will be due 90 days from award of the purchase orders for the first stage (conceptual design) proposals. All other evaluation factors being equal, the utilization of U.S. small, small disadvantaged, small woman-owned, and other disadvantaged enterprises may become a determining factor in contractor selection. The preferred method of distribution of USAID procurement information is via the Internet or by request of a solicitation on a 3.5" floppy disk (WordPerfect 5.1/5.2 format). Requestors of diskette copies of the RFP are requested to provide telephone and fax numbers, as well as e-mail addresses. This CBD notice can be viewed and downloaded using the USAID Web Site. The RFP, once issued, can be downloaded from the USAID Web Site. The Worldwide Web address is http://www.info.usaid.gov. Select "BUSINESS AND PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITIES" from the home page, then "USAID PROCUREMENTS." On the following screen, select "DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE USAID SOLICITATIONS." Receipt of this RFP through INTERNET must be confirmed by written notification to the contact person noted above. It is the responsibility of the recipient of this solicitation document to ensure that it has been received from INTERNET in its entirety and USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes. (0153)

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