EU Call for Proposals: Boosting Agriculture and Food Security (BAFS)

Deadline: 11 September 2018

The European Union (EU) is currently accepting proposals from eligible organisations for a program entitled “Boosting Agriculture and Food Security (BAFS)-Support to Export Cash Crops and Sustainable Agricultural Diversification”.

Objectives

• The overall objective of the BAFS Programme is the reduction of poverty and food insecurity in Sierra Leone through better governance and increased agricultural productivity and diversification.
• Three Specific Objectives have been proposed to achieve this:
  • Specific objective 1: Increasing Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) institutional capacity for formulating food security strategies and sector policies
  • Specific objective 2: Enhancing cashew, cocoa and coffee (CCC) productivity, income generation for smallholders and exports.
  • Specific objective 3: Fostering sustainable agricultural diversification by disseminating farming techniques adapted to climate change and promotion / diversification of the livestock sector.

Grant Information

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is Euro / € 9 M (nine million euros).

Location

Actions must take place in Sierra Leone.

Duration

The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 24 months nor exceed 48 months.

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead applicant
  • In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
    • be registered with the relevant authorities and able to fulfil the prescribed eligibility criteria with regard to minimum experience and technical and financial competence, and
    • be a legal person and
    • be non-profit-making and
    • be a specific type of organisation such as: non-governmental organisation, public sector operator, local authority, international (inter-governmental) organisation as defined by the Rules of application of the EU Financial Regulation and
    • be established in a Member State of the European Union or be in compliance with the rules on nationality and origin to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement. ‘For British applicants: Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. If the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU during the grant period without concluding an agreement with the EU ensuring in particular that British applicants continue to be eligible, applicants  will cease to receive EU funding (while continuing, where possible to participate) or be required to leave the project of the General Conditions to the grant agreement.
    • This obligation does not apply to international organisations and
    • be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary and
    • have at least one previous experience in the field of development of the type they are applying for.
  • Potential applicants may not participate in calls for proposals or be awarded grants if they are in any of the situations.
• Co-applicant(s)
  • For non-Sierra Leonean applicants, partnership with at least one Sierra Leonean non-profit making organisation (local NGO’s, local associations or other local non-profit making legal persons) will be an added advantage.
  • The concept note and full proposal must include a clear description of the co-applicant’s role, contribution to the project implementation and added value.
  • The number of co-applicants for one action is not limited.
  • Technical and/or private institutions may only be “associates” as specified thereafter.
  • Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
• Affiliated entities
  • The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies).
  • Only the following entities may be considered as affiliated entities to the lead applicant and/or to co-applicant(s):
  • Only entities having a structural link with the applicants (i.e. the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link.
  • This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:
    • Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings:
      • Entities affiliated to an applicant may hence be:
        • Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the applicant (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control;
        • Entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant(parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the applicant;
        • Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies).
      • Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as a e.g. network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the applicant participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association) as the proposed affiliated entities.

How to Apply

• The application procedure consists of two phases:
  • Concept notes
  • Full applications
• The concept note together with the declaration by the lead applicant must be submitted at the address given on the website.

For more information, please visit Europeaid and download the guidelines.