Deadline: 17-Sep-21
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking applications for a five year Leader with Associates cooperative agreement from qualified entities to implement the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Soybean Value Chain Research program.
The purpose of the Soybean Value Chain Research (SVCR) Innovation Lab is to develop evidence-based technologies and practices, facilitate their dissemination for widespread adoption and build the capacity of public-private partners across the soy market systems in FTF countries.
Objectives
The GFSS objectives aim to advance food security and improved nutrition by focusing efforts around three interrelated and interdependent objectives discussed below:
- Inclusive and Sustainable Agriculture-led Economic Growth: Innovations from research are seen as central to driving impact and productivity growth in agriculture. The 2019 World Bank study “Harvesting Prosperity11” demonstrates that agricultural growth is up to four times more effective in reducing extreme poverty as growth in other sectors in poorer developing countries.
- Strengthened Resilience Among People and Systems: Under this GFSS objective, resilience and risk are interrelated. Resilience is the ability of people, households, communities, and systems to reduce, mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and facilitates inclusive growth. It is an essential condition for sustainably reducing global hunger, malnutrition, and poverty as well as to reduce reliance upon emergency food assistance.
- A Well-Nourished Population: A well-nourished population, especially among women and children, is the third GFSS objective. In a food systems approach, FTF ILs generate technologies, methodologies and policies that contribute to improved nutrition, both directly and indirectly.
Funding Information
- USAID intends to award one (1) Cooperative Agreement Leader with Associates (LWA) Award pursuant to this notice of funding opportunity. Subject to funding availability and at the discretion of the Agency, the Bureau of Resilience and Food Security (RFS) intends to provide $10 million in total USAID core funding over a five (5) year period.
- The ceiling for this program is up to $30 million.
- It is estimated that up to $2 million will be obligated to the Leader Award in the first year as core funding from RFS, and up to $2 million per year thereafter, for a total of up to $10 million in core funding from RFS.
- The anticipated period of performance is five (5) years.
Geographic Focus
Research outputs of the SVCR IL must be primarily focused on achieving impacts in SSA FTF countries.
- West and Central Africa Region:
- The USAID/West Africa Regional Mission FTF strategy aligns with ECOWAS’s regional agricultural plan focusing in three core areas: increased agricultural productivity, improved regional trade, and enhanced institutional capacity.
- A core objective is to help regional institutions increase their capacity to fulfill their mandates.
- East and Southern Africa Region:
- In East Africa, USAID and other donors are cooperating with regional economic bodies to strengthen policies and facilitate trade. Key partners in the region include the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community, the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA), and the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA40).
- FTF target countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda.
- FTF aligned countries: Burundi, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, S. Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
- In East Africa, USAID and other donors are cooperating with regional economic bodies to strengthen policies and facilitate trade. Key partners in the region include the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community, the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA), and the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA40).
Eligibility Criteria
- Private institutions of higher education
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
- Eligibility for this award is restricted to qualified U.S.-based Title XII universities.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=334586