Bangladesh Rice and Diversified Crops Activity
Summary
The USAID Feed the Future Bangladesh Rice and Diversified Crops Activity (RDC) aims to increase incomes and improve food security and nutrition in the Feed the Future zone through systemic market changes that promote a diversified farm management approach oriented to intensified rice production and higher-value, nutrient-rich crops. RDC will reach its goals through facilitative interventions (targeted technical assistance) that create scalable market system impacts, ultimately benefiting rural households with the added value of expanding opportunities for women and youth.
Objectives
- Improve food security through systemic changes that increase rural incomes
- Increase farm productivity
- Increase participation in profitable market systems
Activities And approaches
- Follow an inclusive market system methodology that focuses on building the capacity and resilience of local systems, leveraging the incentives and resources of the private sector, ensuring the beneficial inclusion of the poor, and stimulating change and innovation that continues to grow beyond the life of the project.
- The market systems approach has three core principles: aligning incentives, increasing cooperation and competition, and catalyzing investment. Every facilitative activity ensures that the incentives for each market system actor are aligned with the desired intervention and expected market system change.
- An important implementation tool for RDC is the $1.5 million Market Accelerator Fund (the Fund). The Fund is utilized to support a broad range of new and innovative market system approaches through support ranging from procurement of local business development and agronomic consulting services, financial support for technology or mechanization upgrades, as well as support for innovative promotion and customer/supplier outreach initiatives.
- RDC also has three major cross-cutting areas (gender, nutrition, and climate change) that are integrated within the overall market systems approach.
ANTICIPATED/ACHIEVED PROJECT RESULTS
- 500,000 farmers in the Feed the Future zone will have access to new and improved products, services, and/or market channels.
- 50% expansion of commercial outreach in the Feed the Future zone of production and post-harvest related inputs and services.
- 50% expansion of commercial procurement by collaborating companies in the Feed the Future zone.
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Invitation for Applications
This is an amendment of the USAID/Bangladesh Rice and Diversified Crops Activity invitation for applications (IFA) that was published in national newspapers on January 17 and 19, 2017, on the Prothom Alo, and on January 19 and 21, 2017, on the Daily Ittefaq. This amendment reflects the modification against the circulation of expression of interest on the Prothom Alo, dated December 8, 2016. The IFA will now be reopened to accept applications on a rolling basis until market accelerator program funds are no longer available. If objectives change, it will be informed through further modifications to the IFA. Applicants who already submitted proposals do not need to submit the same proposal again.
Interested applicants who meet the eligible criteria can submit an expression of interest to the following email: info@acdivocardc.org, or a hard copy to the RDC office at House#37, Road#11, Block#H, Banani, Dhaka-1213, Bangladesh.
Please include the name, title, phone number, and email of the lead contact person who will be involved with the application process.
Request for Expression of Interest
The USAID/Bangladesh Rice and Diversified Crops Activity has issued a request for expression of interest (REOI) from service providers and training organizations that are registered as companies to design and conduct one or more Training of Trainers programs in adult learning methodology for women and men tailored to the needs of extension staff of agribusiness companies.
Funder: USAID
Budget: $24,480,000
Contact: Caroline Bailey, cbailey@acdivoca.org
