AFRICARICE CENTER PRE-QUALIFICATION OF COMPANIES SPECIALIZED IN THE PRODUCTION OF QUALITY SEED PRODUCTION
PQ: TAAT/PSU/SS/DF/2019/002
1. INTRODUCTION
The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) is an association of African member states and member of theCGIAR System Organization. Its mission is to contribute to poverty alleviation and food security through partnership interventions with relevant stakeholders including small to medium scale enterprises (SMEs). Through the TAAT (Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation) RiceCompact Project among others. Africa Rice has been working with partners in the private sector to disseminate improved rice technologies and innovations such as quality seeds of improved varieties for the benefit of smallholders and entrepreneurs. In this regard, through the TAAT Rice Compact Project, AfricaRice will like to pre-qualify seed enterprise SMEs who will be willing to work with Africa Rice to further produce foundation and certified seeds at their facilities with technical support from AfricaRice.
II. OBJECTIVE
The Purpose of this pre-qualification is to select small to medium scale seed enterprises (SMEs)present in one of the following nine (9) countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinee Conakry, Nigeria, Senegal, Madagascar, Uganda, Cameroun, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone who have adequate experience in producing quality seeds of rice and who wish to work with Africa Rice to further produce foundation and certified rice seeds at their facilities with technical support from Africa Rice. The purpose of this partnership is to create and promote demand for quality rice seed and the promotion of new improved rice varieties in farming communities in a sustainable way whereby seed enterprise SMEs are actively engaged in the production and commercialization of quality rice seed and the promotion of new varieties in the region and beyond.
1 CRITERIA FOR SELECTION
Interested SMEs are required to:
1 Provide a completed vendor response form (Annex 1), dated, signed stamped with the seal of company
2 Provide certificate of registration in a domain similar to the activities of the requirements
3 Show proof pictures of facilities to produce, process and store seeds that will be produced
4 Demonstrate evidence of working with farming communities in the commercialization of quality seed for the benefit of smallholders and entrepreneurs
5 Demonstrate distribution and or sales pathways of the certified seeds to be produced to enable Africa Rice to follow-up the spread and adoption of the improved varieties among smalholders and commercial farmers
6 Demonstrate willingness to actively work with Africa Rice from production to the commercialization of the quality seeds so that not only technical support is provided toAfricarice but who, Information and data are available to Arica Rice on seed movement within and across countries, and area covered by the improved varieties This information is critical for Africarice, to make informed decisions and policy in the development of the rice sector
7 Demonstrate willingness and capability to actively engage in varietal replacement by strategically replacing of old/existing varieties that are over 10 years old with new/elite rice varieties
IV SUBMISSION OF EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
Eligible companies meeting the qualification criteria listed above are requested to send their Expression of interest by email to [email protected] no later than Friday 07th of June 2019 at 4.00pm Abidjan local time, by indicating clearly in the subject of the email.
The Expression of Interest may be submitted by email to [email protected] with the subject line indicating Response to Quality Seed Producers’ pre-qualification 2019 After reviewing the various Expressions of Interest received, AfricaRice plans to issue a Request for Quotations to the preselected candidates. Only eligible companies will be contacted and will receive the Request for Quotations
V. REQUEST FOR CLARIFICATION
Prospective suppliers may request clarification of any article of the Pre-qualification no later than five (05) days prior to the submission date. Any request for clarification must be sent in writing via courier or through electronic means to [email protected] AfricaRice will respond in writing, transmitted by electronic means and will transmit copies of the response (including an explanation of the query but without identifying the source of inquiry) to all prospective suppliers who have provided confirmation of their intention to submit an Expression of Interest.
Kolade Olatifede
Director of Finance
