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Equipment Upgrade Support To Agricultural Enterprises - Cancelled

Company:	Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA)
Location:	Armenia, Armenia
Duration:	12 months
Start Date:	01 October 2024
Deadline:	30 September 2025
Announcement Code:	APS-2024/002-Equipment-to-Agribusinesses

Competition
Company

COMPETITION TYPE:

Grants

DETAIL DESCRIPTION:

Grant program to support agricultural enterprises to upgrade their equipment base and enhance productive capacity and product quality.

Issuance date: October 1, 2024

Submission deadline: Rolling basis for the period October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025

USAID Economic Foundations for a Resilient Armenia Activity (“USAID Economic Foundations”) is releasing Annual Program Statement (APS) No. APS-2024/002-Equipment-to-Agribusinesses to award grants in support of its activities, particularly to improve the productivity of agribusinesses in all regions of Armenia by supporting them to modernize and upgrade their equipment for production, processing, post-harvest, and logistical activities and ultimately get integrated into regional, national, and international markets. Grants will be awarded and implemented in accordance with USAID and US Government regulations governing grants and USAID Economic Foundations’ internal grants management policies.

USAID Economic Foundations conducted in-depth analyses of agricultural value chains based on their potential to increase exports, mobilize investments, and enhance growth. Based on these analyses, several sub-sectors were identified as target intervention areas and constitute the focus of this APS:
1. Viticulture and wine production
2. Fruits and berries (fresh and processed)
3. Vegetables (fresh and processed)
4. Herbs (fresh and dried) and herbal teas
5. Honey
6. Nuts

Grants awarded under this APS will strengthen businesses in the target sub-sectors of agriculture, improve their management practices, and integrate sustainable modernization for production, processing, post-harvest, and logistical activities, as well as contribute to the increase of sales of interconnected entities (e.g. winemakers, producers and processors of berries, fruits, vegetables, herbs and herbal teas, honey, and nuts, suppliers, subcontractors, farmers, agricultural cooperatives, freight forwarders, agricultural logistics and post-harvest operators, exporters, food traders, etc.). Applicant companies seeking grant assistance to improve their facilities and productive capacity shall ensure integration of micro and small farmers into their supply networks, including, where possible, farms established by disadvantaged groups (women, youth, forcibly displaced people from Nagorno Karabakh, people with disabilities, etc.), thus creating an enabling environment for farmers to become sustainable and produce more.

Within the identified sub-sectors, this APS targets agribusinesses that wish to improve their capacity in the following key areas:
- PRODUCTION: upgrades of vineyards, fruit and nut orchards, vegetable fields, herb farms, and apiaries (bee yards) to improve quality standards (e.g. anti-hail nets, drip irrigation systems, etc.).
- PROCESSING: upgrades of production efficiencies when processing grapes, berries, fruits, vegetables, herbs, honey, and nuts (e.g. tools, devices, automated equipment for cleaning, washing, drying, sorting and/or grading, processing, packaging, label sticking, lid closing, etc.).
- POST-HARVEST: upgrades of production efficiencies for collection and storage of agricultural produce after harvesting (e.g. stationary and mobile (on-the-truck) cold storage equipment (excluding the vehicle) with respective insulation systems, humidity control and air circulation systems, modified atmosphere (MA) and controlled atmosphere (CA) technologies, etc.).
- LOGISTICS: upgrades of production efficiencies for transportation and sales of agricultural produce (e.g. equipment for transportation and handling of agricultural produce, etc.).

USAID Economic Foundations’ support of individual grant activities for this specific APS is planned to range from a minimum of $20,000 to a maximum of $150,000, whereby grants will be disbursed in equivalent AMD amounts. Leveraged contributions are planned to start at a minimum of 30% of the total project cost, whereby higher contributions are encouraged resulting in higher scoring during evaluation. Recipients will be able to request VAT exemption for eligible costs to be charged to the grant funding. If approved, VAT exemption letters will be provided by USAID. The period of performance of individual grant activities is planned for a maximum of 12 months from the grant agreement signature date (starting on or after November 1, 2024, and ending no later than December 31, 2026).

REQUIREMENTS:

Applicants must strictly adhere to the requirements of this APS. Grant applications may be submitted in English or Armenian. Grant applications will be accepted in electronic form only.

Please reference APS-2024/002-Equipment-to-Agribusinesses in any response to this APS.

Any questions related to this APS must be submitted to USAID Economic Foundations’ Grants Team at ******@************.***. Questions must be submitted in writing; phone calls will not be accepted. Questions and requests for clarification, and responses thereto, that USAID Economic Foundations believes may be of interest to other applicants, will be circulated to all APS recipients who have indicated interest in submitting applications. Only written answers issued by USAID Economic Foundations will be considered official and carry weight in the APS process and subsequent evaluation.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES:

Please note this APS will close on September 30, 2025. Applications in response to this APS will be reviewed on a rolling basis and awarded depending on availability of funds. Applicants are encouraged to apply early to increase the likelihood of application consideration before funds are exhausted.

The electronic applications shall be submitted to USAID Economic Foundations only via email to ******@************.***, whereby the subject line of the email shall state "APS-2024/002-Equipment-to-Agribusinesses" and the applicant's company name.

Applications will be accepted exclusively in the format and templates stipulated by this APS. The grant application package shall include:
- Grant application form (Attachment 1) and Attachments 2-12, including:
- Color scan of the company's state registration certificate (from the State Register of the Legal Entities of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia) and beneficial ownership declaration.
- ACRA commercial credit report and SRC reference on tax liability.

Applicants will be notified by USAID Economic Foundations’ Grants Team with a confirmation of the application receipt.

The grant application templates of Attachments 1-12 in English and Armenian can be downloaded from https://www.cnfa.org/economic-foundations-grant-portal/

Please clearly mention in your application letter that you learned of this announcement through Career Center and mention the URL of its website - www.careercenter.am. Thanks.

OPEN TO/ ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

Applicants that submit applications in response to this APS must be legally registered entities (LLC, CJSC/OJSC, Sole entrepreneur) in the Republic of Armenia and must submit registration documents as a pre-requisite for receiving grant resources. For the purposes of this APS, eligible applicants:
- Operate in the Republic of Armenia and within the target sub-sectors of agriculture (wine, berries, fruits, vegetables, herbs, honey, and nuts).
- Be in operation for at least one year and have minimum AMD10,000,000 as annual revenue for the past year.
- Propose activities aligned with the objectives of USAID Economic Foundations and the purpose of this APS and grant program.
- Illustrate that USAID Economic Foundations’ grant support will positively contribute to at least one of the following indicators:
a) Improve the applicant company’s quality of production
b) Increase the applicant company’s volume of domestic sales
c) Increase the applicant company’s volume of export
d) Expand the applicant company’s export market
- Request AMD equivalent to $20,000 - $150,000 as grant funding.
- Meet minimum leverage requirement (30% of the project’s total value), higher grantee leverage contributions are encouraged resulting in higher scoring during evaluation.
- Be prepared to undertake an independent financial review and assessment, as requested.
- Provide ACRA commercial credit report and SRC reference on tax liability.
- Reach aggregate evaluation scoring of at least 70 points to be considered for a site visit.
- Adhere to high ethical business standards, including transparency in business dealings and record keeping.
- Comply with USAID environmental standards, present information regarding potential environmental risks and mitigation measures, and follow provisions of Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (EMMP) developed by USAID Economic Foundations for each approved grant project. A negative environmental assessment can be a condition for disqualification.
- Complete and pass a site visit and pre-award assessment, as applicable, including a food safety audit on GMP/GHP (Good Manufacturing and Hygiene Practice).

If due diligence checks uncover no major issues, USAID Economic Foundations will provide necessary instructions, technical requirements, and next steps of the grant award process, including guidance for full www.SAM.gov registration.

While USAID Economic Foundations will consider all applicants, when selecting potential awardees priority will be given to projects by companies that engage disadvantaged groups (including women, youth, forcibly displaced people from Nagorno Karabakh, people with disabilities, etc.) and show the realistic potential for business growth (improved product quality, new product development, diversification of export markets, expansion of local supply networks by engaging businesses established by people forcibly displaced from Nagorno Karabakh, etc.).

INTENDED AUDIENCE:

Enterprises engaged in production, processing, post-harvest, and logistics of agricultural produce in the target sub-sectors of wine, berries, fruits, vegetables, herbs, honey, and nuts

ABOUT:

USAID Economic Foundations for a Resilient Armenia Activity is a 5-year activity of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by CNFA, more info can be found here https://www.cnfa.org/program/usaid-economic-foundations-for-a-resilient-armenia/. The primary goal of USAID Economic Foundations is to introduce innovative, sustainable, and scalable solutions and build the capacity of Armenia’s government, industry, lenders, and investors to facilitate the growth and competitiveness of agriculture, tourism, and high-tech enterprises, thereby building the resiliency of Armenia’s economy.

USAID Economic Foundations is seeking to improve the productivity of agribusinesses in all regions of Armenia by supporting them to modernize and upgrade their equipment for production, processing, post-harvest, and logistical activities and ultimately get integrated into regional, national, and international markets. Intervention through this grant program will help further develop economic capacities in all regions of Armenia and ensure a consistent supply in both quality and quantity of grantees’ products and services, thus leading to higher revenues and enabling access to higher-value, stable markets. All capacity upgrading supported by this grant program will have to meet food safety standards, such as HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) Principles & Application Guidelines) or other FSMS (Food Safety Management System). By improving facilities and productivity, agribusinesses can produce fruits and vegetables of better quality and reduce post-harvest losses. Storing produce for longer periods helps target optimal dates for selling at higher rates. Improved facilities and productivity of processing and aggregating enterprises generates additional capacity and leads to purchase of increased quantities of produce from farmers, which in its turn creates an enabling environment for farmers to produce more. Improving production efficiencies of agribusinesses leads to their growth and integration of more farmers within their networks, as well as implementing internationally recognized food safety standards is essential for the growth of exports of Armenian produce.

ABOUT COMPANY:

Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), an international development organization, specializes in designing sustainable, market led agricultural initiatives. We build strong local and global partnerships, incorporate innovative approaches into our programs, and foster inclusive development to offer enhanced opportunities to under-served groups. Since 1985, CNFA has managed more than $600 million in donor funded agriculture development programs and has worked in 46 countries across the world in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

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