AGRA Irrigation and Seed Storage Infrastructure Development Call for Proposals

Call for Proposals

Irrigation and Seed Storage Infrastructure Development
 

I. Organization Overview
 

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is a partnership to significantly and sustainably improve the productivity and incomes of poor, small-scale farmers in Africa. 

AGRA is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and maintains offices in Accra, Ghana, Maputo, Mozambique, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Bamako-Mali and Juba-South Sudan. 

AGRA also undertakes policy advocacy and resource mobilization.

The Program for Africa’s Seeds Systems (PASS) is an AGRA initiative to improve food security and reduce poverty in Africa by promoting the development of seed delivery systems that allow small-scale farmers to gain access to improved, adapted crop varieties in an equitable and sustainable manner.
 

II. Call for Proposals:
 

AGRA seeks proposals from duly qualified organizations to install irrigation systems and seed cold storage units in National Agricultural Research Stations under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Tourism, ANIMAL Resources, Fisheries, Cooperatives and Rural Development (MAFTARFCRD) in the Republic of South Sudan. 

The infrastructure will be installed at Palotaka Basic Seed Centre Eastern Equatoria State, Halima Research Station in Western Bahr el Ghazal State, and Yambio Research Station in Western Equatoria State. 

The work of the selected organization will, among other duties, involve:
 

A. For irrigation infrastructure, at each station, to:

• Survey the research stations to identify appropriate positioning of the irrigation system
• Identify a site with adequate, good clean supply of underground water, free of suspended materials for irrigation purposes
• Provide a Water Quality Assurance Plan (WQAP) for the site and ascertain water suitability for crop irrigation
• Drill and fit borehole(s) operated by either solar power system or generator or both
• Construct an appropriate sized water tank to be used for irrigation, servicing 5 - 10 feddans (1 feddan = 0.42 hectares)
• Installation of a water pump unit to service the water tank
• Installation of main line and sub main lines to service the 5 - 10 feddans per station
• Provision of appropriate portable laterals and sprinklers for water application from the main lines

B. For cold storage infrastructure, at each station, to:

• Supply and install a walk-in cold room of about 27 m3, that is 3m X 3m X 3m for germplasm preservation
• Install insulated inside wall, roof, floor and door
• Fit the room with a compressor type cooling system to maintain the temperature at around 0°C – 4°C
• Fit the room with appropriate dehumidifiers to regulate humidity in the room
• Provide appropriate shelves for packing the germplasm in the cold room
• Provide clock-type temperature indicator and digital thermometer
• Fit the room with appropriate size generator to power the unit

III. Application Procedure:
 

The complete Terms of Reference for the call for proposals is available on the AGRA website www.agra.org and additional requests for background information by interested parties can be sent to the same e-mail address – PASS@agra.org by February 16, 2014.