A potential $65 million contract to help boost the productivity of poor farmers is about to be unveiled by the U.S. government — in Nigeria.
Indeed, this is just the latest phase of Maximizing Agricultural Revenue and Key Enterprise in Targeted Sectors Program (MARKETS), which from 2005-2010 contractor Chemonics International Inc., helped carry out for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) at a cost of $51.7 million to U.S. taxpayers.
According to the new solicitation (#SOL-620-11-000001), which was released yesterday:
MARKETS II is conceived of as a follow-on of the MARKETS project and shall continue MARKETS activities to build the eight value chains currently being supported: Rice, Cassava, Sorghum, Cowpea, Aquaculture, Sesame, Maize, Cocoa.
Whereas the initial project was conducted throughout twenty-three Nigerian states, MARKETS II, as it will be known, will focus on the states of “Bauchi and Sokoto, one or two states of the Niger Delta region and additional states to reach a maximum of ten.” According to the solicitation, the project will:
build on the successes of its predecessor MARKETS project in addressing constraints along the agricultural commodity value chain, working with farmers to increase production and the quality of produce through improved post-harvest handling, linking farmers and agro-processors, providing incentives to adopt improved technology along the value chain, producing value-added products and identifying new markets.
The deadline for submitting proposals to USAID for the MARKETS II program is Sept. 16.
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