Cold Storage Needs for Palm Dates Technical Assistance



POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1600, Arlington, VA 22209-3901, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT CONTRACTS OFFICE; PROPOSAL SUBMISSION PLACE: Chef de Division des Projet de Mise en Valeur et de l’Industrie Agricole, Ministère de l’Agriculture et de la Pêche Maritime, Avenue Mohamed V, Quartier Administratif-Place Abdellah Chefchaouni, BP: 607, Rabat, Morocco, Tel (212) 37 76 11 14 or (212) 37 76 18 34, Fax (212) 37 76 15 57.



Cold Storage Needs for Palm Dates Technical Assistance. The Grantee invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the "Proposal") from interested U.S. firms which are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to develop a technical assistance for Cold Storage Needs for Palm Dates.



The agricultural sector is predominant in Morocco; almost half of the active population is employed in this sector and it contributes around 13% to the GDP. Moroccan agricultural production consists of cereals, fruits and vegetables. High quality agricultural production, including olives and olive oil, is usually exported to Europe. Currently, annual production of date palms in Morocco is estimated at 85,000 tons, of which nearly 30% spoils before it reaches its markets due to inadequate storage and transportation infrastructure.



Recognizing the important role of agriculture in the Moroccan economy, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has committed $300.9 million USD to stimulate growth in the agricultural sector and reduce volatility of agricultural production through the Fruit Tree Productivity Project. The Fruit Tree Productivity Project will focus on date, figs, almond and olive tree production. Furthermore, it will support the upgrading of existing small-scale irrigation infrastructure and the intensification and rehabilitation of existing date tree cultivation in irrigated oasis perimeters (approximately 16,000 ha within perimeters covering 23,000 ha). The objective is to increase the efficiency of water use and other crop practices to enhance the yield and profitability of date production in the target areas.



Although the MCC compact activities address the horticultural and irrigation issues, there is a need for further support in the marketing and agribusiness components of the date palm sector in Morocco. Specifically, there is a need for assistance to identify ways to preserve the quality of production and improve the values of the produced crops. This will have significant impacts on the income levels of farmers’, which is the overall broad objective of the MCC compact.



An efficient Cold Chain system is an important component of Morocco's agricultural sector and is vital for the country's economic development. Morocco currently imports dates, mainly from Tunisia, to supplement its local production to meet domestic demand. Morocco has a large potential to increase date production and one of its greatest barriers is the failure to prevent spoilage. The implementation of a cold chain system and refrigerated facilities would enhance Morocco’s ability to increase the value of high quality date products. The Ministry of Agriculture and Maritime Fishing has identified this project as a priority as it would reduce post-harvest losses and improve farmers’ incomes.



The technologies and practices to be identified in the study are those that would allow the storage of date palms for prolonged periods of time (up to 11 months), to enable producers to store their crops until the Holy Month of Ramadan of the following year, which is the season of peak demand for dates in Morocco and the Islamic World. Demand is expected to continue to increase, and so the need for cold storage facilities and infrastructure will also continue to grow.



The study will also identify the optimal institutional arrangements for the implementation of the needed cold storage facilities, and explore a number of arrangements including public private partnerships (e.g., concessions) and others. In addition, the project will include a training component targeting producers and producer associations on the importance of cold storage. The study will also focus on showing the substantial return on investment that expenditures on cold chain storage will bring, due to to producers’ abilities to produce a better quality of fruit, and to preserve the fruit until the peak demand season. Finally, the study will address replicability with other crops in the future.



The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $531,810 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).



A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the Terms of Reference, and a background definitional mission report are available from USTDA, at 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1600, Arlington, VA 22209-3901. To request the RFP in PDF format, please go to: https://www.ustda.gov/USTDA/FedBizOpps/RFP/rfpform.asp. Requests for a mailed hardcopy version of the RFP may also be faxed to the IRC, USTDA at 703-875-4009. In the fax, please include your firm’s name, contact person, address, and telephone number. Some firms have found that RFP materials sent by U.S. mail do not reach them in time for preparation of an adequate response. Firms that want USTDA to use an overnight delivery service should include the name of the delivery service and your firm's account number in the request for the RFP. Firms that want to send a courier to USTDA to retrieve the RFP should allow one hour after faxing the request to USTDA before scheduling a pick-up. Please note that no telephone requests for the RFP will be honored. Please check your internal fax verification receipt. Because of the large number of RFP requests, USTDA cannot respond to requests for fax verification. Requests for RFPs received before 4:00 PM will be mailed the same day. Requests received after 4:00 PM will be mailed the following day. Please check with your courier and/or mail room before calling USTDA.



Only U.S. firms and individuals may bid on this USTDA financed activity. Interested firms, their subcontractors and employees of all participants must qualify under USTDA's nationality requirements as of the due date for submission of qualifications and proposals and, if selected to carry out the USTDA-financed activity, must continue to meet such requirements throughout the duration of the USTDA-financed activity. All goods and services to be provided by the selected firm shall have their nationality, source and origin in the U.S. or host country. The U.S. firm may use subcontractors from the host country for up to 20 percent of the USTDA grant amount. Details of USTDA's nationality requirements and mandatory contract clauses are also included in the RFP.



Interested U.S. firms should submit their Proposal in English directly to the Grantee by 12:00 p.m. NOON, December 12, 2008 at the above address. Evaluation criteria for the Proposal are included in the RFP. Price will not be a factor in contractor selection, and therefore, cost proposals should NOT be submitted. The Grantee reserves the right to reject any and/or all Proposals. The Grantee also reserves the right to contract with the selected firm for subsequent work related to the project. The Grantee is not bound to pay for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of Proposals.