Section 1 – General Information

Section 2 – Scope of Procurement

1. Introduction: CNFA is an international agricultural development organization that specializes in the design and implementation of sustainable, enterprise-based agricultural initiatives. CNFA implements USDA Food for Progress Rwanda Haranira Ubuziranenge Project (2024-2029), with the objective to strengthen the capacities of public and private stakeholders in Rwanda to develop, enforce, and adopt international science-based food safety standards.

The Project will implement interventions across three key components: 1) Strengthening Food Safety Frameworks and Government Institutions; 2) Enhanced Laboratory Technical Capacity in Testing, Inspection, and Certification; 3) Increased Food Safety Awareness and Capacity Building of Producers and Processors. Haranira Ubuziranenge will focus on supporting and collaborating with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and other SPS/Food Safety stakeholders to achieve the project outcomes as outlined in Component 1.

Strengthening Rwanda’s adoption and implementation of science-based food safety standards and regulations will increase Rwanda’s competitiveness in the global market and enhance the availability of quality and safe foods for consumers. Haranira Ubuziranenge will engage public and private stakeholders to increase productivity and food security through the adoption of good agricultural practices (GAPs). The Project will support the Government of Rwanda to integrate science-based food safety standards and producers and processors to adhere to them, thereby improving consumer health and increasing agricultural trade.

Objective of the Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to support the Government of Rwanda to update and finalize a comprehensive Food Safety Policy. While the Rwanda Ministry of Health (MoH) is leading the development of the overarching policy and legal framework, food safety roles and responsibilities are shared with other agencies, namely, Rwanda Inspectorate, Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (RICA), Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority (RFDA), Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), Rwanda Standards Board (RSB). Clarifying roles through MoUs, removing overlaps and redundancies, harmonizing competencies and implementing regulatory activities in a coordinated fashion remains a challenge for the responsible institutions. The Haranira Ubuziranenge (HU) Project is therefore seeking a consultant that can provide specialized expertise to revise the Rwanda food safety system and develop the comprehensive policy guided by the MoH, and supported by the CNFA Food Safety Embedded Advisor, while building on the initial work done by USDA Food for Progress Trade of Agriculture Safely and Efficiently in East Africa (TRASE) and TradeMark Africa. 2. Scope of Work: Development of Food Safety Policy and Legal Framework

Haranira Ubuziranenge anticipates the use of a Fixed Price Contract to contract a consultant to complete the following tasks:

1. Rapid assessment of the Rwanda food safety system and the institutional framework:

• Review findings and recommendations of the WHO/FAO assessment of the national food control system.
• Review the legal mandates of agencies and ministries responsible for food safety in Rwanda.
• Identify gaps and overlaps in regulatory roles and operational procedures.

Review legal mandates and food safety responsibilities of the local governments (Districts).

2. Cabinet Decisions and other policy documents:

• Review the existing relevant policy documents, including the Quality Policy, draft Food Safety Policy, and the Cabinet Decisions 2025.

3. Updating the draft Food Safety Policy:

• Conduct consultations with key public institutions, e.g. RICA, RFDA, RDB, RAB, RSB and private stakeholders on the draft food safety policy document.
• Update and finalize the draft Food Safety Policy, based on Cabinet Decisions 2025, and findings from the reviews and stakeholder consultations.

4. Stakeholder Validation Meetings:

• Conduct meetings with both public and private sector stakeholders to validate the content of the Food Safety Policy and ensure that they are responsive to private sector needs and Rwanda’s regulatory requirements.

5. Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between government institutions:

• Facilitate meetings on MoU development between government institutions to coordinate the implementation of food safety regulatory activities, including inspections.
• Facilitate the development of a coordination and collaboration framework for the relevant government institutions.

3: Deliverables

Section 3 – Evaluation Methodology and Criteria

CNFA will use a Weighted Trade-Off Analysis, including Cost Criteria evaluation methodology for this solicitation. Weighted Trade-Off Analysis selects the offeror providing the best overall value to CNFA, considering both price and technical factors, according to the assigned weights provided in the evaluation criteria. The Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) will assess offer acceptability in accordance with the following criteria:

Section 4 – Offer Format Instructions

Offers in response to this solicitation must comply with the following instructions:

1. Submissions will be accepted in the following language(s): English
2. Include the following in the offer footer:
   1. Offeror name
   2. Solicitation Number
   3. Page Numbers
3. Offer in the format provided in Annex 1

Section 5 – Complete Offer

A complete offer must include the following documents:

1. Completed Annex 1 – Offer Template
2. Copy of the Offeror’s personal identification
3. CV/resume

Section 6 – CNFA Terms and Conditions

1. Ethical and Business Conduct: CNFA is committed to integrity in procurement, and only selects offerors based on objective business criteria such as price and technical merit. CNFA does not tolerate fraud, collusion among offerors, falsified proposals/bids, bribery, or kickbacks. Any organization or individual violating these standards will be disqualified from this solicitation, barred from future procurement opportunities, and may be reported to both CNFA’s Client – as applicable – and the appropriate Office of the Inspector General.

Employees and agents of CNFA are strictly prohibited from asking for or accepting any money, fee, commission, credit, gift, gratuity, object of value or compensation from current or potential vendors or suppliers in exchange for or as a reward for business. Employees and agents engaging in this conduct are subject to termination and will be reported to CNFA’s Client – as applicable – and the appropriate Office of the Inspector General. In addition, CNFA will further inform these agencies of any Offerors’ offers of money, fee, commission, credit, gift, gratuity, object of value or compensation to obtain business.

Please contact the designated Point of Contact on the Solicitation Cover Page with any questions or concerns regarding the above information or to report any potential violations. Potential violations may also be reported directly to CNFA’s Fraud Hotline in writing via email at FraudHotline@cnfa.org or you may make an anonymous report by phone, text, or WhatsApp to the CNFA Global Fraud Hotline at 202-991-0943.

2. Terms and Conditions: This Solicitation is subject to CNFA’s standard terms and conditions. Any resultant award will be governed by these terms and conditions; a copy of the full terms and conditions is available upon request. Please note the following terms and conditions will apply:

• CNFA’s standard payment terms are 30 calendar days after receipt and acceptance of any commodities or deliverables. Payment will only be issued to the entity submitting the offer in response to this Solicitation and identified in the resulting award; payment will not be issued to a third party.
• No commodities or services may be supplied that are manufactured or assembled in, shipped from, transported through, or otherwise involving any of the following countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria.
• Any international air or ocean transportation or shipping carried out under any award resulting from this Solicitation must take place on U.S.-flag carriers/vessels unless otherwise approved by CNFA.
• United States law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. The selected offeror under any award resulting from this Solicitation must ensure compliance with these laws.
• United States law prohibits engaging in any activities related to Trafficking in Persons. The selected offeror under any award resulting from this Solicitation must ensure compliance with these laws.
• The title to any goods supplied under any award resulting from this Solicitation shall pass to CNFA following delivery and acceptance of the goods by CNFA. Risk of loss, injury, or destruction of the goods shall be borne by the offeror until title passes to CNFA.
• The offeror is prohibited from providing certain telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as a critical technology as part of any system, produced by the following covered companies, and their subsidiaries and affiliates, in the performance of any resulting award: Huawei Technologies Company; ZTE Corporation; Hytera Communications Corporation; Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company; Dahua Technology Company; and any other company as determined by the United States Government. The offeror certifies it will not provide covered telecommunications equipment or services to CNFA in performance of the resulting award. If covered telecommunications equipment or services are offered, the offeror must disclose it.

3. Disclaimers: This is a Solicitation only. Issuance of this Solicitation does not in any way obligate CNFA, its project(s), or its client(s) to make an award or pay for costs incurred by potential offerors in the preparation and submission of an offer. In addition:

• Offerors are responsible for ensuring their offers are received by CNFA in accordance with the instructions, terms, and conditions described in this Solicitation; failure to adhere to instructions may lead to disqualification
• CNFA may cancel the Solicitation and not award at any time
• CNFA may reject any or all responses received
• Issuance of the Solicitation does not constitute award commitment by CNFA
• CNFA reserves the right to disqualify any offer based on offeror failure to follow the Solicitation instructions
• CNFA will not compensate offerors for response to the Solicitation
• CNFA reserves the right to issue award based on initial evaluation of offers without further discussion
• CNFA may negotiate with offerors for their best and final offer and/or request clarifications from any offeror prior to award
• CNFA reserves the right to increase or decrease its order for quantities or units with the selected offeror
• CNFA may reissue the Solicitation or issue formal amendments revising the original Solicitation specifications and evaluation criteria before or after receipt of proposals
• CNFA may modify the specifications without issuing a formal notice to all offerors when the revisions are immaterial to the scope of the Solicitation
• CNFA may choose to award only part of the activities in the Solicitation, or issue multiple awards, if in the best interest of CNFA
• CNFA reserves the right to waive minor offer deficiencies that can be corrected prior to award determination to promote competition
• Offerors understand that CNFA’s Client(s) is not a party to this Solicitation and the offeror agrees that any protest hereunder must be presented – in writing with full explanations – to CNFA for consideration. CNFA’s Client(s) will not consider protests regarding procurements carried out by CNFA. CNFA, at its sole discretion, will make a final decision on any protest for this procurement.

Annex 1 – Offer Template

The following cover letter must be placed on letterhead – if applicable – and completed/signed/stamped by a representative authorized to sign on behalf of the offeror:

PART 1 – COVER LETTER

To: CNFA USDA Food for Progress Rwanda Procurement Team

KG 28, AV 7, Kimihurura, Kigali, Rwanda

procurement@cnfa-rwanda.org

Reference: Solicitation no. RFP- FFPr-Rwanda-2025- Development of Food Safety Policy 

To Whom It May Concern:

We, the undersigned, hereby provide the attached offer to perform all work required to complete the activities and requirements as described in the above-referenced Solicitation. Please find our offer attached.

We hereby acknowledge and agree to all terms, conditions, special provisions, and instructions included in the above-referenced Solicitation. We further certify that the below-named organization—as well as the organization’s principal officers and all commodities and services offered in response to this Solicitation—are eligible to participate in this procurement under the terms of this solicitation and under the applicable regulations.

Furthermore, we hereby certify that, to the best of our knowledge and belief:

• We have no close, familial, or financial relationships with any CNFA, its project staff members, or its Client (as applicable);
• We have no close, familial, or financial relationships with any other offerors submitting proposals in response to the above-referenced Solicitation;
• We and our principal offerors are not debarred, suspended, or otherwise considered ineligible for receiving US Government funds. We understand that CNFA will not make any award to an entity that is debarred, suspended, or considered ineligible by the US Government;
• The prices in our offer have been arrived at independently, without any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror or competitor for the purpose of restricting competition;
• All information in our proposal and all supporting documentation is authentic and accurate;
• We understand and agree to CNFA’s prohibitions against fraud, bribery, and kickbacks;
• We understand and agree to CNFA’s prohibitions against funding or associating with individuals or organizations engaged in terrorism or trafficking in persons activities.

We hereby certify that the enclosed representations, certifications, and other statements are accurate, current, and complete:

PART 2 – OFFER

Offerors are instructed to complete this form and place it on the Offeror’s letterhead. Once completed, this form serves as the binding proposal in response to this solicitation and is valid for the period identified on the cover page of this Solicitation. Failure to submit the information required herein may lead to disqualification of the offer.

1. Technical Proposal

1.1. Evaluation Criteria 1 – Consultant experience

Provide an overview of your experience and capabilities related to the proposed SOW. Describe your experience performing similar work and demonstrated knowledge and application of the WTO SPS and TBT Agreements, the relevant Codex principles and guidelines, standards, regional and continental SPS frameworks. Describe your experience working with a food safety competent authority and a functional national food control system.

1.2. Evaluation Criteria 2 – Approach

• Evaluation Criteria 3 – Management and qualifications

• Evaluation Criteria 4 – Past Performance and References

Provide infiormation on at least three similar work delivery experiences in developing country similar to Rwanda. Please provide the contact information for three client references within the last five years of similar work performed under consultancies or contracts in a development context (in Section 5 below).

2. Cost Proposal

2.1. Budget

Offerors are instructed to complete boxes highlighted in gray. Pricing must be presented in USD or Rwandan Francs. The cost proposal must match the degree of sophistication of the technical proposal. CNFA reserves the right to negotiate the proposed budget or request clarification at its discretion.

3. Tax Considerations

Offerors are made aware of CNFA’s tax status in Rwanda. CNFA is tax exempt but Offerors are required to submit both prices before tax and with taxes. Offers submitted must comply with these tax considerations.

4. Bank Account

Offerors are instructed to complete boxes highlighted in gray:

5. References

Offerors are instructed to complete the boxes highlighted in gray: