Hiring a Consultancy firm to carry out an Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) & Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPS) for Kiryango, Nyirakayange and Base marshlands

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES -– FIRMS SELECTION)

COUNTRY: Rwanda

NAME OF PROJECT: Commercialization and De-risking for Agricultural

Transformation (CDAT) Project

Credit A No: 7084-RW, Credit B No: 7085-RW and Grant No: E017-RW

Assignment Title: Hiring a Consultancy firm to carry out an Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for Base, Kiryango and Nyirakayange irrigation schemes.

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Reference No: RW-RAB-322412-CS-QCBS

The Government of Rwanda has received financing from the International Development Association (IDA) toward the cost of the Commercialization and De-risking for Agricultural Transformation (CDAT) Project and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services of Hiring a Consultancy firm to carry out an Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for Base, Kiryango and Nyirakayange irrigation schemes.

The Terms of Reference (TOR) related to this assignment are attached to this request for expressions of interest.

The Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) / Commercialization and De-risking for Agricultural Transformation (CDAT) Project now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the above Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. Expression of Interest (EOI) will include: core business and years in business, relevant experience, technical and managerial capability of the firm.

To be able to submit an expression of interest, International and National consulting firms who are not registered in E-procurement system, are advised to register themselves through www.umucyo.gov.rw

N.B.:

Submission of expression of interest via other channels than Umucyo E-Procurement System shall not be considered. In case of Joint-Venture, only the lead firm must submit the Expression of Interest, the Joint-Venture must be done through e-procurement system, otherwise the EOI will be rejected.

The shortlisting criteria are:

• The firm should have a vast experience in consultancy services with references in Environmental Impact Assessment studies related to irrigation infrastructure or water management infrastructure proven by certificates of good completion and contracts;

• The firm should be a registered member of Rwanda Association of Professional Environmental Practitioners (RAPEP) and figure on the RAPEP list of authorized firms to conduct environmental assessment studies;

The shortlist will contain five (5) to eight (8) firms.

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” Fourth Edition September, 2023 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.

Consultants may associate with other firms to enhance their qualifications, but should indicate clearly whether the association is in the form of a joint venture and/or a sub-consultancy. In the case of a joint venture, all the partners in the joint venture shall be jointly and severally liable for the entire contract, if selected.

A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the criteria set out in the Request for Proposals.

Expressions of interest must be delivered through e-procurement system on www.umucyo.gov.rw by the time indicated in the system.

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR IRRIGATION REHABILITATION OF BASE, NYIRAKIYANGE AND KIRYANGO MARSHLAND SCHEMES

• BACKGROUND

• Introduction

Rwanda is committed to become an upper-middle income country by 2035 and a high-income country by 2050. A modern and high performing agriculture sector, well integrated into regional and global supply chains, is one of the country’s key drivers of growth. The required transformation in agriculture needs to be built on competition and innovation and achieve higher productivity rates through private sector-led investment and development.

Rwandan agriculture is mostly rain-fed, and therefore more exposed to weather-related risks, especially to severe, frequent, and prolonged dry spells occurring during the cropping seasons. Irrigation investments have significant potential to address these challenges and to improve the productivity of farmers who depend on rain-fed agriculture, through improving yields and increasing cultivation in the dry season. Irrigation scheme requires infrastructure investment, operation and maintenance costs and farmers in drought-prone areas requires adequate infrastructure to cope with such conditions. The expansion of the irrigation network is the only way to expand the effective land area and reduce climate-related production risks through improved technologies and practices.

It is in this regard that the “Commercialization and De-Risking for Agricultural Transformation Project’’ hereafter “CDAT project” will invest in expanding and upgrading the irrigation area infrastructure through rehabilitation or development of Marshlands including diversion weirs and other irrigation facilities and land husbandry development. Base Marshland (located in Ruhango and Nyanza Districts), Nyirakiyange and Kiryango Marshlands both located in Ruhango District in the Southern Province of Rwanda, are ones of the irrigation sites to be rehabilitated by CDAT project. Therefore, these Terms of Reference (ToRs) are for consultancy services to provide Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board with the full study for Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of Hydro-Agricultural development works for Base Marshland (command area 134ha) and 268ha for land husbandry, Nyirakiyange Marshland (command area 98.5ha) and 197ha for land husbandry and Kiryango Marshland (command area 108ha) with 216ha for land husbandry. In addition to these ToRs, the study will be conducted in accordance with World Bank’s Environmental and Social Standards (ESSs), the provisions of the laws and regulations that govern EIA in Rwanda and will require application for EIA Clearance to Rwanda Development Board (RDB).

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• CDAT project

The Government of Rwanda (GoR) is pursuing its efforts to accelerate private sector-led growth and further reduce poverty. This is performed through the implementation of various sustainable development programs and projects. The “Commercialization and De-Risking for Agricultural Transformation Project’’ hereafter “CDAT project” is among the development projects designed under the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), funded by the World Bank (WB) for a period of 5 years. The objectives of the project are to increase the use of irrigation and commercialization among producers and agribusiness firms in supported value chains and to increase access to agriculture finance. The project beneficiaries are farmers’ cooperatives, commercial farmers, and small and medium-sized agri-enterprises.

The project has four components.

Component 1: Value Chain and Infrastructure Development, it aims to increase marketable volumes in supported value chains and provide targeted climate-sensitive infrastructure support. The component will finance public goods such as irrigation infrastructure, land husbandry, extension provision, and research and development of improved seeds. Under this component, they are 3 subcomponents : (i) Irrigation rehabilitation and development focuses to expand the irrigated area and increase marketable output from irrigated agriculture, (ii), Land husbandry with the objective to protect the watershed areas that drain to the irrigation sites under Subcomponent 1.1, increase the productivity of these areas, and prevent soil erosion, (iii) Innovation and services for agri-business value chain development aims to increase value addition and marketability by addressing critical constraints that directly affect the commercialization of the targeted value chains.

Component 2: Agricultural Finance and Insurance, the objective of this component is to increase access to financial products and services for farmers and cooperatives for the commercialization of the sector. Under this component, 2 subcomponents have developed: (i) Scaling up agricultural finance to set the foundation for expanding the supply of affordable financial services and products, (ii) Strengthening agricultural insurance by strengthening the quality and effectiveness of agriculture insurance offered through the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS), which seeks to de-risk the agricultural sector using market-based insurance mechanisms and fintech solutions.

Component 3: Covers project management to ensure the smooth implementation of the project and will support all aspects of project management such as (i) project staffing and their training; (ii) procurement and financial management; (iii) environmental and social risk management and compliance; (iv) monitoring and evaluation; (v) equipment and operating costs; (vi) communication and knowledge management.

Component 4: The contingency Emergency Response Component will allow for rapid reallocation of the project’s uncommitted funds in the event of an eligible emergency.

Therefore, various activities were developed under these components and subcomponent and their implementation requires carrying out civil works related to the rehabilitation of existing or development of irrigation infrastructure. Under subcomponent 1.1, works related to pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, preparation of detailed designs, construction supervision and quality assurances, construction of irrigation water abstraction, delivery, distribution, and drainage structures will be implemented in 31 irrigation schemes identified in different districts countrywide.

Rehabilitation of irrigation and drainage network canals and constru