International tender for consulting services: Impact assessment in Colombia’s agricultural sector

Greenhouse gas concentrations have reached such levels that climate impacts will inevitably be noticeable throughout the 21st century.  As climate is one of the main determinants of agricultural productivity, the sector is expected to be severely impacted by climate change. Developing countries, including in Latin America, are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than developed countries, because, among other reasons, developing countries rely more on agriculture, have less capital to take adaptation measures, and in many cases are more exposed to extreme climate events.

At the initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), taking into account that corn and rice crops are often impacted by climate variability phenomena, the Colombian government began working on alternatives to reduce crop losses due to climate factors.  In January 2013, MADR signed a Technical and Scientific Cooperation Agreement with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), with the aim of improving competitiveness of the agricultural sector, by strengthening investment in research, technological development and innovation.  This agreement yielded important results and demonstrated the need to extend both scope and strategies to other crops to promote low-emission, and variability and climate change resilient agriculture.

In this context, MADR, together with CIAT and CAF, kicked off the design of the initiative “Low emission, variability and climate change resilient agriculture in Colombia” in response to the call issued by the National Planning Department (DNP) in its role as GCF National Designated Authority to define projects aligned to the country’s priorities and requirements.  The initiative was submitted to the DNP in January 2017; as a result—in June of the same year—prioritization was confirmed and paperwork was initiated at the GCF with a view to leveraging funds from the Project Preparation Facility (PPF) for detailed project formulation .

In order to advance the formulation of the project, an impact assessment of the results of the 2013 cooperation initiative and the strategies in the GCF project is required.  Parties interested in participating in the selection process for the consultant or consulting firm to carry out this impact assessment may find all the information relevant to the process in the CIAT Biodiversity Alliance website.  Key dates are as follows:

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