Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia

The Georgia Resilient Agriculture, Irrigation and Land Project (GRAIL)

Georgia Resilient Agriculture, Irrigation and Land Project (GRAIL) (Component I) – P175629
Loan No. 9504-GE

Baseline Study for Georgia Resilient Agriculture, Irrigation and Land Project (GRAIL)
Reference No. GR/CS/CQS/02

 
Government of Georgia and the World Bank jointly developed a new investment project in Georgia’s rural sector – Georgia Resilient Agriculture, Irrigation, and Land (GRAIL) Project.

The total cost of the Project is 138,600 mil EURO which is equally split (50/50) between IBRD and the State budget of the Government of Georgia. The Project is planned to be implemented for six years. 

The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to: (a) improve irrigation, and drainage services, and agricultural production in project areas, and (b) strengthen national irrigation and land management institutional capacity for climate resilient planning.

The primary beneficiaries of the Project comprise farmers and agricultural enterprises across the project targeted regions. Overall, the rural population will benefit from enhanced services provided by land management, irrigation services, and agricultural support. In the public sector, the Project will support institutional strengthening of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MEPA), including Georgian Amelioration (GA), the National Environment Agency (NEA), Rural Development Agency (RDA), and National Agency for Sustainable Land Management and Land Use Monitoring (LMA).

The proposed Project has a strong focus on climate resilience and rural livelihoods through a holistic and integrated approach. It will include the following components:


1. Component 1: Resilient Irrigated Agriculture
Subcomponent 1.1: Irrigation & Drainage Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Modernization;
Subcomponent 1.2: Irrigated agriculture and value chain development;
Subcomponent 1.3: Improved Performance of Irrigation Service Delivery

Component 2: Improved Land Management Capacity
Subcomponent 2.1: Strengthening of agricultural land management and monitoring;
Subcomponent 2.2: Enhancement of the land administration service delivery and building digital governance infrastructure

Component 3: Project Management
This component, will finance two Project Implementation Units that will be responsible for project management: One Project Implementing Unit (PIU) is established within MEPA, which is responsible for management of Component 1 and Subcomponent 2.1. The second PIU is established within the NAPR, which is the Project Implementing Entity and will be responsible for implementation of Subcomponents 2.2 and 3.2.


The project M&E system aims to determine to what extent the project is achieving its development objectives and measures input, output, and outcome indicators to provide the stakeholders with regular information on project implementation and performance. A set of indicators has been prepared for the project that captures the implementation and results of the project’s rehabilitation, agriculture development, and institutional building activities (Annex 1 – GRAIL Results Framework). These indicators allow the Project to track the changes in agricultural productivity, yields and cropping patterns, and overall well-being of the targeted population throughout implementation rehabilitation works and other envisaged agriculture support and land management activities in the project areas. The main objective of the baseline survey (BLS) is to determine the pre-rehabilitation conditions in the Project area to assess the impact of project interventions on irrigation services and agricultural productivity after completion of the project. The survey would be conducted in November 2016, upon completion of 2016 harvest season. The BLS will be conducted in the determined sample settlement areas both inside project (treatment) and outside (control) areas.


The M&E system shall be supported with surveys to determine the existing pre-intervention conditions in the targeted areas at the initial phase, track change dynamics, and assess and identify the change induced by the project as a result of project interventions. The changes at the outcome and impact levels are being measured through baseline, mid-term, and end-line surveys. Initially, the baseline study shall be conducted to determine the existing pre-intervention conditions in the project areas. Mid-term and end-of-project studies shall be undertaken to assess the dynamics of change and the impact of the project on irrigation services and agricultural productivity.


The primary objective of the baseline study is to determine the pre-intervention conditions in the project area. This should allow us to assess the change dynamics and impact brought by the project through envisaged activities including rehabilitation, agricultural support, institutional strengthening, and improved land management. 


The project became effective in June 2023 and intends to enter the implementation phase by initiating rehabilitation activities in the three selected schemes Shavgele, Narekvavi and Kvemo Samgori (G33 and G33-1). Therefore, a baseline study at this stage shall be implemented in the areas served by the Shavgele Massif in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, Narekvavi in Mtskheta-Mtianeti and G-33 and G33-1 channels in Kvemo Samgori, Kakheti region. This will be Phase 1 of the baseline survey assignment. In Phase 2 of the assignment, once the other short-listed schemes are selected for modernization, the baseline survey will be repeated in the designated areas. 


The Ministry Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia now invites eligible consulting firms ("Consultants") to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. Expression of interest should cover, but not limited to: corporate profile, years in business, experience relevant to the project activities, key staff resources, and core business. The shortlisting criteria are:
 
• At least 10 years of experience in conducting national-wide and large-scale representative surveys in Georgia;
• Experience in conducting surveys in agriculture and related fields;
• Analytical and practical experience in survey methodologies, experience in statistical analysis, and establishing and maintaining database;
• Strong field presence would be considered as an advantage. 


Note: the MEPA reserves it’s right to verify submitted references and use obtained information for evaluation purposes.


The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to paragraph 3.14 of the World Bank's Procurement Framework and Regulations: Selection and Employment of Consultants under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits & Grants by World Bank Borrowers, July 2016, revised November 2020 ("Consultant Guidelines"), setting forth the World Bank's policy on conflict of interest.
A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Consultants Qualifications-based Selection (CQS) method set out in Section VII of the Regulations: Selection and Employment of Consultants under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits & Grants by World Bank Borrowers, July 2016, revised November 2020.


Consultants may associate with other firms. (Please take into account that form of association acceptable for the World Bank is either sub-consultancy or Joint-Venture and submission must clearly indicate the nature of the association. The experience of sub-consultants will not be taken into account while evaluating the corporate experience of the consultant).


Experience in the projects relevant to the assignment should be submitted in the Form N1 uploaded at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NaYoSd_zCVJUr3AXewqbaM_a9eLff2FU/view?usp=drive_link 



Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours from 10:00 a.m. to 17:00 p.m. at Ministry Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Phone number: +99532 2378038, Mr. Ioseb Tchonkadze, Procurement Consultant.


Expressions of interest must be submitted n English in a written form to the email addresses below by April 5, 2024, at 16:00 (Georgian local time).

Ministry Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia
34, Marshal Gelovani Ave, Tbilisi, Georgia
Tel.: +99532 2378038

E-mail To: Rusudan.manjgaladze@mepa.gov.ge, Mariam.bakhtadze@mepa.gov.ge; iosebtchonkadze@gmail.com;