1. Context/Background of the Assignment:

In April 2018, the implementation of EU/Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) funded Project: “Increasing the competitiveness of the agri-food sector through integration to domestic and global value chains in particular in the soya sector” started. The three years (April 2018- April 2021) project is implemented by Donau Soja - together with its consortium partner the Moldovan NGO Pro Didactica and aims to improve existing quality standards and to strengthen capacities in vocational education and training in agriculture. The project further complements the Moldova-component of the regionally organized Strategic Partnership between ADA and Donau Soja, which supports the building of sustainable and inclusive value-chains for GMO-free and organic soya in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Moldova and the Ukraine.

The project is focused on the following four components:

• Component 1: Enhancing capacities for innovation and education in agriculture in Moldova
• Component 2: Increasing access to market and advancing the demand for certified and organic agri-food products on national and foreign markets.
• Component 3: Use of standards and certification to raise the performance of value chains
• Component 4: Promoting an enabling environment for ensuring quality standards in the agri-food sector (including organic agriculture and products) and alignment of Moldova’s legal framework and policy documents to EU quality standards.

1. The objectives of the assignment

In the context of those mentioned above, a consultant or a consortium of consultants are invited to submit their offers with the view to carry out a comprehensive and detailed feasibility study for the investment in a local organic soybean processing enterprise, focussing on the following aspects:

1. “Assessment and optimization of organic soya cake and oil production, based on the company “BiocompanyRaps””

1. Assessment of needs for investments aimed at optimizing the existing infrastructure.
2. Assessment of invesments needs for a brand-new project,
3. Comparative analysis between the two alternatives.
4. Based on the described assessments, estimate the market price of the asset “BiocompanyRaps”.
5. Economic analysis of the business. Operational costs and the added value of organic soybean processing services;
6. To ensure the sustainability of the investments, estimate the additional cost of the investment, in case of the simultaneous (in parallel) processing of organics soybean, sunflower and rapeseed.

More specifically, the first part of assessment would allow to compare the costs of two investment alternatives, acquiring an existing soybean processing facility and building a brand-new processing factory. In this context, the study shall present:

1. A development Plan which will include but not limited to the land use plan, utility services plan, infrastructure plan and designs
2. Cost estimates of infrastructure development,
3. Project implementation roadmap, institutional framework and financing model
4. A marketing / business plan

1. Comparative assessment of the quality of processed organic soya, sunflower and rapeseed products of various processors
2. Organic cake of India, China, Africa and other origins
3. Organic cake of European origin
4. Organic cake made by other producers.

• Assessment of the possibilities to enhance the quality of the organic soybean and sunflower cake and oil.

The detailed TOR for the asigment can be dowloaded from: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dAQ_8gIzAtlw-dC4xGzezj_eNwkMsZda/view?usp=sharing

1. Offer Deadline

Offerors shall submit their offers electronically only, by 18 March 2020 to the following address:

Elena Anghel, Project Financial Manager

moldova@donausoja.org

Offerors are responsible for ensuring that their offers are received in accordance with the instructions stated herein.