USAID Rural Competitiveness and Resilience Activity (RCRA) is launching the Grant Program "Empowering Moldovan Agriculture": High-Value Production, Export Enhancement and Sustainable Supply Chain Development

USAID Rural Competitiveness and Resilience Activity (RCRA), implemented by Chemonics International, is launching a call for grant applications to support the implementation of export marketing plans for high-value agricultural (HVA) products, such as fresh and processed fruits, grapes, berries, as well as honey and apicultural products. Export marketing plans shall comprehensively address the challenges and constraints within the supply chain of the applying organization, covering aspects such as production and post-harvest infrastructure upgrades, capacity development of staff, improvement of quality and food safety management systems, and development of marketing communication tools. Activities will help to fulfill the specific requirements of identified importers in the European Union market or other Western market and will boost exports to these markets. 

The grants will be awarded and implemented in accordance with USAID and US Government regulations governing grants under contracts and RCRA’s internal grant management policies. Applicants are encouraged to read this document in its entirety in order to form a clear understanding of the grant application process. 

RCRA anticipates awarding up to 9,050,000 MDL through 15-20 grants. It is anticipated that each grant may range from between 200,000 MDL and 1,000,000 MDL, but the final amount will be dependent upon grant activities and final negotiation and may be lower or higher than that range. The duration of any grant under this solicitation is expected to be no more than 2 (two) years. The estimated start date of grants awarded under this solicitation is March 1, 2024. 

Subject to meeting the Merit Review Criteria, RCRA anticipates that the grant awards will cover all HVA value chains prioritized under this RFA: fruits, table grapes, berries, and organic horticulture and beekeeping/honey. 

For the full application package please access the Google Drive link below:  

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1AtwU72zjM9fPdocgvftcXddbyNGMAkhY 

Interested applicants have the opportunity to ask questions regarding this request by sending questions by January 19, 2024 to the address: mda-rcra-grants@chemonics.md. In order to ensure a fair and transparent process, we ask that all communication be done by email only, and not by phone.  

Deadline for submitting the application: January 22, 2024.

RCRA will hold an on-line pre-application workshop on December 18, 2023,  starting at 14:00,  via ZOOM platform. This workshop will allow eligible and interested applicants the chance to ask questions about the RFA and receive guidance on how to complete the application form. Interested applicants that meet the eligibility requirements defined in Request for Application and would like to attend this workshop must confirm their attendance by completing the registration form no later than December 17, 2023.