DRC's Feed the Future flagship agriculture activity

Background
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is seeking information and recommendations from interested non-governmental, public, and private parties on the development of resilient agriculture and food market systems that support the accessibility and consumption of safe and nutritious food in the DRC Feed the Future Zone of Influence (ZOI). The likely ZOI is expected to be in Kasai Central and Kongo Central, with an anticipated total area of 2.3 million hectares and an estimated population of 2.33 million people. The DRC remains one of the poorest and most food insecure countries in the world, with high levels of acute food insecurity, malnutrition, poverty, and underinvestment in agricultural market systems.

Work Details
The activity objectives include assisting Congolese organizations to achieve NUPUS compliance, reducing food loss, improving nutritional status, creating job opportunities, promoting climate-smart agriculture approaches, and supporting enterprises that increase opportunities for meaningful employment while building resilience among marginalized populations.

The RFI also seeks information on local organizations in the DRC that could be leveraged to perform and advance the activity’s objectives, collaborative efforts to improve nutrition outcomes, key constraints within the agri-food sector, aspects of donor-driven activities influencing agriculture and agri-food transformation, support for enterprises that create opportunities for meaningful employment while building resilience among marginalized populations, risks associated with working within the agriculture sector, and other relevant information useful for activity planning.

Place of Performance
The likely Zone of Influence (ZOI) is expected to be in Kasai Central and Kongo Central.