FAO Representation in Ethiopia

Minutes of the Local Procurement Committee (LPC)

LPC No. ETH/022/23
ITB – 2023/FRETH/FRETH/1124258

RECOMMENDATION FOR AWARD (Above $25,000)

Activity Name – Procurement of Animal Feed – Forage Seed
Date: 27 November 2023
Projects: OSRO/ETH/200USA and OSRO/ETH/127/ÇHA

Requester: Sworo Yopesi

Purchase Request No. 3604072
Date of Purchase Request 30 September 2023
Date of complete request received by PU 10 October 2023
Date of Issuance Date: 12 October 2023
Tender Closing Date: 26 October 2023
Opening Date: 27 October 2023
No. of invited Potential (Restricted) bidders UNGM
No. of total offers received 6
No. of valid offers 5
No. of invalid Bids 1
No. of Negative Replies N/A
Technical evaluation along with LTO clearances 14 November 2023
received:
No. of responsive offer (Technical/Commercial) 4

Summary of the Procurement Process:

Reference is made to the Purchase Requisition received for Procurement of Animal Feed (Forage
Seed) to be distributed to seven (7) Woredas of Oromia, SNNP and Somali Regions. The
specifications have been technically cleared by the Livestock Development Officer in SFEMD,
who is as well acting as Technical Competent Officer (TCO) for the concerned project.

The Invitation to Bid (ITB) # 2023/FRETH/FRETH/124258 was issued on 12 October 2023 with
a closing date on 26 October 2023, on FAO’s electronic tendering portal (in-tend).

After the closing date, 6 (six) valid offers were received; One of the suppliers (MSHALE) supplied
from Kenya. First, the Ethiopian government does not allow any seeds to be imported from abroad.
Second, it is indicated in the ITB document that only local suppliers participate in the tender, but
the company knew this and submitted the offer. Therefore, this company is not included in the
technical evaluation review, and it is considered invalid.

Tender # 124258 Page 1 of 5

 The following approach has been applied for evaluation of the bids:

1) Technical and commercial evaluations comprising verification of bids’ compliance with

the technical specifications and major FAO terms and conditions (of payment, delivery,
etc.)
2) Seed quality assurance certificate
3) Delivery date as a prime factor for evaluation.
4) Ranking of bids by total (lowest) price.

While the offers have been provided on 27 October 2023 to the requestor, the offers have been
technically reviewed on 14 November 2023 and four technically compliant offers by senior
Agriculture Officer in NSP (Senior Agricultural Officer), who is as well acting as technical
Competent Officer (TCO) for the concerned project.

Please note that the forage seeds market in Ethiopia is usually handled by the government research
centers for several varieties and the researchers produce the small quantities and distribute them
to the government cooperative and registered private sectors.

In general, there are few registered forage seed suppliers in Ethiopia, and these are the same bidders
who have been participating in the bid for the past two years. For Rhodes Garss Seed, only one
company (Matiso Trading Pvt. Ltd.) offered this particular seed, and it is an exceptional award
worth more than US$200,000. However, re-tendering won’t bring any added value to the
organization.

FAO will appoint its corporate superintendence agency (Baltic control) to perform physical
inspection as well as quality test of the seeds through laboratory analysis. Based on the feedback
to be provided by the LTO & TCO, Baltic is required to collect random samples of each seed lot
of the given crop and variety following the ISTA (International Seed Testing Association) rules
and regulations for seed sampling for that plant species. Kindly refer to inspection requirements
attached.

One of the suppliers (Graviliya Agricultural and Trading PLC) has offered Ginea Grass Seed for
the two woredas (# 8 Dasench and # 9 Kart Zuria), it is ETB 190.00 per kilogram, while the
remaining three woredas (Benatsemay, Meyu and Kumbi) are ETB 580 per kilogram. After
consultation with the IPO, the procurement unit sent an email to the supplier confirming the offer
of the two woredas. As a result, they confirmed that the price of guinea grass seed for the five
woredas is 580.00 per kilogram. please refer to the email attached on November 20.
Proposed forage seed POs Recommended Awards:
Duration of
Items
# Name of Company Quantity In ETB execution in Award Basis
Description
calendar days
Adugna Haile Farm
1 Sudan Grass Seed 20 000 kg 3 400 000.00 30 days Competitive
PLC

Tender # 124258 Page 2 of 5

 Duration of
Items
# Name of Company Quantity In ETB execution in Award Basis
Description
calendar days
Rhodes Grass 12 410
2 Matisso Trading PLC 13 000 kg 30 days Exceptional
Seed 000.00
Bridge Improved Ginea Grass Seed 13 000 kg
Grafted Fruits, Trees,
3 8 588 000.00 30 days Competitive
Forage Seeds and Vetch Grass Seed 4 000 kg
Seeding Supplier

Based on the above, kindly note that FAO Ethiopia is recommending a Multiple Award as follows:

❖ Adugna Haile Farm PLC: 20 000 kilogram of Sudan Grass Seed for a sum total of ETB
3 400 000.00 equivalent to USD 61 143.38 at UN Exchange Rate of November 2023
of 55.6070022583 and delivery on DPU basis to two woredas of Somali Region in 30
days from ordered date (COMPETITIVE AWARD)

❖ Matisso Trading PLC: 13 000 kilogram of Rhodes Grass Seed for a sum total of ETB
12 410 000.00 equivalent to USD 223 173.33 at UN Exchange Rate of November
2023 of 55.6070022583 and delivery on DPU basis to twenty-three woredas of Afar,
Somali and Tigray Regions in 30 days from ordered date (EXCEPTIONAL
AWARD)

❖ Bridge Improved Grafted Fruits, Trees, Forage Seeds and Seeding Supplier: 13 000
kilograms of Ginea Grass Seed and 4 000 kilograms of Vetch Grass Seed for a sum
total of ETB 8 588 000.00 equivalent to USD 154 440.98 at UN Exchange Rate of
November 2023 of 55.6070022583 and delivery on DPU basis to three woredas of
SNNP and two woredas Somali Regions in 30 days from ordered date
(COMPETITIVE AWARD)

PR 3604072 estimated cost is 250 000.00 US$, and after the conclusion of the tender, the actual
cost is 483 757.69 US$. Therefore, the PR was revised on November 27 due to an additional budget
of $188,757.69.

Reviewed and recommended by:

Herbert Macharia
International Procurement Officer
FAO Ethiopia and SFE

Signature: ………………………………………….
29/11/2023
Date: ………………………………………………..

Tender # 124258 Page 3 of 5

LPC Deliberations/Comments Record
Not
Agreed
Name Designation Agreed Comments Signature
√
X
Lassina Pare Chairman
Chenjerai Njagu Member
Nega Tewolde Member
Amule Solomona Member
Sworo Yopesi Requester
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Declaration of No Conflict of Interest and Maintenance of Confidentiality for Local
Procurement Committee

I certify that I have informed or will inform the Authorized Official if I, or to the best of knowledge,
my family members, immediate relatives, any other person living in the same household or
personal friends, have any interest with any person, firm, corporation, non-governmental, non-
profit or other entity involved in any tender (including the referenced one), contract, Purchase
Order or Letter of Agreement in which I have been or am involved in the course of my work with
FAO. For the purpose of this declaration, the term interest includes any personal benefit, financial
interest, consideration, gift or object of economic value, including future consideration or promise
of future employment.

I certify that I have not participated either directly or indirectly as a consultant, advisor, employee,
or in any other capacity, in the development of a proposal of any of the bidders of any tender, or
any entity to which FAO has issued a contract, Purchase Order or Letter of Agreement in which I
have worked in my capacity as member of the Local Procurement Committee / Tender Opening
Panel or as Evaluator of bids in FAO Ethiopia.

I fully understand the confidential nature of the procurement process and the obligation imposed
by FAO Manual Sections 502 “Procurement of Goods, Works and Services” and 507 “Letters of
Agreement” to ensure a fair and transparent selection process. For this purpose, I certify that no
relationship, bias or ethical conflict exists which may prevent my involvement in any procurement
process and I will be able to act with objectivity and fairness toward all participants in the selection
process.

I further agree that I have maintained and I will continue to maintain the confidentiality necessary
to prevent unfair advantages to any potential supplier or service provider to FAO and to further
abide by all rules, policies and procedures issued by FAO relating to conflict of interest and
confidentiality.

Tender # 124258 Page 4 of 5

I certify that I have not engaged and will not engage in any of the “Prohibited Activities” set out
in MS 502.5.3 or MS 507.4.3 including the prohibition against disclosure, directly or indirectly,
of confidential or proprietary information or information related to the selection process to any
person other than a person authorized to receive such information.

I understand that the Organization may take appropriate administrative or disciplinary action for
violations of the provisions above.

Secretary of LPC:
29 November 2023
Zewdnesh Gebrewold (Procurement Associate) Signature:__________________ Date:______________

Signed by LPC members as acceptance of the recommendation provided by the Procurement Officer

above and signature/acceptance of the Declaration of conflict of interest.

______________________________________________________________________________
FAOR Decision

Approved Rejected Differed

Fatouma D. Seid

FAO Ethiopia Representative

Signature: ………………………………………….

Date: ………………………………………………..

Tender # 124258 Page 5 of 5