2015 Nigeria Aflasafe Pilot Challenge

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The AgResults Nigeria Aflasafe Pilot Project in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) announces a Challenge to encourage maize aggregators in Nigeria to work with-and to provide incentives to-their smallholder maize farmers to adopt Aflasafe, a
technology shown to reduce Aflatoxin contamination of maize by 99% and to lead to premium per-unit prices. Subject to the terms of the Challenge Rules, premium payments will be made to aggregators for Aflasafe maize collected from the smallholder farmers and confirmed by the AgResults Verifiers to have at least 70% Aflasafe prevalence.



Premium Payments
During the Challenge period, selected eligible aggregators will be paid by the AgResults Trustee a premium amount of USD $18.75 for every metric ton (MT) of high-Aflasafe treated maize with at least 70% Aflasafe prevalence as confirmed by the AgResults Verifier after testing and verification as described further below.

The maize must be collected by the aggregator from smallholder maize farmers (defined as farmers cultivating less than five hectares of maize) within the aggregator’s network in the Territory.

Aggregators are expected and required to share the premium with the smallholder farmers; however, the manner that the premium is shared will be determined individually by each aggregator. Aggregators are required to specify in their Challenge Applications the manner in which they will share the premium with the smallholder maize farmers. AgResults reserves the right to corroborate these sharing arrangements between the aggregators and smallholder farmers during the verification process.

Prevalence of Aflasafe in sample - Premium paid out
70-100% prevalence - USD $18.75 for every MT
<70% prevalence - Zero

The AgResults Verifier(s) will test samples from the farmers’ batches for AflasafeTM presence as specified in the verification protocol in Appendix 3. The samples will be collected at predetermined aggregation points, defined as warehouses to be agreed between the AgResults Pilot Manager (PM) and the aggregators, where AflasafeTM treated maize is stored by the aggregators for verification, storage, and eventual resale.

Aggregators must inform the AgResults PM via telephone call or text message (receipt confirmed by PM) two days in advance of their farmers shipping maize to the aggregation points so that Verifier’s availability can be confirmed by the PM and sampling can take place. Sampling date(s) are to be agreed between the PM and the aggregator.

The AgResults Trustee will make payments upon request made by the AgResults Secretariat and approved by the AgResults Steering Committee. The request will be made by the Secretariat upon AgResults Verifier’s confirmation that the collected samples indicate a 70% or more presence of AflasafeTM in the tested maize. Payments are subject to the aggregator’s eligibility and compliance with the Challenge Rules. Payments will be made monthly and there is no limit or cap on the amount of payments an aggregator can achieve during the Challenge Period.

Participant Eligibility and Participation Requirements
Aggregators must meet, on an ongoing basis, eligibility criteria as set forth in the Challenge Rules. In addition, selected aggregators must meet the following criteria:

Aggregation:

• Demonstrate ability to work with or intention to work with at least 300 smallholder farmers and have an established or proposed business model of sourcing maize from smallholder farmers and provide assistance to their smaller holder members.
• Provide business references including from farmers; references should cover technical support and fairness of market price offerings.
• Be capable of facilitating or coordinating the purchase of Aflasafe on behalf of the farmer groups as required.
• Have the willingness and capacity to label all maize bags produced by farmer groups in keeping with AgResults requirements.
• Have the ability and capacity to organize and coordinate smallholder farmers through pre-planting, planting and post-harvest handling of maize that has been treated with Aflasafe
• Have the capacity to train and monitor farmer groups on the environmental application of Aflasafe, post-harvest management and the safe transfer and storage of this maize.
• Be capable of providing support to smallholder farmers’ maize productivity through extension and access to farm inputs. This could include having systems in place to add value to production of maize or link farmers to a package of yield-enhancing inputs, i.e. fertilizers, storage facility, finance, etc.

Verification:

• Be able to organize a system of aggregation points and storage to support Aflasafe verification procedures and sale to end-customers.
• Agree to work with AgResults evaluators to develop lessons learned from the implementation.
• Agree to disclose Challenge relevant business practices on a confidential basis to AgResults evaluators at various stages during project implementation, including description and documentation of efforts to support farmers in their application of Aflasafe.
• Demonstrate an ability to meet verification procedures, including delivery of high- Aflasafe treated maize to designated collection points.

Reporting:

• Have the capacity to provide data as required by the PM. Data will include, but not limited to, the date and application rates for Aflasafe application, area planted, harvest dates and yield, among others.
• Demonstrate commitment to maximizing transparency, disclosing records, and document sharing of the premium payment or other benefits for high- Aflasafe treated maize to their participating smallholders.
• Coordinate and cooperate with the PM and the AgResults Secretariat in the collection of data during the baseline and end of Pilot evaluation to assess the overall impact of the activity on the maize market, population health, and smallholder incomes and overall economic benefits.

Branding and Marketing:

• Have downstream market linkages to efficiently aggregate and sell treated Aflasafe maize at a premium.

How to Apply
Aggregators interested in participating in the Challenge are asked to complete and submit the accompanying Application. The Application will be reviewed by the AgResults PM, in consultation with Pilot Advisory Council and the AgResults Secretariat. Eligible aggregators interested in the Challenge participation will be selected at the discretion of AgResults and notified in writing.

Participation in the Challenge is subject to the aggregator’s compliance with the Challenge Rules, attached hereto as Appendix 4. By submitting the Application or participating in the Challenge the aggregator confirms its compliance with the Challenge Rules.

If you are an aggregator interested in applying for the Nigeria Aflasafe Pilot, please complete the accompanying Application and transmit it to:

Adebowale (Debo) Akande,
Pilot Manager, Nigeria Aflasafe Pilot,
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Abuja Farm,
PMB 82,
Beside Old Water Works,
Kubwa Village,
Abuja.
+234 703 221 3797
Or
Email: [email protected]
 
Click here to Download Application Form

Note: We look forward to working with your company on this opportunity. Should you have any questions or comments please direct them to Mr. Adebowale (Debo) Akande, the Pilot Manager.

Application Deadline  15th January, 2016 at 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

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