REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (CONSULTING SERVICES- INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANTS SELECTION METHOD)

In an effort, to fight poverty and to accelerate economic growth and improve the welfare of the Basotho the Government of Lesotho (GOL) is part of the SADC regional initiative that implements a regional project for agricultural technology development and dissemination called Agricultural Productivity Program for Southern Africa (APPSA). This is a six year project supported by separate World Bank (WB) - IDA credit and is under the regional coordination of the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA). APPSA seeks to promote regional collaboration and put in place mechanisms to encourage technology generation and dissemination within and across national borders of participating countries in the SADC region by (i) supporting regional collaboration in agricultural research, technology dissemination, and training; (ii) establishing Regional Centers of Leadership (RCoLs) on commodities of regional importance, and (iii) facilitating increased sharing of agricultural information, knowledge, and technology among participating countries. Priority farming systems for each existing Regional Center of Leadership (RCoL) have been identified based on a regional priority-setting study that identified top R&D priorities for the SADC region and to that effect Lesotho settled for Horticulture considering the potential comparative advantages that needs to be exploited. The proposed RCoL is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security through the Department of Agricultural Research (DAR) in collaboration with other NARS institutions (NUL and LAC). The project has four sub-components: