Fomenting Agriculture Incomes and Resilience Project - FAIR | RFA 520 17 000001

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA 520 17 000001

The Fomenting Agriculture Incomes and Resilience Project (FAIR) is a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funding opportunity administered by USAID/Guatemala City under the Agency for International Development, Guatemala. The opportunity is listed as RFA 520 17 000001 and falls under the broad activity area of Agriculture. It is offered as a cooperative agreement, which typically means the funder expects to have substantial involvement during implementation, including ongoing coordination, review of work plans, and collaboration on key technical or programmatic decisions rather than simply issuing a grant and stepping back.

FAIR is positioned as a development-focused agriculture initiative, with an emphasis implied by its title on increasing agricultural incomes while strengthening resilience. In practical terms, opportunities framed this way usually aim to improve how agricultural households and value chain actors earn income (for example, through higher productivity, better market access, improved quality, reduced post-harvest losses, or diversification into higher-value products) while also improving their ability to withstand and recover from shocks such as climate variability, extreme weather, pests and diseases, price volatility, or other disruptions that can undermine rural livelihoods. Because the activity category is Agriculture and the program name explicitly references resilience, applicants would generally be expected to combine economic growth objectives with risk reduction and adaptation measures, such as climate-smart practices, better water and soil management, strengthened producer organizations, access to finance or insurance, and improved linkages among farmers, agribusinesses, and buyers.

The total funding level is reflected in the award ceiling of up to $30,000,000, and USAID anticipated making approximately two awards. An award ceiling of this size usually indicates a large, multi-year project with multiple components and geographic coverage significant enough to warrant robust staffing, monitoring and evaluation systems, and partnerships with local institutions. With two expected awards, the agency may have intended to fund more than one implementer or consortium, potentially splitting technical focus areas, geographic zones, or implementation approaches across awards, or using two complementary projects to achieve broader program objectives.

Eligibility is limited to nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education. That eligibility category typically covers certain nonprofit entities that are not registered as U.S. 501(c)(3) charities, and may include non-U.S. nonprofit organizations or other nonprofit structures, depending on how USAID applied the eligibility language in the full solicitation. This type of restriction is important because it narrows who can serve as the prime recipient; however, many USAID cooperative agreements also allow or encourage teaming arrangements, so eligible prime applicants often partner with other organizations (including local groups, technical firms, or universities) as subrecipients or contractors to assemble the full range of expertise needed for implementation.

Key administrative details include the creation date of December 15, 2016, and an original closing date of February 15, 2017. That roughly two-month application window is typical for competitive USAID solicitations and generally requires applicants to already have a strong in-country understanding, relevant past performance, and the organizational capacity to mobilize quickly. The CFDA number associated with this opportunity is 98.001, which is commonly used for USAID foreign assistance programs. Overall, FAIR represents a sizable USAID/Guatemala agriculture and resilience investment structured as a cooperative agreement, with the agency expecting close collaboration with the awardee(s) to advance agricultural income growth and resilience outcomes in Guatemala.

• The Agency for International Development, Guatemala USAID-Guatemala City in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fomenting Agriculture Incomes and Resilience Project - FAIR" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 98.001.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 15, 2016.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 15, 2017. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $30,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for RFA 520 17 000001

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