Smarter Farming: AI’s Role in Ivorian Agriculture.

The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), on behalf of Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) invites qualified interested firms to submit Expression of Interest (EOI) to participate in the upcoming solicitation for the implementation of technical assistance on Smarter Farming: AI’s Role in Ivorian Agriculture. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on behalf of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) requires the services of an institution to deliver the technical assistance as approved by National Designated Entity from Côte d'Ivoire. The objective of this Technical Assistance is to identify existing AI tools for the early detection, prevention, management and treatment of crop diseases, adapted to Côte d'Ivoire, free of charge or financially accessible to farmers, and to conduct a campaign to raise awareness, communicate and train users in the use of these technologies. Côte d'Ivoire is the world's leading producer and exporter of cocoa, cotton and rubber, with agriculture accounting for 25-30% of GDP. Agriculture employs two-thirds of the population. Income from its agricultural sector depends on crop yields, which suffer significant losses due to crop diseases caused by erratic weather conditions due to climate change. According to World Bank estimates, the state could suffer losses of between US$650 million and US$1.3 billion between 2040 and 2100 due to the adverse effects of global warming. Accurate and rapid detection of plant diseases is essential for improving agricultural yields in the long term. Infections are the biggest challenge in agricultural production and can lead to economic losses. Viruses, fungi, bacteria and other infectious organisms can affect many parts of plants, including roots, stems and leaves. Traditional plant disease detection techniques are time-consuming, require expertise and mobilize many resources. Several AI-based mobile applications are available for crop disease detection. These applications can help farmers diagnose problems, understand their severity and receive treatment recommendations. It is in this context that Côte d'Ivoire is requesting support from the CTCN to identify AI applications that are operational and reliable, free or accessible in the Côte d'Ivoire context. Once these applications have been identified, a campaign will be launched to raise awareness, communicate and train Côte d'Ivoire farmers in the use of these tools, which can have a very positive impact on their productivity and profitability, as well as on the country's food security. Some of the expected outputs are: 1. Mandatory Output: Project Management. 2. Stakeholder mapping, creation of a steering committee. 3. Definition of eligibility, selection and prioritization criteria for existing APPs. 4. Comparative analysis of APPs and identification of the most relevant APPs. 5. Preparing the awareness, communication and training campaign. 6. Implementation of the COMMS, sensibilization and training strategy The complete details of the requirement will be provided in the tender documents that will be issued to bidders after this request for EOI is closed. Specific Requirements/Information The Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) is the Operational arm of The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and hosted by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The mission of the CTCN is to promote accelerated development and transfer of climate technologies at the request of developing countries for energy-efficient, low-carbon and climate-resilient development. CTCN provides technical assistance to the countries using its own funds ( which it recives through voluntary contributions of donor) or through the other funding sources specifically the Green Climate Funds (GCF) through the Readiness Programme. The requests for Technical Assistance (TA) are submitted to the CTCN by the National Designated Entity (NDE) of the respective country. In this present case the CTCN has developed a response plan and expect to implement the technical assistance on its own funding. In case you are not a CTCN network member yet, you may apply for this REOI and subsequent soliciation (Request for Proposal), subject to the condition that you submit your completed application for CTCN membership before the proposal submission closing date, which will be communicated in the subsequent Request for Proposal in due course of time. Furthermore, the contract award – should your proposal be selected – is conditional to your application for CTCN network membership being approved by CTCN management. The requirement to join the CTCN network is only relevant to the main bidder and not subcontractors. Please find more information to join CTCN Network at- https://www.ctc-n.org/network The purpose of this REOI is to identify suitable firms who may be invited for the Request for Proposal after the REOI is closed. In addition to CTCN registration, all applicants should also be registered (free of charge) at United Nations Global Marketplace (www.ungm.org). IMPORTANT: Please note that this REOI is not an invitation for submission of tenders. Its purpose is to identify companies that would be interested and eligible to participate in the solicitation when issued. UNON will examine the outcome of this request for EOI and will consider those companies that have expressed their interest . UNON reserves the right to change or cancel the requirement at any time during the EOI and/or solicitation process. Thus, submitting a reply to this Request for EOI does not automatically guarantee your company will be considered for receipt of the solicitation when issued.