Republic of Liberia

MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

P.O Box 10-9016

Intersection of Broad and Mechlin Streets

Monrovia, Liberia

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Consulting Firm

NAME OF PROJECT : Integrated Public Financial Management Reform Project, II

 

Assignment Title : Consultancy to conduct specialized training and technical support in the Agriculture Sector for the Natural Resource Tax Section, Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA)

Financing Agreement reference : 2100155034068

Project ID No. : P-LR-K00-014

Reference No. IPFMRP II/C/IC/2.1.1- AfDB

Issue Date : September 16, 2020

End Date : October 2, 2020

  1. INTRODUCTION :

The agriculture sector in Liberia is dominated by palm oil and rubber production. There are currently ten concession agreements active for those two commodities. Rubber accounts for more than 30% of the total agricultural output in the country. Liberia is climatically very suitable for growing cacao and coffee, and output gains have been made in the period 2012-2013. Liberia’s agricultural yields as well as intensities of land use are some of the lowest in Africa. Less than 5% of its land is under permanent cultivation. Liberia has an abundance of land and water, allowing for multiple crops per year, making agriculture for export feasible and favorable. However, currently less than 1% of the land has been irrigated. Liberia has natural advantages as a food producer, this holds great opportunities for farmers to increase productivity. The total land area of Liberia is about 9.8 million hectares (ha), half of which is tropical forest. Arable land, comprising of uplands (41%) and lowlands (6%) cover about 47% of the total land area. Pasture land is about 182,000 ha.

The Natural Resources Tax Section (NRTS) is a specialize section within the Domestic Tax Department responsible for ensuring the compliance of taxpayers in the small, medium and large categories of businesses that are operating within the Natural Resources Sectors of Liberia. Specifically, the Section manages the tax compliance of taxpayers in the mining, petroleum, forestry and agriculture sectors. Currently, NRTS has developed some capacities in the taxation of the skilled agriculture sector, i.e., the concessionaires. This is driven by the fact that the Liberia Revenue Code, the organic tax law of Liberia, focuses primarily on the taxation of concessionaires and not on the taxation of small skilled, artisanal or subsistence agriculture. There is not a prescribed provision in the Code that discusses the fiscal regime nor how to exact taxing rights over the transactions of the legal and natural persons. These gaps in the personnel and institutional capacities of the LRA have necessitated the request to train staff of the NRTS in understanding the nuances of taxing these sub-sectors of the agriculture sector.

The Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning received funding for the Second phase of the Integrated Public Financial Management Reform Project (IPFMRP-II) funded by the African Development Bank. The project primary objective is to improve accountability and transparency in PFM systems. The project is composed of many subcomponents, and one of them is to strengthen the capacity of the Natural Resource Section of the Liberia Revenue Authority. The project intends to apply part of the proceeds of the funding for eligible payment under the contract to hire the services of a consulting firm to conduct specialized training and provide technical support in the agriculture sector for the Natural Resource Tax Section of the Liberia Revenue Authority.

  1. OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT :

The general objective of this assignment is to hire an Individual Consultant to build the Capacity of the Natural Resource Tax Section, particularly in the Agriculture sector. The Specific Objectives are as follows :

  1. To examine the overall macro-economic environment of the agriculture in Liberia. This should involve analysis of the socio-economic setting and national development strategic framework and the external factors affecting the sector performance. The analysis will also look into the contribution of the Sector to GDP and employment across the agriculture value chain and make policy recommendations ;
  2. To analyze the current agriculture industry situation in the global market ,market trends and possible implications on maximization of tax revenue for Liberia ;
  3. To analyze the industry situation in Liberia taking into consideration the agriculture production trends ; production actors and the value chain system ;
  4. To analyze and identify various policy constraints including the overall business environment, current business regulatory framework, Investment incentives for SMEs, farming practices and constraints, processing technologies , affecting the value chain actors ranging from farmers ,traders ,processors and exporters in the industry and make policy recommendations ;
  5. To review the existing agriculture sector related support institutions, organizations and national consultative mechanisms, identify gaps and make policy recommendations ;
  6. To provide knowledge and skills in the development of a fiscal regime for the taxation of the informal agriculture sector ;
  7. To provide an overview of the Liberian Agriculture Industry, particularly the Artisanal Small Scale Agriculture sector ;
  8. To train and build the skills of staff of the Natural Resource Tax Section in basic concepts of the Artisanal Small Scale Agriculture sector. This training should introduce concepts and ideas on how to tax these sub-sectors ;
  9. To equip participants with advanced skills regarding the agriculture sector and how Liberia can exercise its taxing rights along the value chain of the Artisanal Small Scale Agriculture sector.
  1. SCOPE OF THE SERVICES TO BE PERFORMED :

The assignment entails performing the following tasks :

  1. Work with the Natural Resource Tax Section to strengthen its capacity in understanding the agriculture sector especially the informal sub-sector ;
  2. Build the capacity of the Section in basic contemporary concepts and methods of agriculture taxation using theoretical methods or any other applicable means ;
  3. Develop course outline and contents that would lead to successful delivery of the knowledge and skills within the Natural Resource Tax Section in the area of agriculture taxation and other related topics ;
  4. Supervise a practical session on taxation of the agriculture sector on some aspects of the training course to be determined by the Consultant in collaboration with the LRA ;
  5. Assist in preparing a policy paper for the development of a fiscal regime for the taxation of the Artisanal Small scale and subsistence agriculture sub-sector ;
  6. Prepare PowerPoint presentations, training manual and necessary handouts covering for the training program in consonance with Annex I attached below ;
  7. Prepare and submit the training reports with photographs of the participants and activities ;
  8. Submit the final training documents (training manual and power point presentations, and group and individual work exercise).
  1. DURATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT :

The Consultant shall coordinate closely with the Commissioner for Domestic Tax Department at the Liberia Revenue Authority to accomplish the assignment successfully. The duration of the assignment is 60 working days.

  1. MINIMUM REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, COMPETENCES AND EXPERIENCE :

QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FIRM Interested firms must meet the following Minimum Qualification Requirements:

  1. At least ten (10) years’ capacity building experience in Agriculture taxation, agriculture research, agronomy, farm management and agriculture policy formulation ;
  2. At least two (2) similar assignments in proving training in agriculture sector taxation for public or private sector employees in South Sahara Region within the last seven (7) years.

KEY EXPERTS QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS :

Key Expert 1 : Team Leader

Level of Effort : (2 Months)

Minimum Qualifications Requirements :

  1. Education : Master degree in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, Farm Management, Agronomy or related fields required ;
  2. General Experience: At least ten (10) years of experience in agriculture research, and providing training to both public and private sector institutions in agriculture taxation ;
  3. Language: Fluency in English, spoken, read and writing.

Key Expert 2: Agricultural Taxation Expert

Level of Effort: 2 Months

Minimum Qualifications Requirements :

  1. Education : Master degree in Agriculture Science, Agriculture Economics, Agriculture statistics and related fields ;
  2. General Experience : At least seven (7) years of experience in providing training in the agriculture sector, particularly agriculture taxation for public sector institutions ;
  3. Similar Experience : At least two (2) similar experiences in conducting training in agriculture taxation, including mechanisms or strategies for increasing sector revenue generation ;
  4. Language : Fluency in English, spoken, read and writing.

Key Expert 3: Agriculture Policy Expert

Level of Effort: 2 Months

Minimum Qualifications Requirements :

  1. Education : Master degree in Agriculture Science, Agriculture Economics, Agriculture statistics, Agronomy and related fields ;
  2. Specific Experience : At least seven (7) years of experience in agriculture sector policy/strategy formulation and in designing a results-based implementation matrix to ensure that the document produced will be practical, easy to understand and implement ;
  3. Language : Fluency in English, spoken, read and writing.

Further information and the detailed TOR can be obtained at the address below during office hours, i.e. from 9h:00 to 17h:00 hours (GMT), Mondays through Fridays.

The Project Management Unit (PMU) of the Ministry of Finance & Development Planning (MFDP) now invites eligible Individual Consultants to express interest in providing the services by providing a list of similar assignments performed with references and submitting Curriculum Vitae (CVs), demonstrating experience in performing similar assignments with references and showing responsiveness to the qualification requirements outlined in this REOI. Eligibility criteria and the selection procedure shall be in accordance with the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” July 2016, Revised November 2017 and August 2018 (“Procurement Regulations”).

A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Methods for Individual Consultants set out in the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” July 2016, Revised November 2017 and August 2018 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form or by email to the address below on or before 2nd October, 2020 @ 17h:00 hours (GMT) and indicate in the Email subject line or on the outer envelope “Consultancy to conduct specialized training and technical support in the Agriculture Sector for the Natural Resource Tax Section, Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA)”

The Address referred above is :

The Project Manager

Project Management Unit (PMU), 4th Floor

Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP)

P.O Box 109013 – Intersection of Broad and Mechlin Streets 1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia

Phone : +231770 161 561

E-Mail : [email protected], and copied to [email protected]