TOR - Identification and Documentation of Exemplary Sustainable Agriculture Practices in India

Chief Executive Officer of SELCO Foundation, Karnataka State, India hereby invites bids for the Bidder for Identification and Documentation of Exemplary Sustainable Agriculture Practices in India

1	Tender Ref No.	15/2025-26
2	Last date & time for the bid submission	14-11-2025, 5:00 PM
3	Opening date of Technical and Financial bid	15-11-2025,11:00 AM
4	Venue of Opening of tenders	SELCO Foundation, Bangalore

AIFT Statement of Business:

Interested and eligible bidders may furnish the Technical & Commercial Bids for This tender by SELCO Foundation is for Bidder for Identification and Documentation of Exemplary Sustainable Agriculture Practices in India through the online form (E-tender)

Google form link: https://forms.gle/48CSKSzLFsSojVWL6

Any further information or clarification may be obtained either in person or through phone during office hours from the office of the SELCO Foundation Ph: 080-2649 3145 or through the email – procurement@selcofoundation.org.

INSTRUCTION TO BIDDERS

SELCO Foundation is an open-source, not-for-profit organization that engages in field-based R&D and ecosystem building for the deployment of clean energy solutions that alleviate poverty by improving access to sustainable energy to underserved communities in tribal, rural, and urban poor areas. The organization works in collaboration with practitioners in the social sector, energy entrepreneurs, NGOs from various developmental sectors, and educational institutions to link the benefits of sustainable energy to poverty eradication. The organization works across verticals such as energy access, health, and livelihoods with practitioners in the social sector, energy entrepreneurs, and partners from various developmental sectors.

Summary of the project:

With the growing need for climate-resilient and sustainable farming techniques, SELCO Foundation seeks to identify, document, and amplify exemplary climate-smart agricultural practices across diverse agro-climatic zones and terrains.

The program aims to build a repository of knowledge, promote learning networks, and facilitate peer-to- peer exchange that supports replication and scaling of effective practices, by engaging farmers and individuals who have developed or adopted resilient solutions. Focusing on practices spanning multiple crops, systems, and contexts, the program intends to create a structured platform for learning, collaboration, and dissemination of knowledge that strengthens adaptive capacities in agriculture.

To support this effort, SELCO Foundation intends to engage an individual consultant or consultancy firm with expertise in documenting agricultural practices and rural livelihoods. The consultancy will focus on identifying, analyzing, and documenting climate-smart practitioners and practices that demonstrate local innovation, resilience, and sustainability.

Goals and Objectives

The individual consultant or consultancy firm aims to:

• Identify "champion" farmers/individuals/ groups/ institutes with expertise in sustainable or climate- smart agricultural practices.
• Document the nature and characteristics of these practices.
• Analyze contextual factors such as labor intensity, drudgery, energy requirements, inputs, outputs, and scaling potential of the practices.
• Contribute to building a structured knowledge base that can support learning, replication, and network-building among farmers and other stakeholders for uptake of sustainable agriculture practices.

Scope of Work

The individual consultant or consultancy firm will be responsible for the following six areas of work:

Area	Detailed Tasks
Identification and Mapping of Practices & Practitioners	Conduct field-based and secondary research to identify farmers/individuals/ groups Map practices based on parameters such as climate/sustainability, terrain, cropping system, and type of agricultural innovation. Shortlist farmers/individuals whose practices have demonstrated efficiency, climate resilience, or potential for replication.
Documentation of Practices	Document each practice in detail, including steps, methodology & impacts. Record labor requirements, drudgery, and energy inputs (manual, mechanized). Detail inputs, outputs, and yields. Note contextual factors such as crop, climate, soil, terrain, and seasonality. Profile farmers/individuals in terms of experience, innovations, and challenges. Maintain standardized templates for consistency.
Analysis and Knowledge Synthesis	Assess potential for scaling and replication of each practice. Identify barriers and facilitators for adoption. Highlight innovative and sustainable/climate-smart solutions that enhance sustainability, efficiency, or productivity. Recommend efficient technologies which can go along with the practices.
Repository and Knowledge Management	Organize documented practices into a structured repository . Ensure collected data includes: farmer/individual profile, practice description, scaling potential, resource inputs, labor intensity, and energy requirements.
Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination	Liaise with farmers, local NGOs, FPOs, and other stakeholders to validate information. Facilitate knowledge exchange sessions or interactions as needed.
Advisory and Recommendations	Provide guidance to SELCO on how practices can be categorized for learning and network-building purposes (climate, terrain, or practice type). • Recommend strategies for scaling, replication, or adaptation of practices based on field findings.

 Deliverables

The Project Consultant is expected to produce the following, based on the scope of work:

Deliverables	Required Number
Long List of shortlisted farmers/individuals/groups and their Package of Practices	(10 practices per consultant) farmers/individuals/groups [per consultant]
Analysis & Synthesis Report A report analyzing the practices, assessing their scaling and replication potential, identifying barriers and facilitators	1 unit
Repository of Documentation- Individual Practice Profiles- A structured repository containing detailed profiles of all documented practices, including all required data points (inputs, outputs, labor, energy, etc.), and consisting of: 1 document on individuals/farmers/ groups and their package of practices 1 document on all sustainable agricultural practices covered in general	1 unit (each)
Advisory & Recommendations Report A report on recommendations [detailed list] for scalable technology solutions that can be paired with each of the agricultural practices captured	1 unit

Requirements

The individual consultant or consultancy firm must possess:

• Subject matter knowledge of agricultural package of practices - And/ Or - Field-level research & documentation, action-based analysis, analytical and report-writing & communication skills (Combination of both will be given preference)
• Experience in field-level documentation, research, or practice-based analysis.
• Understanding labor, energy, and resource use in agriculture.
• Familiarity with multiple cropping systems, climates, and terrain types in India.
• Strong analytical, report-writing, and knowledge-management skills.

Timelines

The program implementation support period for the individual consultant or consultancy firm is from 1St December 2025 to 15th March 2026.

Cost of bidding

The bidder shall bear all costs associated with the bid preparation and submission to the Chief Executive Officer. SELCO Foundation will not be liable for these costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the bidding process.

The bidder must sign all the pages of the documents as a token of acceptance of all terms and conditions in case applying offline.

Commercial Terms

Format and Signing of Bid

The bidder shall give a set of signed and scanned copies of all the documents through the Google Form link provided in Annexure 1.

Pre- Bid Meeting

• A pre-bid meeting can be arranged either via online mode or physical meetings at SELCO office. The individual consultant or consultancy firm should send a questionnaire prior to meeting and attend the Prebid meeting compulsorily when informed by SELCO.

Deadline for Submission of bids

• Bids must be received by SELCO Foundation not later than the time and date specified in the invitation for Bids (Section I). The SELCO Foundation may, at its discretion, extend this deadline for submission of bid by amending the bid documents in which case all rights and obligations of the SELCO Foundation and bidders previously subject to the deadline will thereafter be subject to the deadline as extended.

Tender Opening and Evaluation

The technical & financial bids will be opened at the discretion of SELCO Foundation. The purchase committee may contact the bidders to seek clarifications on the proposed methodology and understanding of the scope of work submitted along with the technical bid. The financial bids of only technically qualified bidders will be opened. The Bidders Names, Bid Modifications, or Withdrawals, bid prices, Discounts and the presence or absence of the requisite details as the SELCO Foundation, at its discretion, may consider appropriate will be recorded by the Purchase Committee of SELCO Foundation. No bid shall be rejected at bid opening, except for late bids, which will be rejected.

Proposal evaluation scores

The proposals submitted by the Bidder firm will be evaluated and examined by an expert in- house committee through a scoring process. The final selection will rest with the competent authority of SELCO Foundation. Eligible/ Interested individual consultant or consultancy firm are requested to submit their applications towards the tender with all supporting documents listed through the Google form link Provided.

Clarification of Bids

During evaluation of bids, SELCO Foundation may, at its discretion, ask the bidder for a clarification of its bid. The request for clarification and the response shall be in writing and no change in prices or substances of the bid shall be sought, offered or permitted.

SELCO Foundation may invite shortlisted organizations to present their technical presentation and approach to a committee which will help SELCO Foundation in making final selection.

Preliminary Examination

The SELCO Foundation will examine the bids to determine whether they are complete, whether any computational errors have been made, whether required information has been furnished, whether the documents have been properly signed, and whether the bids are generally in order. Arithmetical errors will be rectified on the following basis: If there is a discrepancy between words and figures, the lowest of the two shall prevail and the bid shall stand corrected to that effect. The SELCO Foundation may waive any minor infirmity or non- conformity or irregularity in a bid, which does not constitute a material deviation, provided such a waiver does not prejudice or affect the relative ranking of any bidder.

Acceptance or rejection of bids

Chief Executive Officer, SELCO Foundation reserves the right to accept or reject any bid and to annul the bidding process and reject all bids at any time prior to award of contract, without thereby incurring any liability or any obligation to inform the affected bidder or bidders of the grounds for the said action. Any bid with incomplete information is liable for rejection.

Selection Criteria

The selection of the Consultants or firms will be based on the evaluation of expertise and methodological approach.

Type of evaluation	Scoring
Technical evaluation	50%
Background and evidence of doing similar work	20%
Financial evaluation	30%

The technical proposal will be evaluated based on the following general areas:

• Expertise and Experience: Demonstrated expertise in sustainable agricultural practices, rural livelihoods, and field-level documentation. The Consultants/Firms are required to have subject matter Receipt, Evaluation and Handling of Bids:

knowledge of agricultural package of practices and/ Or field-level research & documentation, action- based analysis, analytical and report-writing & communication skills. And Combination of both will be given preference.

• Methodology and Approach: The clarity and effectiveness of the proposed approach for identification, documentation, and analysis of practices, demonstrating the ability to cover diverse practices and geographies.

The methodology should include plans for field-based research and stakeholder engagement (farmers, NGOs, FPOs).

• Analytical Capability: Demonstrated ability to analyze contextual factors (labor, energy, drudgery, scaling potential) and synthesize knowledge into a structured repository.
• Financial and Technical Expertise: Clarity on the approach for conducting cost benefit analysis.
• Clarity about the Deliverables (e.g., farmer/champion individual profiles, individual practice profiles, and recommendation reports).
• The Consultant/Agency is required to provide the CVs and relevant information on the expertise of the people who will be working on the project.

The detailed proposal on methodology must explicitly define the scope and diversity coverage that the individual consultant or consultancy firm will focus on during the project. Specifically, the proposal must clearly mention:

• Terrain: The specific type of terrain (e.g., hilly, plains) that will be prioritized for field research to ensure geographical diversity.
• Geography: The key geography/region of India (e.g., Mizoram, Raichur district Karnataka) that will be the focus of the practice identification, with a clear rationale for the choice.
• Climate: The primary climate (type) that will be chosen (e.g., heat, flood etc) for practice identification and documentation.
• Value Chain(s): Any specific agricultural value chain(s) (e.g., Millet) that the consultant will focus on for documentation and practice identification. If the approach is generic/crosscutting, a justification must be provided.

Note: SELCO Foundation has the right to award the works under this tender to single or multiple vendors and in multiple phases based on the best technical evaluation and financial proposal ascertained through this tender.

Tags Food, Agriculture and Nutrition Research Others