Question 1: What is the business opportunity that this project addresses?
Outline the business opportunity and what the project team needs to do to successfully   address it within the preferred timeframe and cost.
32kg/capita. Nigeria currently produces 4.8 million tonnes per annum and imports over
2.4 million tonnes per year. Currently demand significantly outweighs supply and the   government has created incentives to increase rice production so that the country will   be self sufficient.
Crop disease is a threat to food security. According to the consultancy by Dr. Otto
Muck for CARI Program (2015) 34% of yield is lost due to crop diseases, pests and   weeds. This amounts to an estimate of $200 billion lost annually. Factors that affect this   calculation include but are not limited to:
● Incidence of and damage caused by a given pest organism at a given time
● Simultaneous incidence of and damage by other pest organisms
● Availability and price of agricultural inputs
● Value of the crop at the time of sale.
According to the report the most common crop diseases in Nigeria are Rice Blast, Rice   yield loss of between 35%-50%. RYMV was reported to cause a yield loss of between
10% and 100% depending on the time of infection and variety. Bacterial Blight was   reported to cause a yield loss of 2.7% to 41% and found in 70% -85% of farmers fields.   drones. This area of farming currently lacks solutions due to existing practices.
According to the article, Farmers are unaware they have a crop disease problem.
crop disease problem, and create a solution for them that is affordable, improves yield,   reduces the number of hours worked, and provides health benefits within a year.

Another reason why these disease management systems are essential is because local   farmers are ignorant of the effects crop diseases have on their yield. According to the   report, information provided by participating farmers and field agents stated that “crop   diseases do not play an important role in rice production and that good agricultural   practices are not usually practiced”.
Whilst there are other factors that contribute to low productivity on the fields including   inadequate irrigation, and high cost of inputs, centering technology around our
hese   challenges by mitigating against pests, crop diseases and nutrient deficiency, ensuring   that credit, in the form of agro inputs are put to good use and at the right time. As we   scale field operations to 250Ha for our nucleus farm and 20Ha for our outgrower   irrigation, agro inputs, disease management and extension services.   the cumulative benefits of using drone software for monitoring crops which in turn will   lead to high yields and an increase in overall efficiency.
Describe the nature of the international development challenge or issues facing you   these challenges and issues?
According to CARI, 47% of rice yield is lost due to weeds, diseases and pests worldwide.
20% of these are lost due to crop diseases. In developing and developed countries,   farmers have embraced technology by purchasing and cultivating hybrid rice seeds   which are resistant to crop diseases. Due to the higher cost of the seeds, availability,   cultural habits and ignorance, Nigerian farmers tend to stick to old practices they are   familiar with. Also due to the fact that farmers rarely buy the hybrid rice seeds, retailers   rarely have them in stock.
Educating the farmers is a big part of making the project a success. As we stated   above, local farmers are unaware of the effects crop diseases have on their   production. We will use the disease management practices provided by the drone   technology to provide evidence of the problem to farmers, and train them how to use   best practices to mitigate the effects and get the best yield.

Poverty in Nigeria is estimated to be around 50% despite high economic growth rates.
The poor quality of life is even more pronounced in rural areas as the income inequality   gap is wider when compared to urban areas. As the vast majority of crop cultivation   occurs in rural areas, this alarming earnings disparity points to the inefficiency of current   farming practices. This is even more evident in the fact that agriculture contributes
improve productivity, attain high yields, and be guaranteed of an offtake agreement   life. As our outgrower scheme expands, we will be able to engage more youth in our   program, providing them with a sustainable source of income and thereby mitigating   against the security risks associated with youth unemployment.
Question 2: What is the size of the market opportunity that this project might open up?
Describe the size of the market opportunities that this project might open up, including   details of:  the current nature of the specific market or markets the project is targeting, including   dominated by a single leading firm
the dynamics of the market, including measuring its current size, and actual and   predicted growth rates
Nigeria's favourite meal is incontestably rice. As our appetite for rice as a staple has   grown over the years, so has its demand. The share of rice in Nigerians’ diet increased   from 1% in 1960 to 7% in 1980 and 15% in 2000¹. In 2018, local consumption was   recorded to be 7.2 million tonnes² or 32kg/capita and it is expected to rise to 36million   tonnes by 2050 . Despite producing an impressive 4.8 million tonnes per annum and   being the second largest producer in Africa behind Egypt, Nigeria still imports about 2.4
million tonnes of rice to supplement demand. It is also estimated that about 2 million   tonnes is smuggled in through porous land borders. Recently the federal government   closed borders which caused a spike in the price of rice. The output of this project will

have a direct impact on the Nigerian economy by increasing local production on rice   which in turn will reduce the cost of rice for the average Nigerian.
the projected market share for the project outcome, with justification in the light of any   potential competitors
the potential to add value to the economy of the developing country organisation and   any secondary benefits to the UK or European Economic Area (EEA)  helping Nations like Nigeria reduce poverty, ending hunger, improving economic   growth, and creating partnerships which are 4 of the SDG.
The practical implementation of this project, which is heavily reliant on big data, has the   potential to be replicated at scale for rice and other crops, for wider adoption in similar   environments across Nigeria and Africa as a whole. It opens up access to information   on crops under cultivation that is important in stimulating opportunities for subsequent   collaborations in underserved areas of research and food sustainability. Furthermore,   this program could foster educational relationships and cooperation with local   institutions through scholarships and exchange programs. This exchange of knowledge   challenges facing partners in developing countries. These productive partnerships will
creation of jobs and trading opportunities between the developing country and the Uk
Describe and clearly quantify the return on investment that the project could achieve.
Provide relevant source data references?
● Software application: Data for scale

● On the field
Where possible provide evidence for your statements about the target market for   project outcomes. Outline your strategy for developing market share?
Question 3: How will the results of the project be exploited and disseminated?
List or describe the potential exploitable outputs of the project such as:
Products or services
● Crop Disease Management
Processes
●   control actions.
Applications
●       mitigate loss due to crop diseases
farmers, and smallholder farmers across the country to improve yield and
Then describe how these outputs will be exploited including, where applicable:
the route to market, protection of intellectual property rights, reconfiguration of the   exploitation and protection, how they will deliver international development impact
●           replicate to achieve desired results.

Question 4: Why is the project eligible for Official Development Assistance (ODA)   funding?
You must explain how your project’s main objective will be to promote the economic   partners must be secondary.
●                     welfare of local farmers initially in Adamawa state of Nigeria then nationwide.
The scheme educates, trains and develops these farmers to be able to take   advantage of our systems to produce more yields for their crops, which in turn   provides them with more income. From our calculations, we believe the yields   will triple which will lead to farmers income tripling. This has a positive socio   economic effect on their quality of life which trickles down to their families and   community. The program will actively look to attract otherwise idle male and   female youth into farming which will in turn provide them a source of income   and make them contribute positively to the society. We plan to do this by going   through the NYSC and other organizations to gain access to youths and educate   them about our outgrower farming scheme and how our disease management   through technology will help them achieve the best results.
Our goal is to have at least 30% of independent unmarried women in our   outgrower scheme in the first year, and increase that to 50% by the third. This   goal will help us tackle inequality, exclusion and improve diversity. Our outgrower   scheme specifically targets SDG 1,2, and 8 by reducing poverty, reducing   hunger, and providing decent work and economic growth. Success in the   scheme would be measured by the crop yield, farmers income, farmers   education and training, and % of women farmers.   the developing country, particularly people in poverty and underserved groups). Make   a clear distinction between the two. Be clear about what stakeholder groups in the   developing country you expect to benefit from this project. Avoid making generic   statements.

Our project partners are the software developers for the drones and Smallholder
Farmers.
Stakeholder groups expected to benefit are:
● Rice Mills
● Farmers
● Consumers
● Other outgrower schemes
Describe any expected socio-economic impacts, either positive or negative on, for   example:
quality of life  social inclusion or exclusion  jobs, such as safeguarding, creating, changing or displacing them  education  public empowerment  health and safety  regulations  diversity
You must explain how the project will, or has the potential to, deliver outcomes and   impact in agriculture and food systems in Africa. Particularly, how will it help the poorest   members of society, including women, girls and other disadvantaged groups? Explain

what those benefits are and who will benefit. Be clear about how you will make sure   there is a clear route to impact after the project has ended.
You must show you are eligible for ODA by providing further information in the   to 2 pages long and no larger than 10MB. The font must be legible at 100% zoom.
Inputs
● Drones
● Male and Female
Farmers
● Farm Land
● Agro-Inputs
● Computers
● UK Innovation Grant
● Project Team
Outcomes
● Increase in quality  of life
● Job creation
● Education
● Diversity and
Processes
● Provide Farm land  and agro inputs to  farmers
● Recruit young  people into  outgrower scheme
● Provide education  on effects of crop  disease
● Provide education  on disease  management  technique
● Provide education  on health risks due  to chemical spray
● Collect and analyze  data.
● Identify diseases
● Spray diseases,  pests and weeds  with drone  chemical spray
Outputs
● 30% of famers in  outgrower scheme  are young  independent or  widowed women
● Achieve crop yield  of 6 MT/Ha
● Recruit 50 farmers in  outgrower scheme
● Proof of crop  disease problem
● Crop disease  management  system/process.

Inclusion
● Public  empowerment
● Health and Safety
● Social inclusion
Only applications that meet the eligibility, scope and ODA requirements of the   competition will be sent for assessment. You will be notified if your application is not sent   for assessment with an explanation as to why.
Question 8: What are the risks (technical, commercial and environmental) to project   success? What is the project’s risk management strategy?
Innovate UK recognises that projects of this type are inherently risky, but we look for   assurance that the projects we fund have adequate arrangements for managing this   risk. In your answer, focus on the arrangements for managing and mitigating risk by:
● Damage to drones
● Unable to Operate drones
●
Identifying the main risks and uncertainties of the project and providing a detailed risk   analysis for the project content and approach. Include the technical, commercial,   managerial and environmental risks as well as other uncertainties (for example ethical   issues) associated with the project. The main risks should then be rated as high, medium   or low (H/M/L).
Stating how the project would avoid these main risks. You should tackle all significant   and relevant risks and their mitigation.
Identifying vital project management tools and mechanisms that will be used to help   minimise operational risk and promote a successful project outcome. This should   include arrangements for managing the project team and its partners.
Sources

http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/step-by-step-production/growth/pests-and-disease s   https://www.cari-project.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/CARI-Rice-IPM-Nigeria-Draf t-Study.pdf