The market for TerraCottem in Burkina Faso

The market in Burkina Faso can be discussed from 2 points of view:

• What is the usage of TerraCottem? Where lies the economical benefit of it? Which technology, method, solution etc. is its competition?
• Who is the potential buyer of TerraCottem? For what use? Why TC and not a competitive technology or solution?  
  

Usage

• Reforestation (FOR)
• Fruit trees (FRUIT)
• Vegatables (VEG)
• Public gardens (PARC)
• Private gardens (GARD)
• Event-Sport infrastructures (EVENT)

Reforestation A lot of different organisations are active in reforestation projects, which have resulted in a spectacular growth in planted trees over the last years. Usage: TerraCottem can be used here to raise the survival rate of the new planted trees from about 30% to 80% or 90%. After 2 years the functionality of TerraCottem becomes marginal. Economical benefit: savings in efficiency, workforce, young tree plants and eventually water use. The assurance of the success of the growth of the plants, also means less maintenance, and a big saving in time for results to be seen, which will translate into an economical benefit when cutting the trees if they are also used for their wood. Competition: All methods, techniques which aim for the same result, but also everything which destroys the results gained through this method: wild and tame animals, people who let their sheep and goats eat the young plants etc.

Fruit trees

If we are talking about fruit trees in Burkina Faso , we are mostly talking about mango trees . The biggest production is located in Bobo, where they have trouble finding timely customers once the mango's are ripe. More and more the technique is to dry the mango's which are then used for different products such as muesli's etc. ( See Fair Trade shops)

Economical benefit: Savings in efficiency, workforce, young tree plants needed and eventually water use. The assurance of the success of the growth of the plants also means less maintenance, and a big saving in time before the results are seen, which will be translated into trees which give more fruit more quickly (See Pierre Kaboré)

Competition: The mass production of mango's already in place will mean that this use will only be useful in places where the cost of logistics are too high to get them there.

Vegetables

TerraCottem used for vegetable cultivation is a purely economical question.

Usage: TerraCottem can benefit from an economical use for those vegetables where the extra production pays back the investment. A first survey taught us that we are talking about the more expensive vegetables, or vegetables in a more expensive period, where the extra production exceeds about 600 CFA/m²/year. (See calculations)

Economical benefit: The investment in TerraCottem should be paid back in less then 1 year, or 2 crops. In the next year AgroCottem® could be used, which costs only 2/3rd of the price (see calculations), because not all polymers need to be replaced. (but part of the fertilizers do!) In the second year the profit will be sustainable, as the investment is halfed, for the same result. In a very dry year, vegetables will get more expensive and the investment will even be easier to bare.

Competition: Combinations of fertilizers and pure polymers, which result in a much cheaper investment, even with a lower yield could be a better economical solution, but this still has to be confirmed by tests. (See also alternatives for TC)
This solution is suggested by DCM purely on an intuitif bases. Pure polymere to test this is given to AZN, Pierre Kaboré, Martial Sawadogo, and the ministery of agriculture (together with organic fertilizers) See also calculations about pricing

Public gardens (PARC)

Like everywhere, cities build, together with their infrastructure, small parcs in order to improve the general perception and livability of the city.

Usage: TerraCottem is used before the real construction of the public garden. Existing trees are also possible, but with more labour effort.

Economical benefit: much less watering is required, which results in a much lower water invoice. This use has a payback time of between 2 months and 1 year depending on the cost of water for public institutions

Competition: conservative non believers who do not want to test the new technology. Pure polymers in combination with fertilizers 2 . Cost of the reconstruction of an existing garden. Other water saving techniques.

See Also Press Release TerraCottem Waterwise Marque

Private gardens (GARD) The upper layer of the population, often foreigners, but also more and more Burkinabés, often live in a villa in the more fancy area's of Ouagadougou or other big cities. These are mostly surrounded by a garden, or at least some trees and plants. Bigger gardens can be found in the neighbourhood of the bigger buildings like ministries, hotels or office buildings. Usage: TerraCottem is used before the real construction of the garden. Existing trees are also possible, but with more labour effort. Economical benefit: much less watering, which results in a much lower water invoice. This use has a payback time, in function of the cost of water, from 7 to 18 months. Competition: conservative non believers who do not want to test the new technology. Pure polymers in combination with fertilizers 2 . Other water saving techniques. Cost of the reconstruction of an existing garden. See calculations - See Mail Bertrand Reysset (CILSS)

Event-Sport infrastructures (EVENT)

Football is an international sport, as is golf etc.

Usage: Mostly used in combinations of grass. Before the construction of the field, due to heavy use, perhaps adapted doses to get a good result.

Economical benefit: much less watering, which results in a much lower water invoice. This use has a payback time, in function of the cost of water, from 2 months to 1 year.

Competition: Heavy duty functionality. Artificial grass. No grass.

Potential Customers

• International Organisations (INT)
• Institutional – National Governement (NAT)
• City counsil – municipality (CITY)
• NGO's (NGO)
• Local rural organisations (LOC)
• Commercial Agriculture corporates (AGR)
• Commercial corporates (Like hotels) (CORP)
• Rich Private individuals (RICH)
• Professional farmers (FARM)
• Poor Private Individuals (POOR)

International Organisations (INT)

Big heavy organisations, which are there to stay for several years. Mostly big projects with a considerable overhead due to the follow up, preparations and accountability towards the public. Difficult to approach them as projects are set up for several years. Approach has to be done on an individual basis, who, once convinced can pass the message on.

Institutional – National Governement (NAT) Open for all help they can get, but mostly do not want to invest money in any project. Willing to support new technologies, if you can find the way to finance them. Very easy to approach but difficult to get them moving. Very important to get to the right people. Ready to test in short term on medium projects for the gardens nearby new office buildings?

City counsil – municipality (CITY)

As they have to pay the water invoice too they are, in my opinion, easy to approach and to convince to test on smaller projects. I did not have contact with them.

NGO's (NGO) Difficult to say as a group. Individual small NGO's, active in agriculture or reforestation could certainly move quicker, once they have seen proof of the efficiency. It all depends on their relationship to those who finance the purpose of their existance. In our opinion, this is the group which should take TerraCottem to every region in the country, with their individual network.   Ex: CNSF

Local rural organisations (LOC)

As this group is only accountable to themselves, they are, in my opinion, quickly interested in every technology which can help them. We should be able to convince them to do the test, certainly if some testfield can be shown. Once convinced after a test, this group can quickly become a loyal customer.

Commercial Agriculture corporates (AGR)

As the biggest advantage is not really for them, unless they have problems to get enough supply for certain vegetables, they will not really be interested. If you can convince someone in authority here, they do have an interesting network to reach the individual farmer to help with the distribution.

See Also Agro Fair or Oxfam -WereldWinkels or SOBFEL (Local company)

Rich Private individuals (RICH)

Should be the easiest group to convince as every month they get their water invoice. Certainly those with a monthly use above 30 m³, as the waterprice more then doubles at this level. In our conversations this group spontaneously put themselves forward as potential customers.

Professional Farmers (FARM)

Highly interested group, as their income could grow without a lot of extra labour.

Should also be the group which could start small to test and grow as a customer with the results they have in their fields. As this group is widely spread, they should be approached tby their organisations, ministery of agriculture and fruit and vegetable corporations.

Poor Private Individuals or farmers (POOR)

Highly interested, biggest group. Are at the same time the group who would be helped most by this technology. Want to do anything to improve their lifes, but have one big problem, they are poor. TerraCottem should be presented to them together with a way to finance this investment. As they are growing for their own use, part of the garden should be set-up to pay back the micro-loans for TerraCottem. After the investment of the first year, this will have a direct impact on their lives.

This group should best be approached through NGO's

Overview

Where do we find these customers in the technology adoption life cycle?

How big are these markets ?

•  International Organisations (INT)

Big. Two reasons: they have the money, and they are working on the bigger picture: stop desertification, hunger and Kyoto .

•  Institutional – National Governement (NAT)

Completely dependant on what they get from international organisations. They do not have the money to make desertification a real issue.

•  City counsil – municipality (CITY)

Ouagodougou and Bobo are fast growing cities.

A lot of new roads are constructed, and if you say new roads, you say new verges, and small green area's.

Ouagadougou :

The most promissing area in Ouagadougou is Ouaga 2000, a complete new area. It is 700 ha big.

Bobo:

•  NGO's (NGO), Local rural organisations (LOC), Commercial. Agrarian corporates (AGR), Professional farmers (FARM), Poor Private Individuals (POOR)

80% of the population are farmers, this is a very big potential market in surface, but less wealthy.

•  Commercial corporates (Like hotels) (CORP), Rich Private individuals (RICH)

Not only European expats, working for international organisations, but more and more Burkinabé executives want to have a small garden around their house. A lot of new development is going on in the cities Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso. As mentionned before, the Ouaga 2000 area of about 700 Ha with 6500 parcels, but also in the old expat area's like Zone Du Bois and alike.

Estimations

For lawns, gardens and vernes, I estimate the total potential of 1000 tons of TerraCottem (good for 1000 Ha) of which 200 more or less reachable. This market will grow if the economy is going better, or if water get's more expensive, which is to be expected, seen the growth of the population and the effect of the heating of the earth, with less rain in these area's.

For horticulture and the battle against desertification, the potential market is a large multiple of this. Reaching a few hundred of tons should be possible.