The work performed in this project is divided in 5 Tasks.
Task 1: Identification and characterisation of the supply side and main target countries for SMART Fertigation. The main focus was given on large agricultural producers (land) and areas with a high amount of nbutrient-rich wasetwaters such as manure, biogas digasattate.
Result:
The main potential markets were discovered in:
- France
- Germany
- Poland
- Spain
- Rumania
Task 2: Identification and Characterization of main target countries and creation of potential client groups
Result:
- France (Bretagne and Picardie)
- Germany (Bayern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein Westfalen and Schleswig-Holstein)
- Poland (Pomorskie, Zachodniopomorskie, Wielkopolskie, and Dolnoslaskie)
- Spain (Castilla y León and Andalucía)
- Rumania (Nord-Est and Sud-Est regions)
Task 3: Identification and specification of potential customer profiles
Development of a market-study summarising the current state of supply and demand relationships
Results:
SMART Fertigation is designed for farms of all sizes, but it has great interest especially in the agricultural businesses with arable land areas of more than 50 ha as a national and international targeted group.
Task 4: Definition of legal requirements and implementation of safety regulations.
- Definition of the requirements for the SMART Fertigation system for commercialisation (CE- and DIN EN-certification, machinery directive, etc.)
Results:
• Related to plant building:
o Minimum requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers: Directive 1999/92/EC
o Machinery: Directive 2006/42/EC
• Related to use of SMART fertigation:
o Protection of the environment, and in particular of the soil, when sewage sludge is used in agriculture: Directive 86/278/EEC
o Quality of water intended for human consumption: Directive 98/83/EEC
o Framework for Community action: Directive 2000/60/EC
o Protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (91/676/EEC)
o Groundwater Directive (80/86/EEC)
o Bathing Water Directive, which lays down special quality requirements for bathing water (76/160/EEC).
• Related to agriculture:
o Fertilizers: REGULATION EC No 2003/2003
o Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC)
o Soil and amending: Directive 2004/35/EC
o Nitrates Directive
Task 5: Optimization of business plan
The information established in the previous tasks helped to further develop the initial business plan of SMART Fertigation. Among others, the following topics are specified in detail:
- The SMART Fertigation product: characterisation of the technology, benefits,comparison to major competitors.
- Market analysis, including competition: location, size, structure of market, trends and influences.
- Marketing Strategy, promotion activities and their associated costs, all adapted to the identified target markets for the initial introduction.
- SWOT analysis
-Financial: expected sales, turnover, employees.