Blooom Farm Nigeria

Most smallholder farmers faced three core challenges which could be attributed to several factors but primarily center around: a lack of knowledge about good agricultural practices and how to adopt new technologies; high risk and credit exposure inhibiting farmers from accessing new products and services; and the fragmented nature of market actors and their functions within agricultural and food systems.

Meadow Foods Blooom Farms is a human (farmer-centered, end-to-end integrated e-platform that connects input companies and buyers to farmers as well as other relevant agrifood system stakeholders through its platform and an organized channel of micro-franchises called “Bloom Entrepreneurs” who provide a physical touch point to farmers using the digital platform. 

The platform uses a shared value approach to build resilience, improve nutrition outcomes, productivity and incomes for smallholder farmers and other agrifood systems market actors. 

In Nigeria, agriculture employs 70% of the entire 60 million labor force and accounts for about 21% of the GDP (CIA, 2017 estimates). Based on Nigeria’s official definition of smallholders, more than 80% of farmers in Nigeria are considered smallholders because they own less than 5 hectares of land. Smallholders produce 99% of Nigeria’s agricultural outputs, yet their productivity is hindered by several limitations including reliance on rain-fed agriculture, use of poor quality or inadequate quantities of agricultural inputs, limited access to information and a weak agricultural extension system, and a lack of access to higher value markets and adequate financial services (CGAP, 2017). 

On the other end of the spectrum, agricultural inputs and output companies as well as financial institutions are unable to secure adequate and meaningful market information, and struggle to aggregate demand forecasts needed to drive costs out of the supply chain and maximize their sales. Furthermore, public and private extension agents such as government extension agents as well as village-level agro-dealers lack a mechanism to easily record and review individual farmers and their crop details, and thus provide personalized services and recommendations to each farmer. 

Blooom Farms is a fully integrated, soil-to-shelf digital platform for sustainable food supply chains. It is a brand using AI and big data analytics to provide agronomic intelligence, data analytics, market linkages and finance access through an intuitive smart phone application. 

Blooom Farms is a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform which provides next generation smart farming services including farmer registration, identity & profiling; farm mapping; soil testing and risk assessments; input and planting recommendations, information and advisory (including weather) services. Furthermore, it provides a digital marketplace and one-stop shop for products such as farm inputs and services such as warehouses and logistics using geo-spatial technology. It comes with a digital ‘spot market’ for sales of produce by farmers immediately post-harvest and a ‘future market’ where farmers can list pre-harvest produce, providing buyers with a wide selection of crops from multiple farmers or sellers. 

The platform analyzes smart farming data to create a collaborative and connected distribution model and generate insights which help financial institutions to extend services to smallholder farmers, inputs companies to refine their offerings, national and global institutional buyers to plan their sourcing, and governments, firms, and philanthropies’ to understand how they can help smallholder farmers succeed.     

Our target population are ‘very poor’ smallholder farmers characterized by household sizes of 6-10 members, having land holding sizes of 0.5-1.5 hectares under crop cultivation, who earn an average household annual income of about US$800 (Save the Children, 2018), and who are organized as collectives. 

Furthermore, another segment of Blooom Farm’s primary customers will be young village-level entrepreneurs and public extension agents. Over 60% of Nigeria’s population of 202 million people is 24 years old, while 23% and 20% of the labor force are unemployed and underemployed persons respectively (World Bank 2020, CGAP 2017) living on less than $3 per day. Nigeria has an estimated 15,000 public extension agents and 100,000 young N-Power (Federal Government of Nigeria extension initiative) who will be supported to purchase e-Farm micro-franchisees. 

Blooom Farm will leverage design thinking approaches and will ‘empathize, define’ and collaboratively use the digital platform with users e.g. supporting farmer collectives to set up Bloom Entrepreneur agent models. The platform will create shared value by providing financial incentives to micro franchises to collect farm maps and farmer collectives to leverage scale economies in output sales, in addition to certification and professionalization. 

Blooom Farm gives very poor smallholder farmers access to cutting-edge information, finance and markets while streamlining the roles and functions of other nutritious food supply chain stakeholders. 

The digital platform reduces carbon emissions by promoting and adopting low use of inputs and organic agriculture as farmers are able to apply precise quantities of crop protection products and fertilizers. 

It contributes to farmers’ resilience at enterprise level by connecting them to agronomic, weather, market, and price information as well as market connections to reduce post-harvest losses for access to quality inputs, financial services and higher-value markets.  

Our major competitor in Nigeria is CropIT which uses a SaaS platform too. However, Blooom Farms’ innovation and distinguisher is its approach to creating sustainable shared value for smallholder farmers and entrepreneurs’ in rural communities - the platform provides a proportionate share of the profits generated on it back to these market actors. This shared value is an additional incentive to the three pillars which underpin the platform’s innovation:

• Soil-to-Shelf - This service provides comprehensive, completely customized support for each farm throughout the growth cycle by combining data on individual farms with agronomic data on sustainable practices, local availability of seeds and sustainable inputs, weather patterns, and soil data.
• Last-mile Network - The app is used by farmers with a smartphone and by farmer influencers titled Blooom Entrepreneurs (BE), for farmers without a smartphone. The BE serves as the channel partner for aggregated farmers to receive advisory, pick-up inputs and sell their produce.
• Ecosystem Integration – The digital platform offers a two-sided marketplace allowing input companies (with a deliberate target on organic inputs among other inputs) and national and international buyers to undertake: Farmer/BE Discovery, Price Discovery, Crop Discovery, Transactions, Online Payments, Order Management, Inventory Management, and Logistics Integration.

On the surface, Blooom Farms is an elegantly simple, lightweight smartphone app. However, at its core, it is a series of algorithms on the cutting edge of agricultural technology, powered by the cloud. The SaaS leverages AI/Machine Learning, Big Data, GIS and geo-spatial technologies to generate insights for stakeholders within agrifood systems. 

The digital platform provides comprehensive, completely customized support for each farm throughout the growth cycle by combining data on individual farms with agronomic data on sustainable practices, local availability of seeds and sustainable inputs, weather patterns, and soil data. 

Its digital technology and synchronization framework is unique as it is tailored to constraints typical of base of the pyramid markets, and is able to interact with low-end phones that leverage USSD, SMS and interactive voice response services for educating farmers about climate-smart farm practices. 

Since 2019, Blooom Farms has been used in India, and in Africa in Uganda, Kenya and Angola. The platform follows  eKutir’s DNA (the initial parent company of Blooom Farms before its co-venture with Fairtrasa which birthed Blooom Farms)

A research conducted on ekutir provides qualitative insights and use cases of the digital platform in India in fruit and vegetable market systems. Another research in the Jharkhand Journal of Development and Management Studies uses DFID's Sustainable Livelihoods Framework to analyse use cases of ekutir in rural Odisha, India. Furthermore, in the last one year, internal analysis conducted by Blooom Farms International highlights that about 20% of BEs recovered their investments in less than 150 days, 33% recovered investments in 350 days while the oldest entrepreneur who has gone beyond 365 days has gone on to renew their licence. 

Our Theory of Change posits that: If the resilience capacities of smallholder farmers, communities, and market systems are strengthened using digitally enabled, market-led approaches that enhance and provide access to cutting-edge information, finance and markets while streamlining the roles and functions of other nutritious food supply chain stakeholders, amplified by local, evidence-based joint learning and collaboration and layered with complementary investments in humanitarian assistance; Then these smallholder farmers and communities will more successfully recover from climate-change related and health disasters, and future risk will be mitigated or reduced; Then these smallholder farmers and communities can sustainably increase productivity, reduce vulnerability and poverty, thereby advancing and protecting economic gains.

Our Theory of Change starts with resilience and it underlies and informs our entire approach. We position resilience as the overarching framework through which we approach the development of Meadow Foods Blooom Farms inclusive business model: only by building resilience into the whole agrifood system can true change occur. This is particularly true in areas of protracted crises like Northeast Nigeria where gains are fragile and can be easily reversed; building local capacities to anticipate and prevent emerging risks to well-being is critical for sustainable movement out of poverty.

• ekutir the parent company of Blooom International before its co-venture with Fairtrasa, has reached 74,000 households and 600 micro-entrepreneurs. Blooom International just concluded its 1st impact assessment which focuses on Blooom Farm adoption and use in India, however this report is currently being collated.
• In the next one year in Nigeria, Meadow Foods will pilot the use of the Blooom platform to serve 25,000 smallholder farmers in North East Nigeria. This pilot will provide entrepreneurship opportunities for 100 village-level entrepreneurs. 
• Over the next 5 years, we anticipate reaching 250,000 smallholder farmers and providing entrepreneurship opportunities for up to 1,000 micro-franchisees.

Meadow Foods Blooom Farms has defined its goals across operations, outcomes and outputs as indicated in the table above. We will achieve this goals through major the following major pathways:

• Last-mile network: We will scale up the network of Blooom Entrepreneurs who serve as a physical touch point for farmers using the technology 
• Ecosystem integration: The platform will leverage its digital marketplace and business partnerships with inputs companies and national and global output buyers (leveraging on Blooom International's partnership with Fairtrasa).

The following are major that could constrain and limit the impact of Meadow Foods Blooom Farms:

• Financial barriers: Running costs associated with engineering and deployment of the application in Nigeria, employee payroll and benefits, marketing, communication and branding, travel and monitoring, evaluation and learning costs. Furthermore, considering most smallholder farmers and rural entrepreneurs in Meadow Foods pilot target area have been affected by the prolonged conflict in North East Nigeria and are considered low-income earners, these ones may struggle to subscribe and pay their fees for use of the Blooom Farms service
• Technical Assistance: Low levels of support to Meadow Foods team members in areas of Business Development including strategy, marketing, finance, HR etc.
• Private sector engagement: A potential unwillingness of inputs and output companies to use the Blooom Farms solution considering its novel nature in Nigeria

Meadow Foods Bloom Farms will address these barriers through:

• Raising money through a combination of grants, debt and equity investments: We will work closely with donor-funded projects to demonstrate proof-of-concept and who are able to provide smart and cost-share subsidies to farmers and entrepreneurs to enable them subscribe to the solution Blooom Farms solution
• Online learning platforms e.g. edx and mentors e.g the micromentor program.
• We will identify and partner with large input and output companies as well as other relevant stakeholders through sector working groups such as the National Economic Summit Group, Private Sector Advisory Group 

Meadow Foods is registered as a for-profit company in Nigeria and is working as channel partner for Blooom International AG in Nigeria. Blooom International AG provides technical backstopping and support which allows Meadow Foods to deploy and scale the Blooom Farms innovation.

Full-time employees - 3

Part-time employees - 2

Our personnel offer exceptional complementary, with individual qualifications that enhance each other and avoids excessive staffing. Furthermore, we will utilize short-term technical staff to bring necessary supplemental expertise. These staff will contribute targeted HR skills as well as agriculture, nutrition, research and resilience measurement. 

• Adaku Omidosu (Co-Founder) is an experienced professional with a demonstrated history conducting market research, managing innovations, and providing business development support within the FMCG industry. She has significant expertise in agribusiness consulting.
• Kunle Owoeye (CEO and Co-Founder) is a serial entrepreneur with over 15 years of professional experience performing banking sales and marketing functions and supporting SMEs to access appropriate financial services. 
• Awelle Osuka (CTO) is an experienced Software Engineer with a demonstrated history of working in the logistics and supply chain industry. He is skilled in HTML, CSS, version control tools, PHP, CodeIgniter, Node and a host of other software technologies. 
• Harc Moko (COO) is an expert in project management, web programming, network administration and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL). He has extensive experience in the development of rural and urban market systems, agricultural value chains and agrifood systems. 
• Mosianemo Femi (CFO) is a finance professional with over 18 years of career experience in finance, investment and management consulting services. His experience spans across the fields of marketing, audit, finance and financial modelling, operations management, investment and logistics.

Meadow Foods currently has the following partnerships to support the adoption, replication and scale of its digital platform:

• Blooom International on technology development and a broader tech-based co-venture
• Pan Atlantic University’s Enterprise Development Center focused on enterprise advisory and capacity-building, research and ecosystem linkages
• Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND Foundation) focused on expanding business linkages for MSMEs within Niger Delta region
• Contec Global Agro Ltd focused on improving access to quality organic/bio-based ag. inputs.
• Agribiz Concepts Enterprises focused on the organization and coordination of farmer collectives, producer organizations, vetted ag. vendors and tech-enabled community leaders as well as their organizational capacity strengthening and certification. 

Being a part of Solve will enable me access support around the following areas:

• Access to finance: Solve can introduce and connect Meadow Foods to sources of affordable funding to enable replication and scale in Nigeria and across West Africa
• Private sector ad ecosystem linkages: A partnership with Solve will open doors to engagements with large buyers in Nigeria such as Olam, etc for Meadow Foods
• Technical Assistance: Solve can provide additional technical assistance to Meadow Foods team around business development including in areas around strategy, human-centered design, marketing, finance and general organizational governance

• Funding and revenue model: Partners who can contribute grant, affordable debt and equity finance.
• Advisors: Partners who will provide strategic, evidence-based advisory services to enable improved adoption of the Blooom Farms platform
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Technical support to develop logical frameworks and review our Theory of Change. Also, support to tool development for surveys and assessments e.g. baseline and market systems.
• Marketing, media and exposure: To a network of experts, funders, and country governments.

• Olam Nigeria - The partnership will center around using the Blooom Farms platform to support Olam Nigeria's raw materials (maize, sesame, rice and wheat) sourcing for its animal feeds mill and export markets working through smallholder farmers registered on the platform.
• Nigeria Breweries Plc: A partnership around integrating an organized network of smallholder farmers in North East Nigeria into Nigeria Breweries supply chain, through its "Brewing a better world' sustainability initiative and using the Blooom Farms solution. 
• Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc (FMN)- The partnership will center around using the Blooom platform to improve access to hybrid seeds (maize specifically), crop protection products and fertilizers as well as supporting FMN raw materials sourcing operations as FMN provides primary processing, aggregation and distribution of locally grown grains such as maize, soybean, rice, sorghum and wheat. Includes embedded advisory and extension information.
• Corteva Agriscience- A partnership centered around expanding access to hybrid seeds (maize and rice) and crop protection products, embedded with extension and advisory services.
• Syngenta Nigeria - A partnership centered around expanding farmer access to quality crop protection from Syngenta using the Blooom Farms platform.
• NIRSAL and NIRSAL Microfinance Bank (MFB): A partnership centered around supporting NIRSAL's Geo Coop, NIRSAL MFB's Anchor Borrowers Program (ABP) and Agricultural Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Fund (AGSMEIS).
• Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST): A partnership centered around integrating NIPOST logistics and haulage services into the Blooom Farms platform.

Meadow Foods will pilot the Blooom Farm solution in North East Nigeria, a region plagued by climate-related disasters and exacerbated by protracted conflict. Our target groups of smallholder farmers include internally displaced persons (IDPs) who are resident in host communities within the region

Blooom Farms improves the quality of life of female farmers as the platform connects them to inputs, finance and output markets, thus enabling them improve their productuivity and incomes either a farmers or as Blooom entrepreneurs. 

We will use the Innovation for Women Prize to subsidies the cost of the Blooom Entrepreneur micro-franchise for women and girls within targeted communities in North East Nigeria where we will run our pilot.

Blooom Farms uses artificial intelligence, machine learning and satellite data to support growers with soil testing, risk assessment and recommendations on best seed varieties, optimal nutrient quantities required, and plausible crop protection practices. 

Blooom Farms and its innovative business model has the potential for scale and impact. Blooom International AG, has a mission to impact 1 million farmers in the next 5 years and Meadow Foods is committed to contributing a quarter of that milestone from farmers in Nigeria over the next 5 years.