Moving to where technology and people intersect to create change and improve lives
As you know from reading Mevis’ previous blogs describing Sprints 1, 2 and 3, the overall goal of this project is to see if we can contribute to a solution for the conflict between herders and farmers in Nigeria by equipping herdsmen with a hydroponic system to grow fodder for cattle. We believe that this problem will get worse as climate change leads to changing weather patterns and potentially less water being available to produce fodder.
Given my background in research and human-centred design, I enjoy working at the confluence of technology and humans. I believe and have seen first-hand that even the best technology can fail when the human and ecosystem components are not properly considered.
It has been very interesting to be an advisor for the hydroponic fodder project because of its potential for real societal impact through technology. What got me excited about this sprint in particular is the fact that it starts to bring all those elements together. This is because in this fourth sprint, we started to consider the social aspects of the project in more detail by engaging with herder communities while continuing to tackle the technical and financial aspects of the project.
The questions we were asking during Sprint 4 were:
- Experiment 1: Are herder communities receptive to the proposed hydroponic system, both at the pilot stage and in the long term? We wanted to confirm if they would be willing to collaborate with us and provide us with information that is relevant to the project to ensure its viability.
- Experiment 2: Are materials for the fodder growing system available and easily accessible in the vicinity of the communities?
- Experiment 3: Can we develop a business model that is financially sustainable and attractive to the private sector and financial institutions?
- Experiment 4: Can we develop a security plan that will allow the team to be able to implement the project on site?
Experiment 1 — Starting to build relationships with the herder communities
So far, most of the effort during the sprints has been focused on the technical aspects of the hydroponic fodder system. In the meantime, the team has made several assumptions about the needs and desires of herder communities as well as the potential value proposition of the system. These assumptions are laid out in the value proposition map shown below.
This experiment was exciting because it was an opportunity to test the assumptions directly with the experts: the herders themselves. The relationships with CBI Innovations and GIZ that were built by the team during the previous sprints proved invaluable in facilitating meetings with herder communities in Gwagwalada and Jos respectively. CBI Innovations and GIZ have existing programmes within these two communities, where they have already built a high level of trust, so it made sense to leverage their positive relationships to gain an introduction. Gwagwalada is a local government area in the Federal Capital Territory and is about 45 minutes west of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city. Jos is the capital of Plateau State and is located almost at the geographical centre of Nigeria, about 5 hours east of Abuja.
Being the team’s first visits to herder communities, we were not sure what to expect. Keke Ouedraogo and Tulari Tine visited the herder community in Gwagwalada twice during the sprint, while Mevis and Tulari made one visit to a herder community in Ganawuri, Jos. As always, the complementary skillsets of the team were a real asset — Keke brought her experience in conflict resolution and Tulari has experience liaising with communities for development projects.
Fortunately, the community engagement started off with a bang! In both communities that the team visited, the attendance was very good. The community had a lot of questions (which we took as a good sign of engagement!) and the team was able to learn more about their daily lives. The herdsmen validated many of our most critical assumptions. For example, they confirmed that they have difficulties with gaining access to cattle fodder, especially during the dry season. They have concerns about the negative impact of a lack of proper nutrition on the health of their cattle. They also expressed a need to have a solution that reduced existing tension between their communities and farmers. The herdsmen articulated a desire to learn about new technologies and were keen to receive training on sustainable methods of providing fodder for their cattle. They also emphasised that any initiative should include opportunities for women and young people in their communities to participate.
The second visit with the herders in Gwagwalada involved a stakeholder mapping activity. We believe that since the situation is already quite tense, it will be critical for us to have clarity on who the key participants in the system are, the relationships between them and how they influence each other. This will help us to position the project in such a way that it provides a benefit to as many of those stakeholder groups as possible, while avoiding preferential treatment or inadvertently causing harm to others. Some of the key stakeholders include the herders, the farmers, the government, potential funders as well as offtakers of milk.
We plan to do more to understand ecosystem from multiple perspectives, including to gain a better understanding of the farmers’ point of view. Indeed, it was very interesting to learn that farmers and herders seem to get along and cooperate on many issues, but land and grazing rights present a real source of tension.
We believe that the herders’ willingness to participate in the conversations and stakeholder mapping exercise was a strong indication of their interest in co-creating a solution with us in the near future.
Experiment 2 — Sourcing materials locally
While the team was successful in finding the right materials for the fodder system within the communities, this activity is still a work in progress that will continue into the next sprint. A significant remaining challenge is to figure out a durable and cost-effective alternative for the aluminium trays since this is a major component of the overall cost of the system. In addition, finding a local supplier for good quality seeds is also important.
Experiment 3 — Developing a sustainable business model
In the third sprint, the team established that commercial banks would be receptive to financing the fodder system under an out-grower model that would involve guaranteed off takers for the milk. In this sprint, the team made progress on a simple financial model that has demonstrated that the hydroponic fodder system has the potential to pay for itself in just six months. The model was created by Black Falcon, another partner to M.E. Solutions, using inputs such as cost of the fodder system, maintenance and operational expenses and the average yield of fodder for a system. These inputs were based on experiences with the hydroponic fodder system thus far, as well as feedback on current market pricing of fodder and operational assumptions from our network of partners and experts.
This is probably a good time to mention that currently, the milk that is produced by the herders is not of a sufficient quantity for a large off taker. However, there are some smaller dairy businesses that are currently offtaking milk, indicating that at low volumes, the small and medium sized offtakers could be an appropriate match. This also could be an opportunity for women in the community to revitalise the production of traditional dairy products that northern Nigeria is known for. The business model might evolve as we continue to develop more insights into the ecosystem and gain further understanding of what partnerships might be needed to ensure success.
Experiment 4 — Safety first!
The security situation in northern Nigeria is fluid, but Keke, Mevis and Tulari were able to safely make three visits in total to the two herder communities. The security consultant that is working with M.E. Solutions made an assessment prior to the trips and determined that the risks were manageable. The strategy this time was to make a very low-key visit of a few hours on one day, which was doable given the proximity of the locations to Abuja.
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Is there a world where herders and farmers can peacefully coexist, and both their needs are met? Could a partnership or business model built around the hydroponic fodder system help to facilitate this future state? We think so. There is still a significant amount of work to be done, but the outcomes of this Sprint are certainly encouraging.
We are gearing up for testing the fodder system on site with the herder communities in the upcoming sprints. This will allow us to gain direct feedback from the farmers on the performance of the system and its ease of use. In addition, we will start collecting data in order to measure any impact of increased access to fodder on the health of the cows, including assessing whether there is an increase in their weight as well as the quantity and quality of the milk. This data will also serve as inputs to an expanded financial model that would consider any additional revenue due to increased weight (for cattle intended for meat) and milk output or quality (for dairy cows). Stay tuned!
