The soul of an entrepreneur is not to make money, but to make the world a better place.
Overview
Based on plasmid-mediated
RNA interference
(RNAi),HUBU-China team developed a spraying RNAi microbial pesticide to meet the demand of modern facility agriculture for pollution-free pesticides with high environmental benefits, which can completely kill the target pests within 4 days and degrade naturally in soil and water in about 10 days, achieving a green, sustainable and low-cost solution to agricultural pests, effectively ensuring food security, meeting the consumption upgrade of residents and supporting the sustainable development of agriculture.
In order to commercialize our project, we designed a complete business plan with the help of many stakeholders. If you want to know more about the impact of these stakeholders on our project design and business plan, please refer to.
Our HP page
. In order to have a greater impact on the world, as part of supporting
entrepreneurship, we plan to apply for a patent and set up a startup
company to promote our project. We designed
A complete business plan For the project, this can be found in the attached file.
First,
unmet needs and potential customers
Virus-like particle VLPs is a revolutionary delivery system, which can be
used to accurately prevent crop diseases and has many application
scenarios. Antibody fragments that can be designed independently also
provide products with more accurate targeting and richer disease
resistance possibilities for different plants and diseases. We hope to cut
into the track accurately, solve social pain points and create value for
world agriculture. Therefore, we introduced the analysis of unmet needs
and potential customers at the beginning of the business plan, which we
think is very important for commercialization.
Unmet needs and pain points:
According to FAO statistics, agricultural pests destroyed as many as 40%
of the world's crops, causing losses as high as 220 billion yuan. We often
use chemical pesticides to reduce this loss.
China has 9% of cultivated land and uses 50%-60% of chemical pesticides
in the world.
Chemical pesticides have caused irreversible pollution to our soil,
groundwater and ecological environment. Therefore, we often use less
chemical pesticides to solve this problem. Reducing chemical pesticides is
a three-pronged problem, which will lead to food disasters and threaten
food security. How to solve this three-pronged problem?
According to our research, the current plant diseases and insect pests
market mainly has the following problems:
(1) The traditional chemical, physical and biological insecticidal methods
have the pain points of environmental pollution, limited scale and easy
drug resistance. In view of these pain points, the plasmid-mediated RNA
interference technology developed by our team can achieve the goal of
green, efficient, large-scale application and not easy to produce drug
resistance.
(2) dsRNA expressed in nuclear transgenic plant cells will be converted
into short siRNA by Dicer. However, because long-chain dsRNA plays a role
in COLEOPTERA, the traditional way to control COLEOPTERA is mass transfer,
because there is no Dicer enzyme cleavage in chloroplasts, and the
expressed dsRNA can exist stably. However, in the face of high-activity
dsRNase in the intestinal tract of Lepidoptera, dsRNA cannot exist stably.
We found that siRNA is more stable and effective than dsRNA, but the
control effect is still not satisfactory.
Corresponding solutions:
Combined with the artificial seed project that we have been exposed to
before, the seeds are coated with trehalose to provide protection, thus
improving their germination rate. We have a new idea in the collision of
thinking, that is, to wrap RNA with a layer of protein shell, so that it
is not easy to be degraded.
After consulting a lot of data, we know that virus-like particles VLPs are
very safe, which are similar to virus particles in structure and can be
passed through the same. Among them, MS2 VLP can effectively protect RNA
from degradation like armor, and the efficiency of entering cells is
higher after adding membrane-penetrating peptide.
In the experiment, we fed the newly hatched Spodoptera litura larvae with
transgenic strains. According to the experimental phenomena and data
analysis, the following results were obtained. The pupation failure rate
and deformity rate of Spodoptera litura fed with MS2-amiR-CHS1 bacteria
are higher and more effective.
Second,
market segmentation and customer analysis
Divide the market by crop type. Different crops may have different
requirements and usage habits of pesticides, and green pesticide companies
can provide corresponding products and solutions according to crop types.
Our target market is subdivided into tobacco, potato, eggplant, pepper,
poplar and willow.
Divide the market by consumer type. According to the needs and preferences
of different consumer groups, the target market is subdivided into
individual small farmers and large-scale agricultural producers.
By subdividing the target market, green pesticide companies can better
understand the needs and characteristics of different market segments,
provide targeted products and solutions, enhance market competitiveness
and meet the needs of consumers. At the same time, the company also needs
to formulate corresponding marketing strategies, including pricing,
channel selection, brand promotion and sales promotion, in order to
achieve competitive advantage in the target market.
The data of the third central agricultural census show that the number of
small farmers accounts for more than 98% of the agricultural business
entities. At the same time, according to the documents issued by the
central government, we should focus on farmers' cooperatives and family
farms. The target markets of new pesticides for guarding grain safety are
individual small farmers, farmers' cooperatives and family farms.
In the market positioning, according to the composition of the new
pesticide, it is positioned as a non-chemical, efficient and green
pesticide with good quality and low price, which caters to the economic
level of small farmers' consumers.
Through marketing and product introduction, the new pesticide of
Shouliangan will be shaped into an image of environmental protection,
non-toxic and pollution-free, and can improve the soil.
The market position of the new pesticide for Shouliangan is a biological
pesticide which is
cheap, green, non-toxic and pollution-free,
and can
improve the soil.
Operation mode
Because the project team does not have the conditions for large-scale
production for the time being, the project operation mode adopts the sales
mode of CSO sales and the production mode of CMO processing. The team
plans to cooperate with the fermentation foundry to provide fermentation
strains, fermentation broth formula and technical guidance to the foundry,
which is responsible for strain culture and fermentation. This model can
help you reduce production costs, save equipment investment and human
resources, and focus on core technologies and market development. At the
same time, the team entrusts external partners such as Zhisheng Yougu and
Dabei Nong to be responsible for the sales and distribution of products.
After the project matures, it will gradually apply for qualification to
form the integration of R&D, production and sales, develop and
cultivate its own channels, and directly supply target customers to reduce
the cost of intermediate circulation links and maximize profits.
In order to achieve the goal of profit maximization, this project will
realize the comprehensive profit of the project by cooperating with
downstream enterprises to collect product technical guidance service fees,
product sales fees, technology licensing fees, etc.
technical feasibility, scalability and creativity
1. Technical feasibility
The unique advantages of plasmid-mediated RNA interference technology are:
(1)
High copy and high expression
(because the
chloroplast copy number is very high, for example, it can reach 10,000
genome copies in tobacco, so it has the potential of high expression of
foreign genes).
(2)
matrilineal inheritance
(there is no plastid in
pollen, and foreign genes will not cause environmental safety problems
with pollen diffusion)
(3)
Position effect
(compared with random nuclear
insertion, chloroplast transformation is site-specific integration, so
there is no position effect)
2. Market viability
According to the statistics of Phillips McDougall, a seed and pesticide
consulting company under Agrow's parent company Informa, the global
pesticide market sales in 2022 was
78.193 billion US dollars.
Among them, the proportion of
pesticides for crops is close to 90%, the market sales amount is 69.256
billion US dollars, and the CAGR is 5.0% in recent five years.
In terms of regions, Asia-Pacific and Latin America are the largest and
fastest growing regional markets. In 2022, the market sales in the
Asia-Pacific region was 21.885 billion US dollars, accounting for 32%, and
the CAGR was 6.1% in the past five years; Latin American market sales
reached 19.137 billion US dollars, accounting for 28%, and CAGR was 8.6%
in recent five years. It can be seen that the demand for pesticides in the
Asia-Pacific region is also increasing year by year.
From the global background, first, under the influence of the epidemic,
international food trade was blocked, and energy, labor and sea freight
rates rose sharply, triggering a global food crisis; Second, the conflict
between Russia and Ukraine, the two major grain producers, has almost
paralyzed production and supply, further aggravating the international
community's concern about the instability of the global grain supply
chain; Third, extreme weather such as drought and cold wave frequently
occur, the output of major grain exporting countries in the world has
declined, and export restrictions have been continuously introduced in
panic, which has led to an increase in the world food gap; Fourth, during
the epidemic, various economies generally implemented loose monetary
policies, which led to rising inflation levels. As a result, food prices
continued to rise, which led to a rebound in pesticide prices.
Therefore, the pesticide industry has entered a high boom cycle. The
pesticide sales of the four multinational pesticide giants Syngenta,
Bayer, BASF and Kedihua have increased rapidly, and the sales of the top
100 pesticide enterprises in China have increased, and the pesticide
market is very good.
China is a big agricultural country with frequent pests and diseases and
relatively fragile agricultural ecological environment, and food security
cannot be separated from the escort of pesticides. However, it is worth
emphasizing that the excessive use of pesticides, the increase in
production costs caused by unscientific application methods, the excessive
residues of agricultural products, and environmental pollution are also
worthy of attention. With the increasing awareness of environmental
protection and food safety, countries have further strengthened their
control over the pesticide industry. In recent years, many varieties with
top market share, such as paraquat, chlorothalonil, mancozeb,
chlorpyrifos, etc., have encountered the policy of prohibition and
restriction in major consumer markets around the world.
Therefore, developing new pesticides with high efficiency, low toxicity
and environmental protection, and upgrading products are the best way to
deal with the risk of variety prohibition and restriction. The "Tenth
Five-Year Plan" for the Development of National Pesticide Industry
has taken the adjustment of product structure as one of the key tasks, and
clearly put forward "supporting the development of new chemical
pesticides with high efficiency and low risk, vigorously developing
biological pesticides, gradually phasing out old pesticide varieties and
formulations with strong resistance, poor efficacy and high risk, and
strictly controlling high-toxic and high-risk pesticides and additives
with environmental persistence and bioaccumulation".
2. Competition analysis
(1) Chemical insecticidal method
Using chemical pesticides to control agricultural pests is convenient,
economical, efficient and quick. However, with the extensive use of
chemical pesticides, it has caused serious environmental pollution.
Chemical pesticides have great toxicity to many non-target organisms and
caused irreparable damage to the entire ecosystem. In recent years, more
and more chemical pesticides have been banned due to environmental
pollution, biological residues, drug resistance and other problems
caused by excessive use of pesticides.
(2) Physical insecticidal method
By trapping and killing with lights, trapping eggs with straw handles,
trapping and killing with stick insect, trapping and other methods.
Physical pest control is friendly to the environment, but the range of
pest control is limited, the cost is too high, and the pest control effect
is unstable, so it
can not cope with the large-scale pest problem.
(3) Biological insecticidal method
The application of Bt cotton, an insect-resistant plant, is
environmentally friendly, with good insecticidal effect and high economic
benefits. However, with the extension of use time, insects have developed
drug resistance, and Bt protein has only an insect-resistant effect on
some insects,
and the expression level of Bt protein is easily affected by
environmental factors.
3. Financial model
The
initial investment capital is 6 million
, including 2
million registered capital, and the balance of general projects-National
Natural Science Foundation and Youth Science Fund is 4.44 million. Hubei
Natural Science Foundation has a total of 150,000 yuan; The national key
research and development plan has a sub-project balance of 400,000 yuan,
and the enterprise horizontal project of Beijing Dabeinong Biotechnology
Co., Ltd. has 2.35 million yuan.
Source table of initial investment funds
Category of funds |
contents of a project |
Obtain funds |
Surplus funds(Initial capital) |
General Program-National Natural Science Foundation of China |
Study on the mechanism of RNAi insect resistance mediated by
Pseudomonas and poplar plastids
|
540 thousand |
4.44 million |
Study on molecular mechanism and management strategy of cotton
bollworm's unresponsiveness to plasmid-mediated RNAi
|
600 thousand |
|
|
Study on the expression stability of double-stranded RNA in
transformed plasmid and its insecticidal function
|
650 thousand |
|
|
Study on molecular mechanism and application of oxidative stress
enhancing the effect of plasmid-mediated RNAi on cotton bollworm
|
580 thousand |
|
|
Study on the Mechanism and Application of MS2 Phage Virus-like
Particles Mediated RNAi Against Helicoverpa armigera
|
540 thousand |
|
|
General Project of National Natural Science Foundation: Synergistic
Mechanism of Intestinal Bacteria in dsRNA Lethal Scarabaeid.
|
690 thousand |
|
|
Mechanism analysis of plasmid efficient delivery of insecticidal
protein to enhance plant resistance to root-knot nematodes
|
540 thousand |
|
|
General Project-Youth Science Fund |
Study on Mechanism and Application of Plant Plastid Mediated RNAi
Against Myzus persicae
|
300 thousand |
|
Innovative Group Project of Hubei Natural Science Foundation |
Study on plasmid-mediated RNAi control of vegetable pests |
500 thousand |
700 thousand |
"Jieqing" Project of Hubei Natural Science Foundation
|
Study on insect resistance of plasmid-mediated RNAi |
two hundred thousand |
|
Sub-project of National Key R&D Plan |
Application of RNAi-mediated pest control technology in forest pest
control
|
1.47 million |
1.47 million |
Horizontal project of enterprise |
Beijing Dabeinong Biotechnology Co., Ltd. |
150 thousand |
150 thousand |
registered capital |
Registered capital of the company |
2 million |
2 million |
|
total |
8 million |
8.76 million |
In 2021, the project was developed. In 2022, the initial results were
obtained, and the patents were authorized. The company members continued
to research and develop in the laboratory. In 2023, the company was
registered and prepared to start operation. The initial funds were mainly
used to purchase hardware equipment, start-up expenses and working
capital, including office equipment and other important equipment. The
specific amount is as follows: fixed assets are 1.98 million yuan,
accounting for 33% of total assets; The start-up cost is 300,000 yuan,
accounting for 5% of the total assets; Current assets are 2.82 million
yuan, accounting for 47% of total assets; Intangible assets are 900,000
yuan, accounting for 15% of the total assets. See below for the specific
distribution.
Distribution table of initial investment funds
project |
fixed assets |
Starting expenses |
floating assets |
invisible assets |
total |
Amount unit (ten thousand yuan) |
198 |
30 |
282 |
90 |
600 |
Occupancy ratio (%) |
33 |
five |
47 |
15 |
100 |
Investment in fixed assets (unit: 10,000 yuan)
name |
Unit price (ten thousand yuan) |
Quantity (units) |
Total price (ten thousand yuan) |
Laboratory equipment |
33.69 |
2 |
67.39 |
office equipment |
|
|
|
Among them: |
|
|
|
air conditioner |
0.23 |
three |
0.68 |
Office accessory equipment |
|
|
|
computer |
0.26 |
10 |
2.63 |
Office desk |
0.02 |
10 |
0.19 |
Transportation equipment (including) |
|
|
|
Public vehicles |
4.13 |
one |
4.13 |
Research and development equipment |
123.00 |
one |
123.00 |
total fixed assets |
198 |
|
|
The start-up expenses totaled 300,000 yuan, including the salary of the
preparatory staff of 130,000 yuan, the office expenses of 20,000 yuan
during the start-up period and other preparatory expenses of 50,000 yuan.
Among them, other preparatory expenses include stamp duty, business
license book, account book fee, water and electricity expenditure, capital
verification fee, social entertainment expenditure, etc.
Table 6.5 Table of Start-up Expenses (Unit: 10,000 Yuan)
Salary of preparatory staff |
15.00 |
Office expenses during the start-up period |
9.00 |
Other preparatory expenses |
6.00 |
total |
30.00 |
development strategy
(1)the initial stage of the strategy is mainly to provide services, the
team responds to the call of the province to support college students to
start their own businesses, reasonable use of the relevant small and
medium-sized enterprises to support the steady development of innovative
policies. Pre-team and team cooperation, gradually improve the production
process, and constantly improve product quality and competitiveness. At
the same time in product marketing, marketing strategy, seize the local
market, establish a good sales network and long-term stable transactions
of the cooperative enterprise.
(2)in the medium-term strategy, continuous research and development will
be carried out in the medium-term, and the production companies that shift
the sales focus to RNAi pesticides will enter the growth period, increase
investment, purchase production equipment and expand production scale.
Focus on product quality, actively optimize pesticide production process,
and constantly improve its reliability and safety. To help develop leading
enterprises in China's agricultural industry to gain greater market share.
The use of accumulated sales resources, the use of high stability and
price advantage to obtain competitive advantages, so that the company's
production of pesticides into the public view, expand the market size.
(3) in the later stage of the strategy, we should mainly sell plants,
persist in the research and development of pesticide products, constantly
improve the quality of products, increase the production automation ratio
and reduce the cost; establish good and stable cooperative relations with
enterprises outside the school; To develop wider application market and
promote the development of pesticide field. Dedicated to efficient use.
Long-term effects
Operational capability analysis table
project |
formula |
2024 |
2025 |
2026 |
2027 |
2028 |
turnover of total capital |
Average sales revenue / total assets |
0.17 |
0.32 |
0.64 |
0.86 |
1.24 |
turnover of current assets |
Sales revenue / current assets balance |
0.48 |
0.75 |
0.93 |
0.9 |
0.89 |
average accounts receivable turnover ratio |
Total revenue / receivables balance |
4.42 |
4.42 |
4.42 |
4.42 |
4.42 |
As can be seen from the table, the total asset turnover rate showed an
increasing trend, indicating that the company's sales income increased,
the enterprise's operational capacity to improve. The turnover rate of the
company is about 1, is within the normal range, the use of working capital
effect is good. The turnover rate of accounts receivable is stable at 5,
the average collection period is short, the assets flow is fast, and the
debt paying ability is strong.
Analysis of development ability
Development ability analysis table
project |
formula |
2024 |
2025 |
2026 |
2027 |
2028 |
Sales growth rate |
Revenue growth / Total revenue |
|
0.93 |
0.98 |
0.34 |
0.43 |
Asset growth rate |
Capital growth / Total assets |
|
0.1 |
0.33 |
0.25 |
0.35 |
average accounts receivable turnover ratio |
Net profit growth |
|
-0.6 |
-3.8 |
1.57 |
1.08 |
With the expansion of the market and the increase of the sales share of
the enterprise's products, the sales revenue keeps a rapid growth, while
the net profit of the company also keeps a rapid growth. The company is
now in a growth period, business continues to expand, increasing
profitability. The rate of capital accumulation reflects the level of
owner's equity in that year, reflects the accumulation of capital, is a
sign of a strong enterprise, shows the development potential of the
enterprise. During the first five years of the operating period, the
capital accumulation rate of the company is kept in a stable range, which
reflects that the company can actively and effectively cope with risks and
keep a good trend of development.
Reference
1.The size of the global pesticide market.
Phillips McDougall, China Merchants Bank Research Institute,
2.2021 global crop pesticide market structure.
Phillips McDougall, China Merchants Bank Research Institute
3. Price movements of food and pesticides since 2019.
FAO, China Pesticide Industry Association, China Merchants Bank
Research Institute
4. The growth trend of pesticide sales of the four multinational giant
companies in the past five years.
Annual reports of various companies, statistics of China Merchants Bank
Research Institute
5. Growth in revenue and net profit of domestic pesticide listed
companies.
Wind, Research Institute of China Merchants Bank Global number of
banned pesticides statistics. By the end of 2020. AgroPages, China
Merchants Bank Research Institute