Overview
Nowadays, there is no cure for the wilting disease, the best solution is to diagnose it at an early
stage. This is a huge concern because it causes great economic and laboral losses.
Given the situation, our team aims to develop a new strategy to help the farmers in the local
communities of Mexico and other agave producing countries.
Therefore, our team decided to take action on the matter and established an entrepreneurship committee
to help introduce our potentially beneficial product into the agricultural sector. To achieve all of
this, we also backed ourselves in activities, contests, and mentorships which helped us strengthen our
entrepreneurial side.
Diagnosgene
is an entrepreneurship interested in becoming a startup focused on the development of a new diagnostic
tool for all the employees of the agricultural sector in Mexico and all around the world. Diagnosgene is
based on the detection of phytopathogens which is accomplished by the usage of RNA tools, commonly known
as toehold switches.
Mission & Vission
- Mission: Our mission is to develop an easy-to-use, portable, accessible and quick-results diagnostic product for phytopathogens that can be used by the civil associations and farmers.
- Vission: Our vision is to become leaders in the early diagnosis of phytopathogens in the agricultural field by the detection of Fusarium oxysporum and later on other phytopathogens by the use of toehold switches. Seeking sustainable solutions with the use of synthetic biology.
Product
Unlike other detection methods already on the market such as PCR or ELISA tests, Diagnosgene allows farmers to perform the tests themselves and have a result in less than 3 hours without the need of specialized equipment or personnel. In this way, early diagnoses can be made, and the spread of the fungus to healthy crops can be avoided.
We have developed a software that allows the design of the necessary components for the detection of
Fusarium, which can be adapted to be used in the detection of other diseases in other types of crops.
Our product works by means of a colorimetry system. A bright red color change indicates an infected
plant, while its absence suggests a healthy plant.
We designed a product aimed at companies and producers in the tequila, mezcal and agave derivatives
industry. Currently, the market segment that we seek to serve is located mainly in the states with the
denomination of tequila and mezcal. These being in the case of tequila 5 states and in the case of
mezcal, 9, whose annual production exceeds 1,300 million dollars [1].
Key proposition: While in phytopathology laboratories the diagnosis can take up to 15
days [2], our detection system allows the diagnosis to be made in a matter of hours, which allows the
farmer to prevent the spread of the disease. In addition, the diagnosis can be carried out in situ
instead of having to send samples to a laboratory which makes the process more efficient. Finally, the
fact that the detection system is easy to operate allows anyone to perform the diagnosis.
SWOT Analysis
Customer Journey
Business Model
We’ve developed a Business to Business model that puts the agave producer at the center. The agave producing companies are our main client and through them it is planned to reach agave farmers through agronomy product distributors and an online sales channel. We have contacted various agave producers with whom we have developed a manual for detecting pests and diseases in agave, among them AGMEL SA DE CV, who have highlighted the relevance that Diagnosgene will have in the future of the Mexican countryside. Likewise, we are validating our proposal with researchers and national and international companies. We have designed a series of test cards with several hypotheses to validate our proposal with them.
Incubation Process & Activities
Throughout these months, we have enrolled ourselves in several Entrepreneurship activities and contests with the objective of developing skills and building a network which will enable us to make our project profitable. As part of these activities, we have had mentorship sessions with members from the Eugenio Garza Lagüera Entrepreneurship Institute.
During 2020 and 2021 we have enrolled ourselves in entrepreneurship conferences and contests, obtaining promising results:
INCmty: INCmty is a platform that since 2013 promotes and connects those who undertake with organizations, companies and investors through varied content that ranges from forums, activations for entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, corporations, families, companies and the community in general, thus building value for Mexico and the world. INCMty organizes an annual festival, with several activities, such as entrepreneurship contests and conferences [3]. Last year we participated in this festival which enabled us to learn about business modeling and expand our network. This year, we are planning to participate as well in November, to keep strengthening our entrepreneurial skills and network.
Heineken Green Challenge 2021: An initiative promoted by HEINEKEN Mexico and INCmty
that seeks to bring together the most creative minds that have innovative solutions based on the
principles of sustainable agriculture [4].
We can gladly announce that this year, we qualified to the regional round, in which we were one of
the 150 out of 750 projects selected
to present our pitch to a panel of judges.
Biohunt 2020: Biolaunch is a non-profit initiative created by entrepreneurs and biotechnology professionals who seek to develop and promote bio-entrepreneurship in Latin America. Each year it holds a congress where key actors from the bioentrepreneur ecosystem are brought together. Within the activities, there is the Biohunt competition: a bioentrepreneurship contest supported by the Agrobioteg innovation park and INC MTY, where bio entrepreneurs have the opportunity to present their pitch [5]. In 2020 we participated in this congress and competition, which allowed us to obtain valuable feedback on our business model, the focus of our market, and the overall presentation and pitch of our project to investors.
Potential Market
We designed a product aimed at companies and producers in the tequila, mezcal and agave derivatives industry. Thus, the market segment served is located in the states with the denomination of tequila and mezcal. These being, in the case of tequila, 5 states: Jalisco with all its municipalities, seven municipalities of Guanajuato, thirty municipalities of Michoacán, eight municipalities of Nayarit and eleven municipalities of Tamaulipas. In the case of mezcal, being 9 states Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Oaxaca, Durango, Zacatecas, Michoacán, Puebla and Guerrero [6,7].
The cost of a tequila plant is determined by the age and weight of the plant, currently a 4 year old plant costs about 1 USD per kilogram, 5 year old costs 1.05 USD per kilogram, and six or seven year old plants cost about 1.15 USD per kilogram .Looking at these numbers could erroneously believe it is not a great loss, but if we translate it into that if a plant is infected then a certain area of the plot will be, it translates into a significant loss for the farmer [8].
According to SAGARPA, the production of agave that is destined for tequila is projected to be 1926.42 tons for 2024, with an estimated accumulated increase of 31.9% for 2030. Our potential market is concentrated in the 260 tequila companies [6] and 210 existing mezcaleras in Mexico [7], through them it is planned to reach Mexican agave farmers through the contracts they make with them to buy the raw material.
What's next?
Our short and medium term goals (within 5 years from now):
- As part of our Human Practices work, we have been involved with several agave producers, one of them from the agave company AGMEL SA DE CV who showed especial interest in our project and is interested in our product but also in participating in a technology transfer. We have agreed upon testing our product with his plantations, before launching it into the market. As part of our deal, we will be working together to achieve this technology transfer by December 2022.
- By December 2023 we’ll be investing at least 10% of our utilities in product innovation to remain competitive in the market.
- By December 2024 we’ll have a patent regarding the detection system. In Mexico there are no specific laws that regulate the diagnosis in plants or their study for research purposes. Our project arises as a result of free access knowledge, therefore this knowledge is not patented and there is no intellectual property that protects a project similar to this in our country. However, our intention is to patent our device as well as the tools that we create to facilitate this process. This would represent a competitive advantage by having innovations that are not within the reach of our market competition.
- By September 2024 our estimated product utilities will be 30%.
- By September 2025, we will be present in at least 9 of the 32 states of the Mexican Republic.
- By September 2025 we’ll have expanded our product to be able to test at least two other types of crops.
References
- SAGARPA. (2017). Planeación Agrícola Nacional 2017-2030 (Primera Edición). Gobierno de México. Available at: https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/255627/Planeaci_n_Agr_cola_Nacional_2017-2030-_parte_uno.pdf
- Consejo Regulador del Tequila. (2019). Laboratorio de Fitopatología. Available at: https://www.crt.org.mx/index.php/es/laboratorio-de-fitopatologia
- Tecnologico de Monterrey. (2021). INCmty. Available at: https://tec.mx/es/emprendimiento/inc-mty
- Heineken Mexico. (2021). HEINEKEN Green Challenge 2021. Available at: https://heineken.incmty.com/
- Biolaunch. (2020). CONGRESO BIOLAUNCH 2020. Available at: https://www.biolaunch.org/copia-de-congreso
- Consejo Regulador del Tequila. (2019). Empresas Certificadas. Available at: https://www.crt.org.mx/index.php/es/el-tequila-3/empresas-certificadas
- Consejo Regulador del Mezcal. (n.a.). Denominación de origen del Mezcal. Available at: http://www.crm.org.mx/
- Briceño, G., Hurtado, S., Díaz, P., Pérez, (2011). 1ER FORO DE DISCUSIÓN FITOSANITARIA EN EL CULTIVO DEL AGAVE AZUL TEQUILERO INTEGRANDO ESFUERZOS PARA IMPULSAR BIENESTAR EN EL SECTOR. Available at: https://www.crt.org.mx/images/documentos/MEMORIA1erFORODEDISCUSIONFITOSANITARIA%28FINAL%29.pdf