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Creating a Precision Fertiliser Delivery System for Smallholder Coffee Farms

Main TrackSustainable AgrifoodSucafina
Sucafina is the leading sustainable Farm to Roaster coffee company, with a family tradition in commodities that stretches back to 1905. We help stakeholders worldwide to find the perfect coffee solutions and work to create shared value by embedding technology, innovation and sustainability throughout the supply chain.

Sucafina aims to improve sustainability and resource efficiency across the coffee value chain. In Vietnam, smallholder coffee farmers (typically 1 to 3ha) often over-apply fertilisers by 30 to 50%, leading to nutrient losses, soil degradation, and higher GHG emissions, while raising costs and reducing profitability.

Sucafina has conducted demonstration trials using subsurface drip fertigation systems (2 to 3cm below ground), which achieved around 50% fertiliser reduction, and are projected to deliver 10 to 20% yield improvement.

The challenge lies in scaling fertigation benefits without the high capital cost (around US$3,500/ha) and infrastructure needs (pipes, trenches, control units, and water supply) that make such systems unaffordable and impractical for smallholders on steep terrain and rain-fed plots.

The goal is not to improve fertigation technology itself, but to replicate fertigation’s precision and efficiency through more affordable, adaptable, and terrain-flexible solutions suited for Vietnam’s fragmented, drought-prone farms.

Your proposed solution could take the form of a new delivery mechanism, nutrient formulation, or service model (for example, shared equipment, third-party application, etc.) that maintains fertigation-like benefits without high capital cost or dependency on external experts.

How might we develop a fertiliser delivery system that achieves the precision, efficiency, and sustainability benefits of fertigation, while being cost-effective and scalable across Vietnamese smallholder coffee farms?


Requirements


Technical Requirements:

  • Should be operable with minimal external support within one year of farmer training, reducing reliance on external technicians.
  • Should be lightweight, simple to install and maintain, and function effectively in rain-fed, steep, or shaded plots.
  • Should achieve equivalent efficiency to current drip fertigation systems.
  • Must deliver fertiliser directly to the soil/root zone; foliar contact must be avoided to prevent leaf burn.
  • Must be capable of 2 to 5 fertiliser applications per year, adjustable based on soil testing and agronomic advice.
  • Must comply with Sucafina’s global sustainability, environmental, health, and safety (HSE) standards.
  • May use electric, manual, or solar-powered operation to suit off-grid farms.
  • Must integrate agronomy and soil testing data to guide dosage and frequency.
  • May consider intercropping compatibility (for example, with shade trees or other food crops).
  • May be designed as fixed, portable, or service-based systems, including shared or outsourced models such as cooperative ownership or drone spraying, provided they remain simple to operate, low-cost, and supported by local capabilities.

Performance Requirements:

  • Must demonstrate at least 50% reduction in fertiliser use (equivalent to roughly 50% carbon reduction) and comparable yields compared to full fertigation.
  • Deliver 10 to 20% yield improvement over conventional manual fertilisation practices.
  • Must function reliably under tropical, rain-fed, and drought-prone conditions.
  • Should minimise water use and fertiliser runoff.
  • Should be farmer-operable within one year with limited supervision.

Financial Considerations:

  • Target: At least 50% cost reduction over 3 years compared to current fertigation cost (around US$3,500/ha)
  • System lifespan goal: 10 years, including 2 years of agronomic support
  • Your solution may adopt modular or shared models, such as pay-per-use, to meet cost-per-hectare targets.
  • The CAPEX would generally be borne by the farmer; however, this may vary depending on the proposed business model. For example, shared or outsourced service models could distribute costs differently.
  • The CAPEX of your proposed solution should also be at least as efficient as existing systems in providing nutrition according to the crop cycle, matching the efficiency level of fertigation where nutrient losses are minimised.

Who Should Apply:

  • Minimum Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 to 7

Potential Sustainability Impact:

  • Reduced fertiliser waste, possible fertiliser runoff, and nitrogen-related emissions
  • GHG reduction - correlation can be established between fertilisation reduction and GHG reduction
  • Lower input costs and improvement of farmer profitability through higher yields and reduced input waste
  • Expansion of access to precision agriculture tools and training for smallholders
  • Improved resilience against drought and rainfall variability by integrating light irrigation or moisture retention features

POC / Pilot & Incentives


Expected POC / Pilot & Timeline:

  • POC / pilot duration: 6 to 12 months
  • POC / pilot objectives: Validate delivery precision, fertiliser efficiency, yield outcomes, and total cost reduction versus fertigation
  • POC / pilot implementation will be managed directly by Sucafina’s agronomy team.
  • Farmer selection will follow due diligence criteria: data reliability, training readiness, and plot access.
  • The selected solution provider should provide training materials, field manuals, and initial support for at least one growing season.


Additional Information on Farm Typology, Terrain, and Farming Practices:

  • Initial Location: Lam Dong province
  • Family farming and business oriented
  • Average farm size of 2ha (made of a couple of plots) and average yield 3.5mt green beans per ha
  • Rainfed coffee farming with manual (hosepipe) sporadic irrigation
  • Mix of flat, semi flat and hilly plots (low to medium slopes)
  • Fully or almost full “sun coffee” growing system with around 1,100 coffee trees per ha (approximately 3x3m)
  • High use of synthetic fertilisers and around 30% over-fertilisation
  • Low mechanisation and manual harvest

POC / Pilot Support:

  • Access to farms and agronomy data
  • Support from Sucafina’s sustainability, soil testing, and local agronomy teams for validation

Further Opportunities:

  • Sucafina has a strong track record of partnering with successful agritech startups and early-stage businesses. The company invests in and collaborates with such businesses where it can provide meaningful value, offering tailored support based on each business’s unique needs. This support can include:
    • Access to data, insights, and scaled market networks
    • Deployment and operational support
    • Direct investment and long-term partnership opportunities. Past investments include: Profile Print, AgroSmart, and CSmart.
  • As a vertically integrated coffee company, Sucafina operates across the global value chain, from supporting producers at origin to helping roaster clients grow their businesses in nearly every major market. Because every business has different needs, Sucafina focuses on adding the right value, in the right place, at the right time to maximise impact.
  • For this project, Sucafina’s direct supply line in Vietnam’s smallholder coffee sector will serve as the initial POC / pilot target. The solution has the potential to extend beyond coffee to other perennial crops, such as durian, pepper, and tea, which face similar challenges with inefficient fertiliser use.
  • If successful, the solution could be scaled globally across Sucafina’s supply network and integrated into its sustainability and sourcing programs in East Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

Info Session 

Check out the recording from our Info Session, where Lidl & Kaufland Asia shared more about their challenge statement.

RESOURCES

Info Session Recording

Revisit the detailed presentation on this challenge statement from our virtual Info Session.



Next Steps

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