Submitted
Sustainable Food Systems

Stevia-A Healthy Organic Sugar

Team Leader
Bonface Khwesa
Solution Overview
Solution Name:
Stevia-A Healthy Organic Sugar
One-line solution summary:
Stevia's 1st harvest expected after 3 months compared to traditional sugarcane's 18-months;produce per acre is 3to4 tonnes&100 times sweeter
Pitch your solution.

1. Sucrose from sugarcane industry from my western kenya region continue to raise Human's diabetic mortality through its harmful disturbance of blood sugar balance since Most of our meals and beverage - especially Tea - are sweetened with this harmful industrial sugar. 2. sugarcane harvest is done after 18 months after planting which starves the farmer from sustainable income for such long period. 3. Subsistence farmers from this region are unqualified to engage in this agribusiness due to uneconomical small tracts of land. 4. Sugar Factory cane-crushing equipment plus tractors for land preparation and transportation emit volumes of harmful greenhouse gases into ecosystem. My idea is to spearhead the switch to subsistence farming of scientifically approved zero-calorie sweetener stevia herb for all mankind consumption-sweetening ingredient; first Harvest time for stevia is 3 months; produce per acre is 3 to 4 tonnes; Is less bulky to process in its value chain

What is your solution?

1. The switch to subsistence farming of scientifically approved zero-calorie sweetener stevia herb for all mankind consumption-sweetening ingredient; 

2. To cluster small-holder farmers into community cooperative societies for production and marketing. first Harvest time for stevia is 3 months hence a viable social entreprise for income generation activity 

3. Produce per acre is 3 to 4 tonnes; Is less bulky to process in its value chain that helps in mitigation of carbon footprint. a crystallization processing plant to be installed with international standards approval for green production process

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

From my community this shall be a startup that is based on my lived experience that gives me an understanding of an unmet need that i have to content with in my own life, having experienced years of this unmet need. 

I give voice on behalf of fellow rural folk who can barely support themselves
beyond a day. They hereby need to go out and work so that they can afford basic necessities that includes brewed Tea sweetened with sugar that is common for breakfast, and in some cases, the only meal for families in this region. Future accessibility for basic commodities such as
commercial sugar & tea leaves is hereby compromised with the advent of
COVID-19 nemesis that has pushed people into isolation with imminent lockdown in our country that still lacks job-protection plan as well as stimulus package for her citizen in face of such danger.

My community shall find it useful to access an alternative localized production of zero calorie but natural sweetener for their daily beverage. i have 400 stevia crop on my quarter-an-acre farm for the last eight months and my family is off the hook of the diabetic-friendly
commercial sugar sold at malls; retail shops & village kiosks.


Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
  • Promote the shift towards low-impact, diverse, and nutritious diets, including low-carbon protein options
Explain how the problem, your solution, and your solution’s target population relate to the Challenge and your selected dimension.

Western kenya region is installed with about seven active sugar-processing factories whose respective cane-crushing equipment run on diesel with carbon-dense effluent ejected into both Atmosphere, land and water. this is besides farm equipment and for ferrying inputs onto cane farms and harvested cane from farms to factories totally running on fossil fuels that also chokes the ecosystem with carbon-dioxide. This industry also requires more handhelp as it is yet to mechanize/automate its production line from the farms. Stevia shrub is potent with a quarter-acre farm able to produce hundred times sweet content against sucrose from current sugarcane variety

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Kakamega, Kenya
What is your solution’s stage of development?
  • Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model
Who is the primary delegate for your solution?
Bonface Makalasia Khwesa - Team Lead
More About Your Solution
About Your Team
Your Business Model & Funding
Partnership & Prize Funding Opportunities
Solution Team:
Bonface Khwesa
Bonface Khwesa
Stevia - The Healthy Zero-calorie Sweetener Production for Community Consumption