Sir,

I / We here by apply for financial assistance for cultivation of STEVIA CULTIVATION

_________________________________.
We hereby declare that the information given herein and the statement enclosed are to the
best of our knowledge and belief, true and correct in all particulars and in the event of
any of the statement being found to be untrue, the facilities granted on the basis of our
assertion would be liable to be repaid forthwith interest and other costs accrued thereof to
the lender.
Yours faithfully
Gaurav Sharma

Application for financial assistance for Stevia cultivation

Project Report An outline
PART I
1. Introduction(PURPOSE)

2. Promoters: Promoters and their background, about their professional

qualifications, experience
3. Overview of the entire project.
4. Existing Status of the Unit: What is the existing activity, product line, area of
market, etc.
5. Manpower
6. Infrastructure facilities: About the Equipment, Plant & Machinery, premises.
7. Clientele: About the clientele, present and prospective clients Countries to
which exports are planned Market potential, market arrangements, plans for
promoting exports, etc.
8. Financial/Technical
PROJECT COST AND MEANS OF FINANCE
PROJECT COST:

RS. IN LAKHS

Land & Land Development Cost

01.80

Workshed Construction & Development Cost

01.50

Cost of Investment
[Plant & Machinery / Misc. Fixed Assets]

02.00

Plantation Material (One time)- Non-recurring Expenditure

Preliminary & Pre-operative Expenses

Total Project Cost

Total income per year 16,50,000/- ( at minimum rates )

03.00

0.60
08.90

STEVIA
CULTIVATION

I. PURPOSE
Stevia is an incredibly sweet herb, obtained by a natural selective
breeding process of the sweetest Stevia parent plants. The sweetener,
3

stevioside, extracted from the plants, is 300 times sweeter than sugar.
The fresh leaves have nice liquorices taste.... The dried leaves of
Stevia are about 40 times sweeter than sugar.
Medicinal plants (STEVIA) cultivated extensively and also in great demand in the local
as well as foreign market. It is more beneficial, about four to five times, than
traditional farming. Central as well as State Govt. provides all the technical support
and Subsidiaries for its cultivation. Arvind Modi has an extensive experience in all
aspects of developing and maintaining marketing strategies to meet the objectives.
Strong understanding of market dynamics and requirements. For meeting the
cultivation needs and other short term requirements including those of subsidiary /
allied activities and consumption needs,. Requirement of expert services and
advice on cropping practices, technology dissemination, crop protection
from pests and diseases, market trends and prices of various crops in the
market. For purchase of tractors, power tillers, trailers, combine harvester,
grain threshers, sprayers, dusters, ploughs, drills, mechanical weeders or
any other modern agricultural machinery. Digging/ deepening of wells,
construction of tanks, ponds, drilling of bore wells, soil and water
conservation watershed development bundling land reclamation, leveling of
land, terracing, conversion of dry land into wet, irrigable lands, fencing,
construction of farm houses and other allied activities. Later on to keep the
produce in an approved go down or warehouse enabling to sell the produce for a
better price of a later date

II. PROMOTERS PROFILE

Project Details:
1. Name of the Project: Stevia cultivation
2. Land available : Lease Land
I. Area of Cultivation :3 acres
3. Land Type (Soil Type) : Sandy Soil
4. Medicinal Cultivation at present : None
5. Irrigation Facility: Drip system and Bore well
6. Technical tools:
I. Tractor (HMT)
II. Trolley
III. Cultivators
IV. Disk Harrows
V. Land Leveller

Personal Details
1.

Firm Name: MDS Greencircle co.

2.

Owner Name : Gaurav sharma

3.

No. of employees : 5 employees (projected)

4.

Marketing Address: House No.8, Survey, Brindaban Path, Beltola, Guwahati -58

5.

Ph no: +918486681527

6.

Farm Address : Morigaon ,Assam

7.

Other Activities:
i.

Herbal cultivation Promotion Trading

Gaurav already taken no of trainings on Stevia cultivation of these crops
organized by Organic Innovation: Reference Pankaj Kalita

ii.

Technical/Economical Support

We always do favor of new Agricultural Technologies and try to

adopt them.

Also produces Vermi Compost, Organic Manure and Neem Manure

to promote organic Farming b ay small unit of Vermi compost..
Benefits for promoting of Organic Farming are as Follows:

1.

Safe for environment.

2.

Safe for Farmer.

3.

Less expensive in comparison of Pesticide application.

4.

Better quality product than pesticide application.

5.

No hazard for cultivated land.

6.

Organic manure can be prepared by himself at his own land.

7.

More beneficial for human health.

8.

Long life farming practices.

Experience: Agriculture Product and Machinery

He is very much interested to stabilize Agriculture processing unit.

He is already a management graduate from ICFAI University and also
has studied a lot on these topics:

1.

How to decide plant capacity.

2.

Availability of Raw material.

3.

Required Equipments and Machinery.

4.

Man power required.

5.

Per day production capacity.

6.

Processing equipments supplier companies.

7.

Marketing of Produce.

III. OVERVIEW OF ENTIRE PROJECT

1

Crop to be cultivated: Stevia Rebaudiana

2. Variety to be grown: Stevia Rebaudiana

3. Suitable Land: land where water can flow without hurdle
4. Sowing time: Whole year (for Irrigated land)
Rainy season (In irrigated land)
5. Total Plantation time: 5 years
6. Production products: Baby plant and Leaves

PROJECT ORIGIN & BACKGROUND

The project envisages starting Plantation & Cultivation of Stevia by a newgeneration
educated Entrepreneur Gaurav sharma in the district of Sibsagar, Assam having
experience in running family business in food Sector..The project is envisioned
developing afull-fledged Commercial Cultivation and Plantation of Stevia by using
provenscientific method of Farming & Agriculture with all amenities and facilities at
theCultivation Area.
The proposed unit is a long cherished business goal of the entrepreneur. The
entrepreneur has the capacity to arrange Marketing and distribution of the finished
products having got linkages with different Distributors, Wholesalers and Retainers
so that the unit gets sustainable return, growth and profitability. And thereby, the
entrepreneur can be able to get return-of-scale by fulfilling the wealth maximization
objectives and too could contribute to the Direct and indirect employment
generation.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION
The proposed project is to start Plantation & Cultivation of Stevia looking at the
vibrant market potential for raw, dried and processed Stevia in domestic as well as
international market along with ever increasing demand for its food additive value
among diabetic patients. A large number of Companies are engaged in producing

Stevia based products with medicinal value and their demand for procuring raw &
dried stevia leafs creates a huge market potential for commercial plantation of
Stevia.

PROJECT LOCATION
The project envisages starting commercial Plantation and Cultivation of Stevia in a
large portion of Morigaon District of Assam, The locality is a prominent location
adjacent to the
all busy highways of Assam and connecting major towns/states/ part of the North
East region of India. The locality is recognized to be major Agricultural and Tea
Plantation Area having - the river Teok Brahmaputra is flowing nearby and offers
unique commercial opportunity for plantation & cultivation of Stevia. The location is
having good communication & infrastructural facility and is considered an important
town of Assam with well-adjacent routes with Traffic density

STEVIA

INTRODUCTION
8

Stevia is an incredibly sweet herb, obtained by a natural selective breeding process

of the sweetest Stevia parent plants. The sweetener, stevioside, extracted from the
plants, is 300 times sweeter than sugar. The fresh leaves have nice liquorices taste.
The documented properties of Stevia are antibacterial, anti fungal, anti-inflammatory,
anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-yeast, cardio tonic, diuretic, hypoglycemic and hence a
boon to diabetic people, hypertensive, tonic, and vasodilator. Indeed, the leaves
contain diterpene glycosides with a sweet taste but which are not metabolized and
contain no calories. The biggest part of the sweet glycosides consists of the
stevioside molecule.
Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni (Bertoni) is a perennial herbaceous plant and is part of the
Asteraceae family. This family includes well-known plants such as dandelion,
sunflower and chicory. The history of the culture of Stevia mainly stems from
Paraguay and Brazil. Originally Stevia only grew in the northern regions of South
America but its cultivation has become popular worldwide. They use it, amongst
other things, to make "mate" herbal tea.

STEVIA FACTS

*****Glycosides in the leaves of the Stevia Rebaudiana plant,

(including up to 10% Stevioside), account for its incredible
sweetness
*****Stevia is often referred to as the "sweetest plant of the
world".
*****One acre of Stevia Rebaudiana cultivation would
produce sweetener equivalent to 36 Acres of Sugar Cane
more so the sweetness in Stevia Rebaudiana leaves is
healthy and harmless
*****Stevia is 200-300 times sweeter than sugar
*****Stevia is safe and effective to use for cooking and
baking.

NEED OF STEVIA CULTIVATION

bring a dramatic impact as

management aid exceptionally.

weight

Stevia
loss and

would
'weight

Stevia
possessing an anti-microbial property can be used in all the
sweets, as it does not enhance the growth of any bacteria in the
teeth, unlike the sugar

10

Stevia usage in
Bakery & Beverages has large potential. Instead of sweeteners
with known adverse side effects in the long run.

Stevia is a cash
crop with low risk and assured tax free returns in a period as
short as 6 months. Scientific cultivation and careful selection of
planting material can yield very high returns for three years as
compared to traditional crops

11

Due
to
the
increased awareness towards use of Herbal and traditionally
accepted medicinal plants, a very good market domestic&
international is coming up for the medicinal plants and Herbals.

Herbal plant is
Stevia "Stevia Rebaudiana" or Stevia, a native of Paraguay,
which provides whopping Rs. 5 lakhs returns in a cycle of three
years per acre.

12

Stevia side has a

few advantages over artificial sweeteners in that it is stable at
high temperatures(100.C)

The Stevia leaf

13

contains
proteins
fibers
carbohydrates
iron
phosphorus
calcium
potassium
sodium
magnesium
zinc
rutin & vitamins A and C

***WHY STEVIA IS BETTER THAN SUGAR

COMPARISON: STEVIA / SUGAR
Per 2 Teaspoons of
Sugar
Natural vs. Artificial
Calories
Net Grams
Gylcemic Index

Stevia

Sugar

Natural
0
0
0

Natural
32
8g
70

NutraSweet
(Aspartame)
Artificial
0
1g
0

Splenda
(Sucralose)
Artificial
0
1g
0

Sweet N Low
(Saccharin)
Artificial
0
1g

DESCRIPTION
Its leaves are about 5 cm long and 2 cm wide and are planted crosswise, facing each
other. In the wild, the height of the plant varies from 40 to 80 cm but when
cultivated, the Stevia can become 1 meter high. Stevia can be grown on relatively
poor soil. The plants can be used for commercial production for 6 years, during which
five times a year a harvest takes place of the part of the plant that is above the
ground. The roots remain in place and so the plant regenerates again. Plants, which
are 1 meter high, have a dry weight of 70 g on average. The dry weight of the leaves
can vary from 15 to 35 g per plant.

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Stevia contains Stevioside, Rebaudioside A and the sweet compounds in the leaf
called glycosides

1. Sugarless
2. Contains no calories, no fat, no carbohydrates
3. Highly recommended for weight loss program
4. Contains natural trace elements (iron, mangan, calcium etc..)
5. Antibacterial effect if it impedes the growth of bacterias.
6. Anti fungus properties make it useful in treatment with yeast infections as natural
sweetener it is used in healthy diets, diabetes etc.

USES
Apart from uses as sweetener this wonderful herb has other medicinal virtues such as
per WHO findings.

14

Regulates blood pressure

Fights cavities
Induces pancreas to produce more insulin
Skin care
Flavor enhancer
General Tonic

LAND PREPARATION
The land sites are plowed and or cultivated twice to prepare a fairly smooth, firmplanting surface.1 to 2 ploughing has to be done after harrowing. Around 25 MT of
FYM / acre has to be applied as a basal dressing during the last ploughing to
incorporate
the
manure
with
the
soil.

SOIL TYPE
Red Soil and sandy loam are best for the cultivation of Stevia with a 6-8 Ph

RAISED BED PREPARATIONS

Forming raised beds is the most economical way to grow Stevia. The raised bed
should be of 15 cm in height and 60 cm in width. The distance between two rows
should be half feet. With such spacing the plant population is around 40,000 plants
per acre

PLANTING
Depending on different climatic conditions Stevia is cultivable throughout the year
except for times when it is extremely hot or cold. Stevia plug plants are planted into
the field on either 53 cm or 61 cm row spacing with a total plant density in the order
of 100,000 plants per hectare.

FERTILIZATION
The plant appears to have low nutrient requirements; however a soil test should be

15

conducted. The recommended dose of fertilizer is 110:45:45 NPK /Neem Organic

Manure. This requires 4 bags of urea, 2 bags of DAP and 2 bags of Potash / 8
bags of organic Manure. The entire dose of DAP is applied as the basal dressing. The
Nitrogen and Potash fertilizer can be split and applied as TEN doses in every month.
Nitrogen application is a must for the production of dry mattes

IRRIGATION
Normally, the Stevia plant requires frequent, shallow irrigation. Generally, one applies
irrigation if the stem tips are drooping at least one time per week. Micro sprinkler is
the best method of irrigating Stevia plants. Flood or canal irrigation would not supply
the required amount of water at the right time. Micro sprinklers, can be used to
sprinkle the water once in a day in winter and 4 times in a day in summer or more
depending upon the heat and relative humidity in the air.

MAINTENANCE
Flowering of the plant should be avoided. Since Stevia has a significant apical
dominance, the plant tends to grow tall and lanky. Pinching of the apical bud would
enhance busy growth of the plant with side branches

ORGANIC APPLICATION & PLANT PROTECTION

There is no such pest and disease incidence in this crop. In case, any disease
symptoms are noticed, spraying of neem oil diluted in water is the best organic
method. For root grubs use castor oil mixed with cow manure and spray very little
near
the
plant.
Neem oil spray 30ml is added to I liter of water and stirred well. To this emulsifier is
added (I ml / I liter). It is very essential to add the emulsifier and mix properly. This
should be used immediately before the oil droplets start 40 floating. Spraying should
be undertaken in the morning or late in the evening. During hot conditions the
frequency of spraying should be more. In winter spraying once in 10 days and in rainy
season, every day spraying is recommended. Insects lay eggs on the underside of the
leaves. Hence it is important to spray on the underside of the leaves as well. While
using a powder sprayer reduce the quantity of spraying to half.

WEED CONTROL
This crop requires hand hoeing and weeding.

16

PESTS
Insect pest pressures other than cutworm are minimal. Septoria disease can cause
considerable damage to the Stevia crop. Animals seem to like the sweet taste of
Stevia,
too.

HARVESTING
Time of harvesting depends on land variety and growing season. Generally it can be
scheduled when plants are 40-60 centimeters in height. Shorter days induce
flowering. Optimum yield (biomass) and stevioside quality and quantity is best just
prior to flowering. The plant will tolerate every low temperature

DRYING
Drying of the woody stems plus the soft green leaf material is completed immediately
after harvesting utilizing a drying wagon or a kiln. Depending on weather conditions
and density of loading, it generally takes 24 to 48 hours to dry Stevia at 40C to
50C.

THRESHING
Immediately following drying, a specially designed thresher/separator is necessary to
separate dry Stevia leaves from its stem.

IV. Existing Status of the Unit, Manpower and Future

Planning
Present sources, those we have required for stevia cultivation are given
below here:
1. Availability of Best planting Material
2. Availability of Cultivated Land
3. Availability of Best quality Organic pest control material
4. Availability of Man Power
5. Availability of Animal Power
6. Availability of Farming Tools and Equipments for Plantation, Cultivation,
Irrigation and Harvesting.

17

7. Availability of stevia market for selling produce

8. Availability of Best consultancy service from Organic Innovation

V. Infrastructure facilities: About the Equipment, Plant

& Machinery, premises.
Firm has all the facilities required for Stevia cultivation
Land: cultivated land
Labor: as per requirement
Organic manure for pest control: Neem manure, Vermi compost, FYM
Tractor: Four wheel tractor
Bullock drawn/ Animal drawn
Planting material
Agriculture equipments and tools:
Plough
Puddler
Leveller
Harrow
Cultivator
Trolley
Other hand tools
Other power tools

VI - Available Market for his Stevia produce:

There is a huge potential for marketing and selling of stevia:
The strategy of selling stevia as raw dried leaves and in powdered form are in two
ways:
A. Business to Business:
- Wholesale
- Confectioneries, Bakeries, Beverages and Hotels
- Export
B. Business to Consumers:
- Pharmacies and hospitals
- Retail shops and supermarkets

WHOLESALE
18

They have consultancy and guidance of Organic Innovation in this regard and
also has buy back agreement with them for produce. Number of buyers for
marketing is also available for selling raw product and manufactured products.
Some name of Companies is given here. .
1.Sunrise Agriland development & research Pvt.Ltd
Mahaveer Nagar II.Maharani Farm,Jaipur (Rajsathan)
2. Organic Innovation, Assam
8, Survey, Brindaban Path, Beltola, Guwahati-781028.
3. Pabanas Agro Products (P) Ltd.
P.O. Box No. 130, 5,
A.Y.T. Padasalai St., Sivakasi-626123
4. Shivam Herbal, C-I03, MIDC, Waluj,
Aurangabad-431 136.
5. Siri Agritech
Opp. Lane to Srinivasa Theatre, Markapur-523 316.
Prakasham Dist. Andhra Pradesh
6. .Shravula Biotech P\1. Ltd.
0-2-289/13, Shanthi Nagar, Hyderabad - 500 028.
7. Sudershan Herbal Plantations,
1-3-2, Kavadiguda. Hyderabad-500 080
8. Sudershan Herbal Plantations,
1-3-2, Kavadiguda. Hyderabad-500 080

BAKERIES, CONECTIONARIES,BEVERAGES AND

HOTELS
Already had a discussion with the local bakeries and confectionaries
who have agreed to try out stevia as it is organic in nature and is a
natural plant rather than using chemically developed medicines. Some
of the known brands in Assam are as follows and targeted brands are
listed below:

EXPORTS - Stevia Market

19

A Perfect Storm Driving Market Demand

Driven by a near perfect storm of demand, the market for all natural,
zero-calorie stevia sweeteners is increasing dramatically. A leading
stevia manufacturer has predicted a global stevia products industry
using Reb A could be valued at $10 billion in coming years. The World
Health Organization (WHO) previously estimated that stevia intake
could eventually replace 20-30% of all dietary sweeteners. The total
global sweetener market was estimated at $58.3 billion in 2010.
Market drivers include:
Soaring rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Increases
in the rates of these diseases are linked to high consumption of sugar
and/or high-calorie sweeteners, and are soaring worldwide.

Consumer demand for low and non-calorie, natural foods with

clear labelling. Consumers worldwide also remain concerned about
artificial sweeteners safety.

20

Governments facing rapidly rising health care

goods. Governments worldwide are developing policies and
regulations to penalize unhealthy diets and support healthy ones.
Michelles Obamas Lets Move initiative targets childhood obesity. In
June 2009, top US nutrition experts, health organizations, leading
doctors and medical academics joined forces to ask President Barack
Obama to combat obesity by creating a Presidential Commission on
Healthy Weights, Healthy Lives to coordinate the activities of the
Departments of Health and Human Services, the United States
Department of Agriculture, and other agencies involved in food and
health, to create policies that promote health across the country.
Sugar prices recently hit 30-year highs. Rising demand for corn
for biofuel has been pushing up the price for sugars traditional lowercost alternative, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
The rapidly growing demand for stevia sweeteners is also in lockstep
with a looming shortfall in sugar supply. Driven largely by increasing
demand in India and China, the price of sugar price rose from about
$0.10 per lb. to more than $0.60 per lb. over the last 10 years. Global
sugar consumption is forecast to rise by more than 50% to nearly 260
million tons by 2030. The World Health Organization (WHO) has
estimated that stevia could eventually replace 20%-30% of the global
dietary sweetener intake.

Stevias Popularity Spans the Globe

Food consultancy Zenith International reports that stevia products saw
a 27% increase in worldwide volume sales in 2010 over 2009, taking its
21

overall market value to US$285 million. From mid-2009 to mid-2010,

new product launches using stevia extracts increased by 200%, with
products launched in 35 countries 237 new products in the first half
of 2010 alone, according to market research firm Mintels Global New
Product Database (GNPD). Mintel values the natural sweetener product
market at US $763 million in 2010, with the stevia market alone at
$670 million. A leading stevia manufacturer has projected that stevia
will penetrate 20% to 25% of the US$60 billion global sugar/ sweetener
market.
Regulatory approval in the European Union (granted in November
2011) has set the stage for stevia use to explode on the other side of
the Atlantic in 2012 and beyond. Asia Pacific, where the ingredient has
been used as a sweetener in some regions for decades, has the largest
market share for stevia at 35.7%, followed by North America (30%) and
South America (24.3%).

22

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