INTRODUCING AND INTEGRATING STEVIA INTO RURAL MISSISSIPPI FARM OPERATIONS TO IMPROVE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND INCOME

The overall goal of this project is to introduce Stevia to limited resource small farmers and bring health and socioeconomic benefits to Southern Mississippi small farm communities. The successful attainment of the project objectives will not only establish broader technical capacity of extension programs at ASU but also expand quality agriculture products to U.S. consumers and beyond. We expect that this project will result in: (1) Comprehensive manuals for Stevia cultivation in Southern Mississippi, which includes technical guidance ranging from line selection, field preparation, planting and crop management, harvesting and post-harvest processing, marketing and cooking suggestions; (2) Detailed information of biochemical characteristics of fresh and processed Stevia products from multiple sources; (3) Broadly educated underserved community on integrating beneficial specialty crops into diet against obesity and diabetic epidemics; (4) Systemically trained minority undergraduate and graduate students with cutting edge technology for better local services and community development; (5) Increased skills of youth and adults at small farm for better life quality and broader vision on modern technology advancement; (6) Increased interaction of the university and farmer-associated organizations for transfer of up-to-date information on novel beneficial crops enhancing small farm economic and ecological performance; (7) Healthier population with improved living environment and more stable social structure in rural small farm communities; (8) Publications in peer-reviewed journals.