Das Projekt im Überblick
NB: Dieses Formular wird ausschließlich von den Personen, die die Innovation vorschlagen, ausgefüllt.
Welches Problem wird gelöst?
Globally, around **13.3% of all food produced is lost between harvest and retail**, representing an estimated **USD 400 billion** in economic losses every year. Fruits and vegetables are the most affected commodity group, with **approximately 25.4%** lost due to their high perishability. In **Sub-Saharan Africa**, food loss reaches **23%**, the highest regional rate globally, reflecting weak post-harvest infrastructure and fragmented supply chains. In Kenya, post-harvest losses are particularly severe for horticultural crops, where inadequate local processing and market access leave large volumes of nutritious fruit unsold or spoiled each season. This wasted food also represents wasted land, water and energy, while generating avoidable greenhouse gas emissions as organic matter decomposes.
Wie wird es gelöst?
This is one of the most important questions in the application. Team for the Planet wants to understand the **mechanism**—how the innovation actually reduces emissions.
The answer should explain **what happens**, **how it happens**, and **why it reduces greenhouse gases**, without becoming overly technical.
I recommend the following:
Wheeling Fruits™ decentralizes the first stage of food processing by taking mobile processing units directly to farming communities instead of transporting highly perishable fruits to distant factories. Fresh fruits that would first have been left otherwise spoil due to surplus produce are sorted, prepared, dehydrated and converted into premium dried fruits and functional food ingredients (food powder) within hours of harvest, significantly extending shelf life and preserving their value. Solar powered cold rooms are used for storage pre and post processing, while a solar powered miller is used for powder products.
The peels can be used for making manure while the seeds are also set aside to grow tree nurseries so nothing is wasted.
Processing at source reduces post-harvest losses, minimizes the decomposition of organic waste that generates greenhouse gases, and cuts transport volumes by approximately **90%**, reducing fuel consumption and associated carbon emissions. The innovation operates within Miyonga's WHEELS (Wholesome Horticultural Ecosystems through Efficient Localised Systems) model, which integrates decentralized processing, circular resource use, farmer aggregation, digital traceability and sustainable market access into one scalable climate-smart food system. The result is a resilient, low-carbon supply chain that transforms food waste into valuable products while creating economic opportunities for rural communities.
Inwiefern differenziert sich diese Lösung von anderen?
Wheeling Fruits™ is more than a mobile processing unit—it is a complete decentralized climate-smart operating system. Its competitive advantage lies in combining infrastructure, technology, logistics, skills development and market access into one scalable model that conventional centralized processors cannot easily replicate.
First, it **takes the market to the farm**. Instead of transporting highly perishable fruits to distant factories, Wheeling Fruits™ processes crops at source, reducing transport volumes by approximately **90%**. For example, where conventional processors require around **10 truckloads of fresh mangoes**, Wheeling Fruits™ transports the equivalent production as **one truckload of finished ingredients**, significantly reducing logistics costs, fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Second, it creates a **circular manufacturing system**. Surplus fruits that would otherwise spoil are transformed into premium dried fruits and functional food ingredients, while peels are converted into organic manure and seeds are retained for tree nurseries, ensuring that virtually nothing goes to waste.
Third, it builds **local manufacturing capability**. Each Wheeling Fruits™ hub serves as a rural processing and learning centre where farmers, women and youth acquire practical skills in food processing, food safety, equipment operation, quality assurance and value addition. Rather than remaining suppliers of raw commodities, communities become skilled participants in higher-value manufacturing, creating long-term employment and resilient rural enterprises.
Fourth, the model is **independently validated**. The International Trade Centre (ITC), through the Trade for Sustainable Development Hub, identified Wheeling Fruits™ as Miyonga's highest-impact climate adaptation investment, projecting a **43.4% Internal Rate of Return** and a **three-year payback period**. A separate CLIC–CGIAR assessment confirmed its potential to rescue over **8,700 tonnes of fruit annually**, avoid approximately **4,356 tonnes of CO₂e emissions**, increase farmer incomes by **25%**, and create up to **900 jobs** from a single hub.
Finally, Wheeling Fruits™ is powered by the **WHEELS™ (Wholesome Horticultural Ecosystems through Efficient Localised Systems)** operating methodology, which integrates decentralized processing, circular resource use, farmer aggregation, digital traceability, climate-smart production and sustainable market access into one scalable ecosystem. Combined with Miyonga's network of **3,660 smallholder farmers**, growing intellectual property portfolio and export market experience, WHEELS™ offers a commercially viable, climate-positive and highly scalable solution that is difficult to replicate because it builds an entire ecosystem—not just a processing facility.
