services, education, farm inputs and technology. It is also contracted to Unilever Tea Tanzania as its tea market through the Kabambe Tea Factory. The parties have contracted on a long-term loan mechanism that is recovered through farmers’ selling of tea leaves to the factory.
5.5.1 Tanzanice Agrofoods Limited (Tanzanice)
Tanzanice Agrofoods Limited is a private business company that is formed through a joint venture of Tanzanian and Finish based companies. Tanzanice is a daughter company to Perunamestarit OY Finland which was a partner to the Seed Potato Development Project (SPDP) that was undertaken in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania between 2012 and 2015. The partner saw opportunities in fruits and vegetables food value chains from the area and decided to develop a local based business company in these value chains. Tanzanice was established in 2017 and is registered as a business company to operate nationwide. The company aims to create sustainable business value chains to smallholder commercial farmers in Tanzania.
In Njombe District, Tanzanice works with smallholder organic avocado farmers who are organized in groups. About 230 farmers in groups are trained and certified as organic avocado farmers (Tanzanice Project Manager, 2018). The company contracts to be the buyer of organic avocados from farmer groups. The contracts are on prices and supply quantities and are renewable depending on the demand of products in global markets. The company also trains, advises and guides farmers on products improvement on a win-win basis. The training are on organic farming and on abidance to organic farming standards. The company uses trained lead farmers who monitor farming practices of the registered organic farmers. Through this, the company knows individual farms and their organic farming status. When verified organic, the company certifies the products through the European Union recognized Organic Certification which is a standard and international certification. The company exports the products to European Union countries which is its current market scope.
By the year 2018, the company had exported a total of 200 tons of organic avocados to European markets and around 500 farmer were expected to be certified under the GAP Global Certificate (Tanzanice Project Manager, 2018). In fostering social equity, Tanzanice fights against child labour and farmer exploitation. It also promotes safe food production, safe products for consumers and safe production for the environment. The company also supports partnered farmers’ access to financial services by providing memoranda of understanding (MOU) to financial institutions that need verification of farmers who seek financial services.
5.5.2 Itulike Smallholder Organic Farmers Group
Itulike smallholder organic farmers group, named as TUONDOKE Group was formed in 2007 and it is registered under the Business Registration and Licensing Authority (BRELA) as a smallholder farming business. The group is formed by individual members who come from different parts in Njombe Region. Changes in the constitution allow farmers who conduct organic avocado farming in the entire Njombe Region to join the group. The group has a constitution and by-laws that are used in managing and guiding all matters in the group. The current number of group members is 172 with more women than men and a majority being above 45 years of age (Field research data, 2018). Land scarcity in the village and longtime taken for avocado fruits to yield discourage many youths to engage in avocado farming.
The main production activity in Itulike farmer group is the cultivation of organic avocado fruits.
Farmers are also engaged in cultivating maize, round potatoes and vegetables. Organic farming is mainly done by using traditional organic fertilizers such as manure and composites. Chemical fertilizers are not used at all in organic farming. Organic avocado farms are individually owned by farmers and land is owned through inheriting and purchasing and many of these lands are not surveyed. Large organic avocado farms go up to seven acres and smaller farms to one acre. The group constitution allows farmer membership seekers to own land from half an acre and above.
The village faces land shortage due to its proximity to Njombe Town, a situation that makes it not easy to access a portion of land for purchasing from this village in the near future.
Itulike smallholder organic farmers group contracts with Tanzanice Company for organic farming facilitation services through training and education. The company is the primary buyer of organically produced fruits from the group. The parties sign a seasonal contract that is renewed on an annual basis and every farmer owns a copy of the signed contract. The group also works with the local government authorities for technical expertise from agricultural extension officers. It has partnerships with the Southern Agricultural Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) for technical expertise and inputs. Moreover, the group partners with Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA) for training on product quality improvement and provision of organic products transportation logistics services.
5.5.3 Wikichi Smallholder Organic Farmers Group
Wikichi smallholder organic farmers group was established in 2012. The group begun after farmers facilitation for fruits farming from Mr. Erasto Ngole, a volunteer and famous fruits farmer in Njombe Region. The official name of the group is Umoja wa Wakulima wa Matunda Wikichi (UWAMAWI). The group is formed by individual members from Wikichi Village to facilitate and ease meeting, planning and services provision to members. The group has a three years term management, has a constitution, by-laws and stipulations of sanctions to members who contravene the rules and guidelines of the group. Currently, the group has 78 members in a more men than women distribution. Positive outcomes such as increases in income levels, meeting livelihood needs and construction of houses that avocado farmers are experiencing are attracting new members to join the group.
This group is mainly engaged in cultivation of organic avocado fruits. Other crops such as maize, round potatoes, wheat and vegetables are also cultivated by members. Manure from domestic animal dung and organic composites are used as fertilizers. The land for farming in a majority cases is owned through inheritance and purchasing and it ranges between one and six acres. The incorporation of the village land into the Njombe Town has led to land scarcity in the village leading some farmers to search for land in other villages.
Wikichi farmer group had partnerships with Tanzanian Agriculture Productivity Program (TAPP) and TechnoServe that trained farmers on various farming skills. These initiatives left the group with master skills and expertise in organic farming. Currently, Wikichi farmer group has contracts with Tanzanice for facilitation of organic farming and purchasing of organic avocados.
The company trained lead farmers who do follow-ups, observations and inspections of organic farming practices in farms. The company also tests the harvested avocados to verify if they are really organic. This is done technically to trace any inorganic residues in fruits. Once this is done, the company certifies the fruits as organic. Moreover, contracted farms are documented in terms of ownership, size and location and are numbered for traceability and quality control.
Figure 5. 3: Avocado farming under contracted organic farming model
Traditional organic manure processing facility An organically grown avocado tree with fruits Source: Field research data, (October 2018)