Ubiri Women's Group adding value to agriculture produce

Introduction

Lushoto

I visited Tanzania in 2016 as part of the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) Livelihood and Trade (L & T) Community of Practice (COP) meeting. One of the memorable field visits was to Ubiri Women's Group. The group is based in Lushoto town. 

Lushoto

 The town is located in one of the mountainous regions of North Eastern Tanzania 1200 meters above sea level. The region's main economic activity is agriculture.

Ubiri was formed in 1996 by a group of women with the main objective of raising their household income by processing various fruits and spices. Some of the women learnt the trade of food processing from the expatriate community that lived in Lushoto in the past. Over the years, the women have been exposed to professional training in food processing and other areas relevant area e.g. packaging and storage. Some of the finished products sold by Ubiri are jams, juices, wines and food spices (see below far left). 

Recognition 

Over the years Ubiri has gained local, national and international recognition. Currently, the group is housed in a building provided by the Government. It is a registered Small Medium Enterprise (SME)and is well known for adding value to primary agriculture produce. 


Ubiri Processing and Sales Office in Lushoto town in Tanzania

NCA Tanzania is one of the stakeholders that have engaged Ubiri because of experience in value addition. Ubiri had 12 experts in processing that were involved in training NCA village community banking (vicoba) groups spread across six regions in Tanzania in food processing. This partnership started five years before our visit.



 

 

Growth

Despite being in existence for over 18 years by 2016, Ubiri's business venture had not grown significantly. Marketing and lack of transport were some of the challenges preventing growth. Marketing was done by members on an ad hoc basis locally and in other cities especially Arusha using public transport. Sometimes marketing was done at exhibitions organised by other actors e.g. local government officials. One of the potential markets for the products made by Ubiri was the super market chain. However, this market had not been exploited because Ubiri products did not have bar codes at the time. Barcodes were a must for a product to penetrate the super market chain in Tanzania. It was very difficult for Ubiri to get certification from the Tanzania Bureau of Standards despite the Food and Drug Commission providing certification to the group.

Another challenge to growth has been lack of financial capital. The group's attempt to get a loan from one of the banks had not been successful because of lack of collateral. The group had no assets, not even the building where they were operating from because the local government had not issued the group with a title deed for the property. 

Opportunities  

Despite the challenges that Ubiri was facing there was a lot of potential for growth for the business. This growth could spill over to the other areas of the economic in Lushoto and other regions in Tanzania. The scale of production was very low given the basic equipment that was employed in the production cycle (see photos below where one of the Ubiri members is preparing passion fruit juice for packaging).

Assess to capital would enable the group to acquire equipment that can increase the production capacity. This would have spill over effects down stream. Ubiri buys produce from local farmers thus contributing to the income generation of small holder farmers in Lushoto. Increased productivity would increase demand for agro-produce at the processing plant and add to the growth of agriculture in the area. Lushoto is a very productive area and but the processing capacity is low resulting in many of the fresh fruits and vegetables going to waste.

Given the right incentives by Government and other stakeholders e.g. access to collateral free loans, Ubiri could become a hub of value addition in Lushoto and beyond. The linkages that have been established with NCA vicoba groups provide an opportunity for wider marketing of the groups products. This is important because the local market may not be able to absorb increased supply. However, for this to be effectively utilised there is need to reduce transaction costs e.g. by improving delivery efficiency. The group needs support in acquiring relevant certification and tools e.g. barcodes so that they can penetrate the super market chains. This can contribute to increased profits that can be re-invested in the business to acquire equipment and other assets. Women in Ubiri volunteered their time and were not getting a salary. Growth of the business could contribute to employment creation especially among the youth.
 

Conclusion

The story of Ubiri is very inspirational especially for many small holder farmers and entrepreneurs that are struggling to add value to their produce. Using very basic production techniques and equipment Ubiri has been able to add value to various fruits and vegetables. This still remains a pipe dream for many of the small holder farmers and primary processors. Investment in Ubiri by the Government and the private sector through capital injection and other forms of support e.g. provision of the barcodes by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards would go a long way in unravelling the potential that Ubiri has to become the processing hub of Lushoto district. The story of Ubiri also brings to light the huddles that many small businesses face to grow.